751 Squadron ( Portugal ) The 751 Squadron " Pumas " ( " Esquadra 751 " ) is a helicopter squadron of the Portuguese Air Force . It is part of " Grupo Operacional " 61 and it is located in Air Force Base No . 6 ( , BA6 ) , Montijo , south of Lisbon . It operates the AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin . 751 Squadron moto is " " Para que outros vivam " " ( That others may live ) and their crews have rescued 2851 people since 1978 . History . 1978 - 2006 . The 751 Squadron was created in April 29 , 1978 , operating 4 SA 330 Puma helicopters . At the time , its Primary Mission was Search and Rescue and the Secondary Missions were Tatical and General Air Transport . The SA 330 Puma operated had been previously employed in the Portuguese Colonial War and after the war end were adapted to a new role . These changes made the helicopters able to perform the required Search and Rescue Missions in the Portuguese Search and Rescue areas of responsibility . To execute these missions a crew of five and a helicopter were in a 24h alert at Air Force Base nº6 . In the 1990s a permanent detachment , the Madeira Air Detachment starts operations from Porto Santo airport . This detachment also had a crew and a helicopter on a 24h alert to execute Search and Rescue operations , and has as its secondary mission the execution of tactical and general air transport operations . 2006 - Today . In 2005 the 751 Squadron started to operate the AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin , the SA 330 replacement . In February 11 , 2005 the first two Merlins arrived at Portugal . After the crew ' s conversion to the new helicopter , the AW101 Merlin started its operational activity in Air Base nº6 on 3 February 2006 and in Madeira Air detachment on the 22nd of the same month . This aircraft upgrade allowed the 751 Squadron to be fitted with the latest helicopter technology , increasing the operational range from 200NM to 400NM . After the introduction of the Merlin in the Portuguese Air Force there were major changes in the Portuguese Search and Rescue assets . On 30 November 2005 , the Azores Air Detachement was created , operating from Air Base nº4 ( BA4 ) , from Lajes , Azores . This detachment comprises two helicopters and two crews , having one of the crews on a 24h permanent alert . Since its activation the 751 Squadron has flown a total of more than 40 000 hours , 10 000 hours of those with the Merlins . The 751 Squadron in Portugal ' s SAR organization . Organized Search and Rescue services were created from the need that countries had to provide a Search and Rescue service , maritime and aeronautical , to all craft that enter their areas of responsibility . The existence of a SAR organization in a country creates a safer environment to the maritime and aeronautical industry , allowing the development of these industries and consequently their economic growth . Portugal , being a country with a long maritime history , has a long tradition in providing SAR services . The Portuguese Search and Rescue Region ( SRR ) is the second largest in the world , being second only to the Canadian SRR and it has an area of 5 million square kilometers . The Portuguese SRR coincides with Lisbon and Santa Maria Flight Information Regions ( FIR ) . SAR responsibility in Portugal is shares between the Portuguese Air Force , the Portuguese Navy and the Civil Protection National Authority , all working in cooperation . The Portuguese SAR military operational control is comprised by : It is in this control structure that the 751 Squadron is included , with one AW101 Merlin alert helicopter in Montijo Air Force Base , one AW101 Merlin alert helicopter in Support Aerodrome nº3 in Porto Santo ( Madeira archipelago ) and two AW101 Merlin helicopters in Lajes Air Force Base nº4 ( Azores archipelago ) . The Portuguese Air Force also provides other air assets to the SAR organization , including P - 3 , C - 130 , C - 295 , Falcon 50 fixed wing aircraft and Allouette III helicopters . Despite the large national SAR area of responsibility , the 751 Squadron has provided SAR support to neighboring countries , performing rescue missions in both Spanish and Moroccan Search and Rescue Regions . SAR Crew . The SAR crew in the Portuguese AW101 Merlin comprises : If needed , a specialized medical team may be taken on board during any SAR mission . Assigned Missions . The 751 Squadron is responsible for the following missions : Notable Missions . SA 330 Puma . Performed with the SA 330 , the assembling of a very large antenna ( 283 meters ) in the town of Muge , the placement of the power lines to the village of S . Romão in Serra da Estrela , the installation of Bugio ' s lighthouse dome in 1981 , as well as 163 missions during the Tejo river floods in 1979 and 1983 totaling 255 flight hours , 1386 people evacuated and 11 . 244 kg of cargo air lifted . Support was also provided during the rescue operations following the Portuguese biggest train accident - in Alcafache - in September 11 , 1985 , were several injured people were transported to Viseu , Oporto and Lisbon hospitals . Search and Rescue missions include the winching of 15 sailors during the shipwreck of the ship " Angel del Mar " and the winching of 17 sailors from the ship " Bolman III " , on January 10 , 1994 . On Christmas Eve of 2000 , one SA 330 rescued 22 sailors from the ship " Coral Bunker " that ran ashore in Viana do Castelo . This was , until now , the mission where more people were rescue during a single sortie . VIP missions include the transport of Pope John Paul II on his three visits to Portugal . AW - 101 Merlin . In 2010 , the transport of Pope Benedict XVI in his first visit to Portugal . The 751 Squadron was in different occasions , requested to provide support to neighbouring countries , such as Spain and Morocco . As an example , the support provided during the rescue of the sailors of the sunk " MV KEA " , 180NM off the coast of Galiza , Spain , in March 2010 . The crew that performed this mission was later awarded , by SASEMAR ( the Spanish agency responsible for the Search and Rescue services in Spain ) the " Ancla de Plata " award , an annual prize that intends to congratulate crews and people that contribute to SAR or Anti - pollution missions . In December 2011 , the 6 missing fishermen from the fishing vessel " Virgem do Sameiro " were located and rescue by one of the 751 helicopters , north of Figueira da Foz . Their ship had sunk 3 days before and the fishermen had been adrift in a life raft . The 751 Squadron operates 12 AW101 Merlin helicopters in 3 different versions . 6 SAR helicopters , 2 SIFICAP helicopters and 4 CSAR helicopters .