While filming Frontline Battle Machines in Afghanistan, Mike Brewer was aboard a Chinook describing the vital work that these helicopters do in the theatre of war when the vehicle was sent on an urgent MERT mission to pick up servicemen injured in a firefight with the Taliban. During the rescue the pilot, Ian Fortune, was shot in the head, but courageously managed to land the aircraft.
Back at base - as Ian was patched up - Mike found out that the helicopter, Bravo November, was The longest serving helicopter in the Royal Air Force. This ignited in him a desire to discover the full story behind the aircraft and the Chinook fleet it is still part of.
Bravo November has been in service since 1982 and has served in the Falkland Islands, Lebanon, Germany, Northern Ireland, Kurdistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. And it was in the Falklands where it first entered the public consciousness.
