Lynx helicopter, Army Air Corps, Basra, Iraq, 2003

Digital photograph by Corporal Dave Liddle, Royal Logistic Corps, 2003.

An Army Air Corps Lynx, part of the Joint Helicopter Force, takes off from Basra International Airport in 2003. First introduced into British Army service in the late 1970s the Lynx saw intensive service in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq. In Iraq and Afghanistan the performance of helicopters, even with modifications, was affected detrimentally by intense heat and dusty conditions. 657 Squadron continued to fly the Lynx until January 2018. After nearly forty years service the Lynx has been replaced by the AW159 Wildcat.

From a CD of photographs of Operation TELIC 2, 22 September to 26 November 2003.