RAF Search and Rescue Force | |
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Active | 1941 – 18 February 2016 |
Disbanded | 18 February 2016 |
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Branch | ![]() |
Role | Search and Rescue |
The Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force (SARF or SAR Force) was the Royal Air Force organisation which provided around-the-clock aeronautical search and rescue cover in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands, from 1986 until 2016.
The Search and Rescue Force was established in 1986 from the helicopter elements of the RAF Marine Branch which was disbanded that year. The Force supported search and rescue over the United Kingdom until 4 October 2015 when the role was handed over to civilian contractor Bristow Helicopters.
On 18 February 2016, the force's disbandment was officially marked with a parade in front of The Duke of Cambridge, himself a former SAR pilot, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, his wife.[1]