AT last, they were flying home.

After six years at war, families of airmen gathered at RAF Benson today to welcome home their loved ones on board the last helicopters to return from their mission to support British troops in Iraq.

In blazing sunshine, two Merlin Mk3 helicopters, escorted by two of the base’s Puma helicopters, landed to applause shortly after 2pm.

Corporal Sean Carrington, who was greeted by his seven-year-old son James and wife Louise at the airbase, said: “It’s brilliant to be back.

“When we took off, and felt the undercarriage lock up beneath us, we knew we were going home. The mood was pretty jubilant, and just one of relief on the flight.”

However, the Benson crews know that by the end of the year, many of them will be back on the front line in Afghanistan, where conditions are even tougher.

Air crews have already started high-altitude training at a US base in California to prepare them for operations in the Central Asian country.

But today marked the end of six years of operations in Basra, Baghdad and Kuwait, during which families have had to live without their loved ones for months at a time.

Wives, girlfriends and children gathered at the base to watch a flypast and celebrate the final homecoming.

Senior Aircraftman Ian Best, 24, who was reunited with his 11-month-old daughter Mya, said: “We went out to Iraq in dribs and drabs, so it’s really good to come back to a reception like this and know that people care. Even the weather has come good for it.”

His wife Emily, 23, said: “When they go away, it’s hard at first, and then as the weeks go by you get used to it.

“You just try to carry on as normal. The most difficult thing is saying goodbye.”

Puma helicopters from 33 Squadron supported the Iraqi Air Force, operating between the high-security Green Zone in Baghdad and the city’s airport.

Meanwhile, 28 Squadron and 78 Squadron’s Merlins, soon to be sent to Afghanistan, transported troops and supplies, and carried out emergency missions to airlift injured soldiers to hospital.

Defence Secretary Bob Ains-worth, who was at Benson to welcome the crews home, said: “The troops know that much of what they do is unreportable, but they know the contribution they have made to progress in Iraq.

“It has been a difficult time, and it’s great to see them back and with their families.

“I don’t see how anyone can survive in the modern armed forces without the support of their partners and families. They work so hard and do such a dangerous job. They couldn’t do it without them.”

lsloan@oxfordmail.co.uk

A HELICOPTER pilot told of a daring rescue mission which earned him one of the RAF’s highest honours.

For six years, crews from RAF Benson have flown countless missions in Iraq to support troops and rescue soldiers wounded by roadside bombs and gun attacks.

The Oxford Mail reported in March how Flt Lt Kev Harris’s Merlin was scrambled to rescue injured troops trapped in Basra Palace.

For two years, the city had been considered too dangerous for British airmen to cross at low level.

But such was the urgency of the situation that the Merlin headed straight for its destination, only to find the landing zone deserted.

Flt Lt Harris said: “We stayed there for three or four minutes, but there was no-one to be seen.

“I knew that if we stayed on the ground for much longer, the mortars would start lining up.”

Just as he lifted off to avoid an attack, an ambulance appeared.

He landed again and the crew loaded three seriously injured soldiers and five other passengers.

To get the casualties to hospital as fast as possible, he flew across the city at roof-top height.

Over the next three days, he made five more flights to the palace, rescuing 30 wounded troops.

He heard he had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross while in Australia acting as best man at a friend’s wedding.

He said: “We were on a stag do, but the celebrations went even further than we had planned.”

Flt Lt Harris, 29, who lives at RAF Benson with his wife Naomi and five-week-old daughter Grace, said: “Today has drawn a final line under it, because there’s been so much uncertainty about when we were coming home.”