On the night of 12 November 1970, a tropical storm (known as a Cyclone in the Indian Ocean) that had been building to the south for some days, made landfall near the border of West Bengal (India) with East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
The effects were made worse by a tremendous storm surge driven by it from the Bay of Bengal and the funnelling effect of the coastline. Estimates of the casualties vary but up to half a million may have lost their lives and countless others were flooded out. Thousands of hectares of food crops were also destroyed.
Many services sent aid to relieve the victims of the Bhola Cyclone and ships from the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary were amongst the first on the scene. The role of HMS Hydra was primarily to re-chart the sea floor around the Ganges delta (after the 4 metre tidal wave had swept though it), assisted by recent satellite images from the US Navy, to ensure safe passage and anchorage for other relief vessels. HMS Intrepid and HMS Triumph both deployed, carrying Brunei Flight of 3 CBAS, a detachment from 847 NAS (and HMS Triumph) 200 Hovercraft Sq RCT, to the scene.
The effects were made worse by a tremendous storm surge driven by it from the Bay of Bengal and the funnelling effect of the coastline. Estimates of the casualties vary but up to half a million may have lost their lives and countless others were flooded out. Thousands of hectares of food crops were also destroyed.
Many services sent aid to relieve the victims of the Bhola Cyclone and ships from the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary were amongst the first on the scene. The role of HMS Hydra was primarily to re-chart the sea floor around the Ganges delta (after the 4 metre tidal wave had swept though it), assisted by recent satellite images from the US Navy, to ensure safe passage and anchorage for other relief vessels. HMS Intrepid and HMS Triumph both deployed, carrying Brunei Flight of 3 CBAS, a detachment from 847 NAS (and HMS Triumph) 200 Hovercraft Sq RCT, to the scene.
Units |
Dates | Unit | Models |
---|---|---|
nov70 to dec70 | 847NAS Royal Marines | Wessex |
nov70 to dec70 | 3 CBAS Royal Marines | Scout Sioux |
Individual helicopters |
Model | IDs | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Westland Wessex HU.5 | XT459 XT470 XT471 XT761 | |||
Ships |
Classes | Ships | |
---|---|---|
Landing Ship/Platform Dock | Fearless class | L11 HMS Intrepid, |
Landing Ship/Platform Dock | Round Table class | L3005 RFA Sir Galahad, |
Support Ship | Ness class | A344 RFA Stromness, |
Support Ship | Triumph class | A108 HMS Triumph, |
Support Ship | OL class | A122 RFA Olwen, |
Support Ship | Hecla class | A144 HMS Hydra, |
Support Ship | Regent class | A480 RFA Resource, |