21 June 2012

18th May 1972

RESCUE 22 descending from F240 to 1,500 below F055. Reported that the parachutists were dropped at 1955

Royal Air Force Nimrod providing 'top cover' for a C-130 from the RAF who dropped an SAS Sergeant, along with men of the Royal Marine Special Boat Squadron (SBS), into the Atlantic in response to a bomb threat on the Queen Elizabeth 2, which was 1,000 miles from Britain.
The SAS provided an Ammunition Technical Officer, who was not parachute trained and had to be given instruction en route. The four-man team jumped into a rough sea and were picked up by the liner’s lifeboat. The SBS men had not been told that the ship involved was the QE2 until they were airborne. The baggage was mustered and the two suitcases that could not be identified were dealt with. The ransom money was delivered but not collected and the hoaxer was later arrested in the USA and jailed for 10 years.

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