It operated two from three Sea King HU.5 helicopters in the military and civilian Search and Rescue role across Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland. The crews covered an area from Ben Nevis in the north, the Isle of Man and the Lake District to the south, east to Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth and the Borders, west to Northern Ireland and extends west of Ireland over the north Atlantic, giving an operational area of approx. 98,000 square miles.