Time-lapse footage of Merlin loaded into RAF C17 in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan

The UK's Merlin helicopters are being returned to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire after four years of service on Operation Herrick in Afghanistan.

They have flown more than 18,000 hours in the dust and heat of Afghanistan - moving in excess of 7,900 tonnes of kit and stores, and transporting more than 130,000 personnel.

BBC cameraman Jack Garland filmed one of the Merlins as it was eased into the back of an RAF C17 at Camp Bastion.

  • UK