Historic St Michael's Mount cannons airlifted for restoration

When 300-year-old cannons at St Michael's Mount in Cornwall needed to be restored, the Royal Navy stepped in.

The cannons could only be taken off the island by helicopter, and a Merlin Mk2 helicopter from Atlantic Flight 814 Naval Air Squadron lifted each cannon individually off the island.

The operation was planned by the crew based at the Royal Naval Air Station at RNAS Culdrose, near Helston, in Cornwall.

Years of exposure to salt spray contributed to corrosion of the cannons - which will be treated at Dorothea Restorations in Bristol.