Three RAF soldiers killed by mortar were guarding airport

THREE RAF Regiment soldiers killed in a mortar attack last Thursday were preventing insurgents from attacking aircraft at Basra airport in Iraq, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said yesterday.

The MoD also announced that another British soldier, from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, died yesterday as the result of an indirect fire attack on Basra Palace. His next of kin have been informed.

The RAF three were named as Matthew Caulwell, 22, a senior aircraftsman from Birmingham; Christopher Dunsmore, 29, a senior aircraftsman from Leicester; and Peter McFerran, 24, a senior aircraftsman from Flintshire. All were serving with No 1 Squadron of the RAF Regiment.

Their job was to keep Shi’ite militiamen away from the areas surrounding the airport to prevent them attacking planes while they were at their most vulnerable, during takeoff and landing.

The men had been resting as there were no aircraft moving and were about to go back on patrol when the mortar landed, killing them instantly. Squadron Leader Jason Sutton, their commanding officer, described the men’s loss as “simply devastating” to his small unit of about 100 men. The deaths take to 162 the total of British servicemen and women who have died since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Of those, 126 were killed in action.

Yesterday a military source in Basra said in an e-mail that attacks on the base there had reached up to 30 a day and the forces were “relying on luck to keep them alive”.

He added that many personnel were living in tents with no overhead protection. The source said the attack that killed the RAF men had also caused “lots of injuries”.

Caulwell, known as “Lip” for his gregarious nature, had been marked out as a future noncommissioned officer and was an acting corporal. “His lads held him in the utmost respect and instinctively followed his example,” said Sutton.

McFerran, who had followed his father into the RAF Regiment, was the unit’s heavy machinegun operator. “He was every inch the epitome of a regiment gunner: robust, strong, dedicated and loyal,” said Sutton. “He was utterly dependable.”

Dunsmore, a reservist attached to the squadron from the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment, had volunteered for Iraq. In civilian life he was a manager at a paint firm. He was engaged to be married.

“His joie de vivre was infectious when times were hard,” said Sutton. “Intelligent, determined and a fine comrade and friend . . . He was one of us and his loss has been deeply felt by us all.”