I’ve filmed plenty of Cornish scenes over the years, but I never expected to see a helicopter carrying an 18th-century cannon across Mount’s Bay. On Wednesday 14 October, I headed down to Marazion beach to watch the Royal Navy do exactly that, along with hundreds of other onlookers who had gathered along the shoreline.
What was going on?
A Merlin Mk2 helicopter from RNAS Culdrose spent the day shuttling 18 historic cannons from the castle on St Michael’s Mount to the mainland. Some of the guns weigh up to half a ton, so getting them off a tidal island is no easy job for the Mount’s staff. For the Merlin, it was a good day’s training.
Each cannon was lifted individually as an underslung load beneath the helicopter and flown across the bay to Folly Field Car Park in Marazion, ready to go by road to specialist restorers. Watching the Merlin return to the castle again and again to collect the next one was something special, and the crowd stayed with it all the way.
Why are the cannons being moved?
Centuries of salt spray have taken their toll. The guns have been painted over the years, but where that paint has failed, rust has set in. Removing them is the first step in a conservation project, and they will be restored by Dorothea Restorations before being returned to the Mount.
Initial examinations suggest all 18 are English, and three carry crests that appear to date from the reign of King George II (1727 to 1760), though more careful paint removal is needed to confirm that. As Henry Mathews of St Aubyn Estates put it, it’s “the first step in specialist work” to conserve the collection for the future. stmichaelsmount
Operation Cormoran’s Throw
The crew belonged to Atlantic Flight, part of 814 Naval Air Squadron, known as the Flying Tigers. The operation was named Cormoran’s Throw after the giant of Cornish legend said to have built St Michael’s Mount. According to the story, Cormoran and his fellow giant Trecobben of Trencrom, near St Ives, used to hurl enormous boulders at each other for fun. Flying cannons across the bay seemed a fitting way to carry on the tradition.
The squadron’s Commanding Officer, Commander Ben Kerley, explained that moving stores from ship to shore is a core Merlin skill that crews practise regularly at Culdrose. Doing it in a real-world setting was valuable preparation, as Atlantic Flight is due to deploy later this year on a Royal Navy frigate for anti-submarine patrols in the North Atlantic.
Watching it from Marazion
The best part of the day was the atmosphere on the beach. Hundreds of locals and visitors lined the shore with phones and cameras raised, all following the Merlin as it crossed the bay with its load. It’s not every day you see the Navy, a castle and a piece of Cornish folklore come together like this.
I captured it all on camera, so make sure you watch the video above to see the airlift for yourself. If you enjoy this kind of Cornish content, please subscribe to the JVsCornwall YouTube channel so you don’t miss the next one.
