The commanding officer of RNAS Culdrose has bid farewell to the base after almost two years of being in charge, bowing out in style by zooming down the base's runway in an Audi R8.

Captain Mark Garratt bid farewell to HMS Seahawk, the official naval name for the Fleet Air Arm's Cornish base with aircrew, engineers and support staff, as well as civilians from squadrons and units at the air station lining a route for his departure in an Audi R8.

Touring as many work areas on the base as possible, he finished off with a drive along the main runway.

He leaves Culdrose for a spot of leave before taking up his next appointment.

Captain Garratt took command of RNAS Culdrose in April 2013, at the start of an extremely busy 21-month period for the base.

Included royal visits from the Queen and the Duke of York, as well as senior naval officers making periodic visits to Cornwall.

His time in charge has also marked some key events in Fleet Air Arm history, notably the introduction into frontline service of the Merlin Mk 2 and Ex Deep Blue, when Merlin Force generated nine Merlins Mk 2s for HMS Illustrious' final swan song.

The period also saw the end of the 'Baggers', Sea King Mk 7's involvement in Afghanistan, bringing to an end over six years of deployments in support of Operation Herrick.

Captain Mark has overseen the formation of two new FAA Squadrons: 736 NAS with their Hawks fast jets and 700X NAS, who stood up in the later part of 2014 as the Royal Navy's first unmanned aircraft system (UAS) squadron.

They operate the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle surveillance UAS, which is set to expand in the coming years.

“It's been a most rewarding and busy time in my career, to have commanded RNAS Culdrose”, said Captain Mark Garratt. “Cornwall has been such a wonderful experience and a great place to live and work.

“Not everyone in my position gets to run their own Royal Naval air station and I feel immensely proud to have done so.”

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