British fatalities during Operation Telic facts for kids

Operation Telic was the special name for what the British military did in Iraq. It started on March 19, 2003, and ended on May 22, 2011.

During this time, 179 British soldiers, sailors, and airmen died. Also, at least three civilian staff from the UK government lost their lives. Many more people were hurt.

Out of all the people who died, 138 were killed in fighting. The others died because of sickness, accidents, or even by mistake from their own side (this is called friendly fire). The first people died on March 21, 2003. The day with the most deaths was January 30, 2005. On that day, a Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane from the Royal Air Force was shot down. All 10 servicemen on board died.

British Personnel Who Died

Many brave people from different parts of the British military lost their lives during Operation Telic. Here's a quick look at how many from each service:

Royal Navy

• The Royal Navy (who protect the seas) lost 8 people.

Royal Marines

• The Royal Marines (specialist soldiers who can fight on land or sea) lost 11 people.

British Army

• The British Army (soldiers who fight on land) had the most losses, with 137 people. This included soldiers from many different regiments and units.

Royal Air Force

• The Royal Air Force (who protect the skies) lost 22 people.

UK Government Civilian Staff

• Four civilian staff working for the UK government also died during this time.

Important Incidents

Some events during Operation Telic led to many casualties:

• On March 21, 2003, a helicopter crash in Kuwait killed 12 British servicemen. This was one of the first incidents.
• On March 23, 2003, two Royal Engineers were killed by an angry crowd.
• On March 24, 2003, Steven Roberts was the first soldier killed in action, though it was by friendly fire.
• On June 24, 2003, six Royal Military Police officers were killed by a crowd.
• The deadliest single day was January 30, 2005, when a Royal Air Force Hercules plane was shot down. All 10 people on board died.
• On May 6, 2006, a helicopter was shot down, killing 5 British servicemen.
• On November 12, 2006, four servicemen, including two Royal Marines and two from the Intelligence Corps, were killed by an improvised explosive device (IED). An IED is a homemade bomb.
• On July 19, 2007, three RAF Regiment servicemen were killed by mortar fire. Mortar fire is when bombs are shot from a special weapon called a mortar.

Injuries and Illnesses

Keeping track of all injuries was hard, especially at the start. But from January 1, 2006, until the end of the operations, 3,598 British personnel were wounded, injured, or became ill. About 315 of these were wounded in action (meaning they were hurt during fighting). Many of them, 1,971 people, needed to be flown out by air ambulance for medical help.