- Unnamed woman one of just ten maintaining no-fly zone over Libya
They say there are no prima donnas among the RAF’s Typhoon Top Guns.
But there is one who is arguably a lot better looking than the rest.
Her hair blowing back in the airfield breeze, this is Britain’s first woman Typhoon pilot, Flight Lieutenant Helen Seymour, about to take off on her debut combat mission.
Mission accomplished: All smiles on Britain's first woman Typhoon pilot's return
Moments later, having adjusted her helmet and checked the controls in the cockpit, the 31-year-old screeched off the runway with two other fighter pilots to patrol the skies above Libya.
The Mail revealed yesterday how she is one of ten Typhoon pilots stationed at the RAF’s advanced post in Southern Italy from where they can reach the North African country within ten minutes.
Flying ace: Flight Lieutenant Helen Seymour is one of just ten flying the Typhoons from southern Italy. RAF sources insist she has been chosen on ability alone
Flight Lieutenant Seymour was previously based with Typhoons on the Falklands. The fighter jet is one of the world’s most advanced in the world.
Costing £125million, it travels at 1,550mph and can climb to 40,000ft within two minutes.
Flight Lieutenant Seymour and her colleagues are prepared to shoot down any of Gaddafi’s forces that breach the no-fly zone. Last night, she returned after a successful seven-hour mission.
As her canopy opened, she stood in the cockpit and raised her hand to salute fellow pilots on the operation.
A source at the airbase said: ‘She didn’t seem nervous about her first combat mission. Like all the pilots here, she is just completely focused on her job.’
Four Tornado fighters also roared off the runway of the Gioia del Colle airbase near Bari yesterday as British jets continued to put pressure on Gaddafi.
The continuing sorties came as the Tornado pilot who fired the first British missiles on Gaddafi’s airfields described the moment he ‘punched a hole’ in the tyrant’s defences.
Wing Commander Andy Turk, 39, was one of four pilots who took part in the long distance raid from the UK.
He described how each of the jets fired two Storm Shadow missiles on Gaddafi’s air HQ centres in Tripoli – bases that would have been used to launch ageing Russian Mig fighter jets.
He said: ‘Before the first strike, it’s like Cup Final day – everyone feels those pre-match nerves. You want to do the job to the best of your ability.’
He added: ‘The mission was very successful. We wanted to punch a hole in the defences and go into the no-fly zone with that. We now have effectively gained air superiority.’
Another RAF source said: ‘No one makes a big deal out of having a female pilot.
Patrolling the skies: The £125m Eurofighter Typhoons are getting their first taste of combat with five-hour missions over the Med that require three air-to-air refuellings
‘She is a first-rate pilot and like everyone involved in this operation, she is here purely because of her abilities.
‘There are no egos and from the support staff to the pilots, everyone gets on with it and pulls together to get the job done.’
On Tuesday Wing Commander Jeremy ‘Jez’ Attridge, described the moment he took part in the Typhoon’s first combat mission over Libya on Monday night.
Departing from the Italian Gioia del Colle airbase he flew at twice the speed of sound to arrive at the Libyan coast in just ten minutes.
Back to base: Our heroine returns safely in the Typhoon after her latest mission
He described the Typhoon as ‘phenomenal’ during the five-hour mission, which involved three air-to-air refuels.
He said: ‘There was a lot of excitement when we were told we were being deployed.
‘Everybody likes to do the job they get paid for.
‘But when you actually take off you are focused so much on your mission that you have no time for emotions.
Proud: Wing Commander Jez Attridge said there was a lot of excitement at the air force base at 'doing the job we're paid for'
‘There is no looking out of the window to see the Libyan coast.
‘You are concentrating completely on making sure that everything that needs to be done is done.
‘It’s a bit like doing an exam when you are at school. You don’t really think about it until it is all over.
‘But it was an honour to take part in the Typhoon's first ever mission. It was good to make history.’
The 41-year-old, from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, said: 'It worked brilliantly.
‘I'm very proud that we've shown the Typhoons can meet modern-day missions easily.
‘The heartening thing for me was the amount of support put in to make sure the aeroplanes could be deployed at very short notice.
‘We worked for 24 hours to get the planes ready and get them over here from the UK.
'There was a lot of satisfaction in seeing that we could move everything from one part of the world to another and be operational within a very short space of time.
'It was short notice but if you stay ready then you do not have to get ready.'
The office: Controls in the cockpit of a Eurofighter Typhoon
Group Captain Martin Sampson, who is in command of the RAF jets at Gioia del Colle, said: ‘Everything is working like clockwork.
'Ten Typhoons and four Tornadoes are a formidable force mix that we are very happy with. I am confident they can face whatever they are faced with.
'We have worked with the Italians before and we are very happy for the help and support we get from them. The Typhoon is a world class fighter and the Tornado a world class bomber but I don't want to go into details of whether weapons were expended.'
Safe home: Typhoon aircraft are serviced during the night at the Italian base after a mission over Libya
The Typhoon is the newest aircraft in the RAF's fast jet fleet.
It is mainly deployed as a fighter and could use its air-to-air missile systems to bring down any Libyan aircraft defying the no-fly zone.
Britain has 71 Eurofighter Typhoons with more on order.
RAF Flight Lieutenant Juliette Fleming told last year how she flew missions over Afghanistan.
The 31-year-old revealed how she terrified Taliban fighters by screeching low over their heads in her Tornado fighter jet - a new tactic to avoid killing civilians with stray bombs.