What we got back provides a unique insight into the division of labour in an operation costing millions of dollars and tying up thousands of personnel – nearly 13,000 across 18 countries.

What it shows is that, besides the US – which dominates operations with over 8,000 personnel in the area in several ships and aircraft at the peak of the first weeks of the war – the weight of the conflict has fallen on the British, Italians, French and Canadians. The British have flown around 1,300 sorties, some 25% of the total, followed by the French with 1,200 and the Italians with 600. The Canadians, who have the HMCS Charllottetown in the region, have taken part in over 350 sorties up to the 5 May this year.

Simultaneously, the US, UK, Canada are heavily involved in combat operations in Afghanistan.