ARMY helicopter crews were forced to use their personal mobile phones to save lives during January's Queensland flood disaster.

Blackhawk chopper crews flew in shocking weather and at night to rescue dozens of residents trapped by floods.

But the Blackhawks' GPS relies on latitude and longitude and map co-ordinates, making it ill-equipped to give street addresses.

The GPS does not have access to programs such as Google Maps.

During the floods, people were calling in street and roadside property addresses and the quickest way to find them was with the Google Maps-based GPS software fitted to iPhones and other hand-held devices.

Some chopper crews complained the systems were not suited to the type of search-and-rescue needed during the flood emergency.

A senior military officer told The Daily Telegraph the Blackhawk was a battlefield helicopter not set up for civilian rescue missions.

"This is not a failure of the system," the officer said.

He said the fact crews safely used their initiative by using personal communication devices was a positive.

"That is what we would expect. They used their common sense and adapted their kit," the officer said.

It would be possible to fit civilian-style GPS equipment to military helicopters, but it would be expensive. Another officer doubted taxpayers would be prepared to pay for a system based on Google.

"Technology is changing very quickly and we may reach a point where we need Google Maps in the cockpit but such a system is not flying at present," he said.

The army is accepting a fleet of European built MRH-90 helicopters from Australian Aerospace fitted with infra-red sensors and weather radar that will enhance the search-and-rescue role.

For more on the army helicopter crew forced to use their personal mobile phones to save lives during the Queensland floods go to The Daily Telegraph.

Originally published as Chopper crews saved by Google Maps