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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0874.PDF
880 FLIGHT, 28 June 1957 MIDDLE EAST AIR FORCE . . . Sycamores of No. 284 Sqn.—here seen in a stream take-off from Nicosia—have ployed an invaluable part in operations against terrorists. On one occasion they landed 80 men in 20 minutes by a highly organized shuttle service. pilot—its present CO. It now has 13 aircraft—three of themprimarily employed on A.S.R. duties—and 17 crews; and it has achieved some outstanding successes on security operations. As in Malaya, aircraft in Cyprus have done things previouslythought impossible; though in Cyprus the problem is not one of jungles but of razor-edged mountains with hairpin-bend roadsoffering scarcely a foothold even for a Sycamore's small under- carriage. Thus occasionally No. 284 Sqn. pilots have found them-selves after landing looking out over an abyss, for there has only just been purchase for the Sycamore's wheels; an essential partof the technique being, of course, to land with brakes on. The success of the Sycamores has been due to their ability tobring in troops out of the blue so that terrorists have had no time in which to escape, and to see ambushes on the road ahead ofArmy patrols. As captured terrorists have put it, "When we saw the helicopters coming we knew it was all up with us." Previously,from their lofty positions, terrorists got news of, or could even hear, Army convoys coming when they were perhaps twentymiles away; now, they have no warning, and even their secret hideouts—reminiscent, as is all this dry and rocky countryside,of Spanish Civil War terrain—are visible to hovering eyes. Statistical evidence of the work of No. 284 Sqn. can be foundin the remarkable flying figures achieved last March, the highest they have ever recorded. In that month the squadron flew1,111 sorties on security operations (a total of 363 hr 50 min flying) and 80 sorties on R.A.F. duties (77 hr 40 min flying),giving a grand total of 1,191 sorties and 441 hr 30 min flying. Thus, in the Cyprus scene, Sycamores of No. 284 Sqn. haveproved indispensable. Apart from their security and A.S.R. duties they are also constantly used for casualty evacuations. They are based at Nicosia, which together with Akrotiri makesup the sum of R.A.F. airfields on the island. Nicosia is also the civil airport for Cyprus, and besides No. 284 there are two trans-port squadrons, Nos. 70 (whose Hastings have already been men- tioned) and 214 (Valettas), and a communications flight equippedwith Pembrokes. During the Jordan troubles last year, the trans- port force in Cyprus stood by to evacuate British civilians fromthere. There has also been recently a detachment of Hunters from No. 66 Squadron and there is a maintenance unit—No. 113.In addition a Fleet Air Arm squadron of Gannets operates from Nicosia. All flying at the airport comes under RAF. control. Thus M.E.A.F. has at its disposition in Cyprus forces whichperform a wide variety of tasks—from being poised to honour Britain's treaty commitments to carrying out reconnaissance,assisting internal security and maintaining scheduled transport services. It is the last-named which form the lines of com-munication between the far-flung centres of M.E.A.F., and it is when one flies between Cyprus and Aden that one realizes justhow vast Middle East distances are. A recent trip by Hastings from Aden to Cyprus took 12 hr 45 min flying time, the six-hourleg from Khartoum to El Adem being entirely across desert. When in Aden a large full moon (preceded by its glow) risesfrom behind the famous Crater, phosphorescent waves stream in to the Cornish-like bay at Steamer Point, coloured lights twinkleand a cooler breeze streams off the sea, life seems reasonably bearable. But when in the heat of the day the air temperaturegoes up to about 103 deg C with 84 per cent humidity it becomes dear that one of the biggest problems facing M.E.A.F. personnelin the Aden Protectorate is die climate—trying indeed for Euro- peans and even more so for aircrews. During recent operationsagainst invading tribesmen from the Yemen, pilots of No. 208 Sqn. detachment have sometimes had to take off in their MeteorP.R.9's with a cockpit temperature of 130 deg. It should be made dear at the outset exactly what form R.A.F. operations from Aden take, and on what basis they are under-taken. The Western Aden Protectorate is bounded to the north by Yemen, a poverty-stricken Arab kingdom some of whosemore unruly tribesmen are constantly seeking to improve their lot by seeking fresh pastures for their herds at the expense of theirneighbours to the south. In addition these tribesmen seem to enjoy fighting for its own sake. It is to discourage and driveback such incursions that air operations against marauding Yemeni tribesmen are undertaken. But the R.A.F. only acts atthe request of the Political Agents in each area affected. For some time now there has been a lull—as there has beenin Cyprus—but when operations were last carried out by the R.A.F. one of the most important was protecting long Army con-voys which go up to reinforce the garrisons. There are five main forts in the Western Protectorate area, Dala, Kataba, Mukeiras,Beihan and Ataq. Some of them are supplied by road and by air, some principallyby air. (The term "road" should not be taken literally; though starting out like one it deteriorates into a track and then into thedry bed of a wahdi winding upwards through mountain passes. There is a similarity between this terrain and that over whichthe R.A.E. on the north-west frontier of India used to operate.) RiA-F. operations from Khormaksar (which is both the civiland military airfield for Aden) take several forms—the protection of military convoys; attacks on invading tribesmen; photographicreconnaissance; air supply of Army and Aden Protectorate Levies' garrisons; and A.S.R. duties—carried out by Sycamores. (Thesehelicopters are also available to rescue pilots who may have crashed in operations. On one occasion when a Venom hadcrashed, a Sycamore went in a few minutes later to try to recover the pilot's body—and stayed until the voices of approaching tribes-men could be heard coming from a nearby depression.) The convoys are escorted by Shackletons from No. 42 Sqn., muchin the same way as these aircraft watch over shipping; so that if a convoy is ambushed assistance can soon be called in. TheVenoms make their attacks on tribesmen's positions with bombs or rocket or cannon fire; and die Meteors estimate the success ofthese attacks by low-level photographic reconnaissance. The work of air supply to isolated military posts is carried onconstantly by Beverleys, Valettas, Pembrokes and Pioneers. Prevailing heat and sandy conditions, of course, test aircraft tothe utmost; while landing on very small strips, often up hill and more often than not close to jagged mountains, calls for extremeflying skill. Pilots of the squadrons involved—Nos. 78 (Pioneers), 84 (Valettas and Pembrokes) and the Beverleys on detachmentfrom No. 53 Sqn. at Abingdon—are doing a wonderful job, the ardours of which are not fully realized by those who have notseen die conditions for diemselves. Flying to Dala (like Beihan, one of die worst trouble spots,and with an airstrip only 600 yd long), the terrain gradually changes from rolling sand dunes on die coastal strip to outcropsof rock and dien to dry brown hills 3,000ft high, dwarfing die silver Pembroke which is die only aircraft able to provide a regu-lar air service from Aden to the "blue hills country" of Dala. There, circling below the sharp crests, die pilot waits for a greenVerey signal while a recalcitrant camel is chased from the runway. When the green star shoots into die air he prepares for landing.On die approach he seems to be making straight for a mountain which looms up at die very end of the runway. But he is nowcommitted; overshoot is out of die question. Lower and lower; die end of die rough runway rushes beneadi die aircraft; then thewheels contact—die Pembroke's windows and its high wing give passengers an alarmingly unrestricted view—and as die oleostake the weight of die aircraft and smoodily compress there is a sudden clatter as die nose-wheel comes down on the stony surface.The pilot applies his brakes and die Pembroke pulls up only a few yards short of the end of die strip. Anodier Pembroke hasbrought supplies to Dala—a hair-raising but regular experience fraught with risks from weather (liable to sudden change andviolent hailstorms), from tribesmen (often able to take pot shots at die aircraft from positions above it), from die runway surface(which is extremely rough) and from its shortness, which makes every landing, it has been said, a potential mishap. Yet diese chancy operations are carried out widi consistentsuccess by transport aircrews operating from Aden; and diis is only, for some of them, a part of dieir task. The Valetta crews of No.84 Sqn also maintain a scheduled service round die Saudi Arabian peninsula to Habbaniya; they air supply Army garrisons in dieEastern Protectorate; and occasionally carry out special flights. The transport services just mentioned call at die R.A.F. stagingposts at Riyan, Salala, Masira island, Sharja (in Trucial Oman), Bahrain on die Persian Gulf and Habbaniya, where the R.A.F. stillhas a holding unit although the station has been officially handed over to die Iraqi Air Force. It is when one visits tiiese RAF. outposts that one realizes justhow high morale is among R.A.F. personnel in M.E.A.F., which is carrying out its widely varied tasks with fine spirit from Nicosiato Aden and from El Adem to Bahrain and deserves all possible support from the U.K. H. W.
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