homepage

RAF Beverley in the Middle East - 1960s

Posted By: Flit

RAF Beverley in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/30/13 02:54 AM

I've been meaning to scan these for about ten years. Finally got around to it this last month. No wonder I've been putting it off, what a drama! You guys at SimHQ get to see the results first. I hope you enjoy. Feedback and corrections appreciated. There are a few I'm not sure about.

RAF No 6 Flying Training School. Jet Provost formation training. Early to mid 60s



Vickers Varsitys at RAF Oakington. No 6 Flying Training School. Early to mid 60s.



30 Squadron Blackburn Beverley landed at an oasis somewhere in the Ar Rub’ al Khali, 1966





30 Sqn, XM105 – somewhere in the Middle East, 1966



6th August, 1966, Operation Hazland: the deposing of Sheikh Shakbut. Here 30 Squadron has transported Trucial Oman scouts, who supported the deposition.



And so their march begins.





30 Squadron. Beverley.Tyre blowout after hitting a crusty salt surface. Nobody noticed it had happened until persons onboard reported the odour of smouldering rubber. 1967.



Percival P.56 Provost T1, XF688 of Sultan of Oman’s air force at Bayt al Falaj 1966.







DHC Beaver of Sultan of Oman’s air force. Thought to have been used as the Sultan’s private transport.



The making of a training film ‘Air Mobility Officers’ – logistics training, organisation and suchlike. Bahrain, Muharak, 1967.





Skyraider in French markings of the Dijbouti Air Force. 1966



Twin Pioneer at Azaiba - 152 Sqn, 1966





30 Sqn Beverleys ,XM105 in the Trucial States (now UAE) 1966.



British Paras getting in, or out.



Fairchild C82A Packet – ex USAF – at this time employed by an oil exploration company – Sharjah 1966.



DC6 based in Saudi Arabia at Sharjah – used primarily for special agents’ travel around the Gulf . 30 Sqn caught a lift back to Bahrain after a breakdown.



Al Azaiba, XL148 of 30 Sqn unloads a roller.



And loading it again. Note the jig in the door, used for detaching the doors.



Chaining down a grader.





Avro Shackleton at Khormaksar, Aden.



Same place after a monsoon, I am told, though it looks like a completely different airfield to me.



Pilatus of what looks like Oman Air Force going by the roundel, or is it Swiss – ex Swiss? I’m confused. Sharjah 1966.



Shackelton at left. 84 Sqn Beverley center (flown by 30 Sqn), Hastings at right.. Khormaksar, Aden.



30 Sqn Para drop, Al Azaiba(?) 1966



Rare image of Beverleys in formation (inspired by the passing jets) on return to Khormaksar after Operation Snaffle. 30 & 84 Sqn Beverleys – flown by 30 Sqn.





30 Sqn boss S/L Paddy King during the formation.





84 Sqn (flown by 30Sqn) on approach to Khormaksar, Aden.



View from astrodome after landing at Socotra, 1966.



View from astrodome.



Landing somewhere in the Trucial States.



Paras unload an armoured scout car.



30 Sqn takeoff



1967 - as signposted.


Posted By: Paul Rix

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/30/13 04:48 AM

Fantastic photos! Thanks for sharing Flit!

My first flight instructor used to fly the Beverly, and my step-father was a navigator on the Shackleton (and later the Nimrod).
Posted By: weeksy

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/30/13 08:02 AM

Great photo's! Interesting to see the Beverlys, my Dad remembers them from when he was based in Libya in the late '60's.
Posted By: MajorMagee

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/30/13 04:31 PM

Wow. That one with the camel in the foreground is a classic.
Posted By: Chucky

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/30/13 04:43 PM

Fascinating pics,thanks for going to the trouble to scan/upload them thumbsup
Posted By: WalterNowi

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/30/13 10:12 PM

Awesome pictures! Thank you for sharing these thumbsup
Posted By: DaveP63

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/31/13 12:36 AM

Thanks for posting those! Fascinating!!!
Posted By: Ajay

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/31/13 03:15 AM

Very cool cheers
Posted By: wheelsup_cavu

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 12/31/13 06:50 AM

Cool pictures. thumbsup


Wheels
Posted By: Paul_K

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/02/14 05:28 AM

Very interesting pictures. I come from an RAF family of that era - godfather was a Shackleton pilot...took my 11-plus exam under the auspices of the Far East Air Force etc - so these are nostalgic too.

One correction though Flit - the aircraft captioned as a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar is in fact the earlier Fairchild C-82 Packet. Wonderful pictures though, thanks for posting them. smile2
Posted By: Flit

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/02/14 06:37 AM

Originally Posted By: Paul_K
Very interesting pictures. I come from an RAF family of that era - godfather was a Shackleton pilot...took my 11-plus exam under the auspices of the Far East Air Force etc - so these are nostalgic too.

One correction though Flit - the aircraft captioned as a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar is in fact the earlier Fairchild C-82 Packet. Wonderful pictures though, thanks for posting them. smile2


Ah. Right you are. Corrected. Thanks for that. smile
Posted By: goon

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/02/14 09:09 AM

What a fantastic collection. Thanks for sharing!
Posted By: EAF331 MadDog

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/02/14 04:27 PM

Awesome pictures!
Posted By: - Ice

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/02/14 05:05 PM

Awesome pics! Most of the top ones reminded me of the Indiana Jones movie, and the one with the scout car reminded me of the game Dune! Wow!
Posted By: Sundowner

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/02/14 07:25 PM

Outstanding collection, thanks for sharing.
Posted By: Lewis-A2A

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/03/14 01:23 PM

WOW

what a collection many many thanks for sharing some forgotten history. Love the aircraft, esp the cheeky Hastings in one of the shots thumbsup
Posted By: RSColonel_131st

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/04/14 02:11 PM

Wow. Excellent!

The first posted ones could do with a bit of color correction, but what a great story they tell. How did you get them?

Had to laugh at the DHC Beaver of the Sultan... when I was there in 2010 I saw his personal 747 wink
Posted By: Flit

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/04/14 11:22 PM

Originally Posted By: RSColonel_131st
Wow. Excellent!

The first posted ones could do with a bit of color correction, but what a great story they tell. How did you get them?

Had to laugh at the DHC Beaver of the Sultan... when I was there in 2010 I saw his personal 747 wink


My father took them, or if he didn't he had handed his camera to someone. He was a co-pilot (I forget his rank) in the Beverleys.

After I'd scanned the slides and edited them we looked them through together. Some I had edited away the 'pink haze' with color correction. It seemed to me to be a result of the development. When he saw them he preferred the 'pinkish' versions to my correction as he recalled the desert pink associated with that place. So, I left a lot of them pink. But, bless him, I imagine the reflection on the sand and some surfaces had a pink look to it and that not everything was pink. However, I've never been there, I must say.

There are some more somewhere. I hope he can find them. An old Farnborough air show, I am told.
Posted By: RSColonel_131st

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/05/14 04:00 AM

A 1966 airshow would be a riot. Awesome stuff, tell him our regards for sharing this history.
Posted By: Domestos

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/05/14 06:49 PM

Epic!
My old man was in Libya (El Adem)in the 50's/60's. I'll show him these pics. I also took my 11-Plus in Cyprus. Me and dad went down to Akrotiri to watch his mates arrive from the UK in their Vulcans. He was in the RAF Akrotiri pipe band as the drummer with a leopard skin draped over his back. I've seen the photo's, looked like he was being humped by a ginger Tom!

Great pictures..
Posted By: semmern

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/05/14 09:18 PM

Fantastic pictures!
Posted By: cambion

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/08/14 02:25 PM

Superb pics, they evoke great sense of place and time.
Posted By: Legend

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 01/11/14 07:21 AM

Simply wow! thumbsup
Posted By: M10A

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 07/13/14 07:09 PM

Flit,

Chuffed to little bits to find these photos. S/Ldr Paddy King is my Uncle. I've seen family photos when he was on Fighters, but none flying the mighty block of flats smile

Many thanks!

M10A
Posted By: FlatEric

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 07/15/14 11:08 PM

Fab pictures, thanks for sharing thumbsup My dad was posted to Aden (RAF) so your photos hold a special personal interest to me.

There is an interesting website which you may have come across which contains stories and photos from Britain's involvement in Aden - http://britains-smallwars.com/Aden/

There's also a documentary film about our military involvement in Aden on the BBC iPlayer, containing plenty of period aircraft as I recall smile :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00jrj2t/soldier-in-the-sun

NB/. for those who can't access iPlayer the film is called "Soldier in the Sun" (may be available on You Tube..?).

Cheers
Posted By: Alicatt

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 08/03/14 09:25 PM

Lovely pictures thanks for sharing them.

I remember going to see the Beverley that was at the Army Transport Museum in Beverley, it was a BIG aircraft and it was looking a bit tired at the time, but I'm happy to see it has been preserved and is now at Fort Paull
http://www.fortpaull.com/exhibits.aspx
Posted By: DennyA

Re: Beverleys and friends in the Middle East - 1960s - 05/27/20 08:50 PM

Amazing photos, thanks (6 years later) for sharing.

Came across them because there's a new high-detail freeware Beverley out for FSX/P3D.
© 2024 SimHQ Forums