Another month, a new year and although no offensive strikes were called for, ten sorties were flown as top cover for Beverleys landing at Mukeiras, two on top cover for a Twin Pioneer, also landing at Mukeiras, and the remainder as flagwaves.
From 4 and 10 January, six pilots each from 8 and 43 Squadrons were sent on detachment to Masirah for high and low-level practice strikes. Having returned to Khormaksar, a team of four instructors arrived from DFCS to assess the war potential of each squadrons, flying various sortie-types but comprising mainly of four-ship strikes as two other aircraft acted as a missile-armed enemy. This progressed into a four versus two combat skirmish right down to low-level.
Several FAC sorties were flown using 1417 Flt T.7s to familiarise new controllers with the operational environment.
The tempo increased in February when 36 operational sorties were flown. These comprised 24 non-offensive sorties; six Beihan patrols, twelve flagwaves, two recces, two leaflet drops and two further armed recces near Dhala. Ten Operation Cut sorties (FAC controlled strikes in support of ground troops moving up the Dhala road) were flown on the 15th by Flt Lt Williams (XE649, XJ689), Fg Off Hulse (XF454, XF388), Flt Lt Hounsell (XE609), Flt Lt Sturt (XJ632), Wg Cdr Jennings (XF440), Lt Kerr, RN (XG237), Flt Lt Porteous (XG237) and Fg Off Flynn (XE552).
The operational sortie count rose again in March, up to 44, and consisted of fourteen Beihan patrols, sixteen armed recces in support of Operation Park and ten flagwaves. Offensive action was taken on Jebel Khuder on the 4th when Wg Cdr Jennings (XG205) led a four-ship strike with Flt Lts Porteous (XG237) and Williams (XF454), and Fg Off Hulse (XJ632) flying the other aircraft.
For the period 8-19 March, the bulk of the squadron detached to Masirah for training, taking with it 7 x FGA.9s and 1 x FR.10 from 1417 Flt.
By April the troubles up country increased the requests for air support requiring 74 operational sorties to be flown in the month. These involved 30 Beihan patrols, 22 strikes, 10 armed recces in support of Operation Park and 6 flagwaves. Of the remaining six, four were to provide top cover for an Army Scout returning from Habilayn to Dhala and on the 3rd of the month, two aircraft, XE649 (Flt Lt Hounsell) and XF435 (Fg Off Mackensie-Crooks), were dispatched to fly top-cover escort duties for the Comms Flight Dakota (KN452) as it flew into and out of Beihan.
On the 7th, Sqn Ldr Syme (XG296) led a force of six Hunters, Lt Kerr, RN (XG256), Flt Lt Hounsell (XJ689), Fg Off Hulse (XF376), Flt Lt Williams (XE552) and Fg Off Wharmby (XG237), to attack dissident targets at Al Kara. On the 27th of the month, a dawn (05:55) strike by four aircraft was carried out on dissident tribesmen in Wadi Bana, west of Kundhara, by Flt Lts Hounsell (XG296), Rastall (XG154), Sturt (XE550) and Fg Off Flynn (XE649). When this failed to quell the disturbance, another twelve strikes were performed on the morning of the 30th by Flt Lt Williams (XF456 x 2), Fg Offs Grosse (XG237), Hulse (XJ632), Wharmby (XG256) and Dix (XG237), Flt Lt Porteous (XG256), Fg Off Mackenzie-Crooks (XJ632), Flt Lts Sturt (XJ689), Bell (XE649), Hounsell (XG296) and Sqn Ldr Bowie (XG154).
May turned out to be a much quieter month with little operational activity, only fourteen such sorties being flown; two strikes, two fire-power demonstrations, two air defence scrambles, four Beihan patrols and four flagwaves. Flt Lt Hounsell (XJ692) and Fg Off Grosse (XE649) carried out fire-power demonstrations to prevent possible trouble at Al Mithaf on the 21st while dissident targets five miles west of Thumeir were attacked by Flt Lt Sturt in XG154 and Fg Off Mackenzie-Crooks in XE649 on the 30th.
However, the internal security situation in Aden remained poor and on 29 May an Aden Airways DC-3 aircraft was destroyed on the ground at Khormaksar Airport. As this was almost certainly an act of sabotage, extra vigilance was called for especially with pre-flight inspections on all RAF aircraft on the station.
The first day of June was another milestone in 8 Squadron history when Sqn Ldr Des Melaniphy assumed command, Sqn Ldr Tam Syme returning to the UK.
There was relatively little activity again in the Federation in June with 24 operational sorties being flown, which was just as well as six aircraft were away on loan to 43 Squadron for the duration of its three-week detachment to Masirah. One strike was carried out against a dissident hideout by Lt Kerr, RN (XG154) and Fg Off Dix (XF388) on the 3rd and one air defence scramble was called on the 13th, XG154 (Flt Lt Porteous) and XF456 (Flt Lt Rastall), against an unidentified aircraft in the Mukeiras area, but no contact was made. Mig fighters did, however, infringe the border on the 29th necessitating the re-introduction of Beihan border patrols on the 30th. The remaining sorties were flagwaves over routes used for various arms movements and for top cover for VIP helicopters and convoys. The opportunity was also taken for a number of pilots to undertake a three-day detachment to Habilayn to gain experience of Army operations in the Federation.
The comparatively peaceful state of affairs rolled on into July when just ten operational sorties were flown, four in support of an FRA patrol engaged by dissidents east of Dhala on the 7th and flown by Flt Lt Sturt (XJ632), Fg Offs Mackenzie Crooks (XG256), Flynn (XF454) and Wharmby (XJ689). Two dissidents were reported as being killed and one wounded by the attacking aircraft. The remaining six sorties comprised Beihan patrols during which two of the participating aircraft dropped warning leaflets on Jabirah.
To mark the farewell visit of the retiring Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral of the Fleet, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, on the 19th, 8 Squadron performed a ceremonial flypast in combination with 43 Squadron and on the penultimate day of the month, the first of a series of practice diversions and landings were carried out at Djibouti.
Due to the FACs radio being unserviceable, only ten flagwaves and five top cover sorties were flown in August but no live attacks, even though there were targets that the ground forces would have liked to have been hit.
September dawned with more of a flourish with Sqn Ldr Melaniphy (XJ632) executing a fire-power demonstration at Jebel Hanak at midday on the 1st to deter potential collaborators. On the early afternoon of the 1st, units of 4 and 5 FRA had met strong opposition in the Jebel Khuder area, the latter group becoming pinned downed by dissidents. To relieve the situation, a five-ship strike was mounted on the dissidents, the pilots for this attack being; Wg Cdr Chandler (XG135), Flt Lts Porteous (XF454), Hulse (XE649) and Hounsell (XE655) and Fg Off Flynn (XJ692). Air support was provided again in mid-afternoon, Sqn Ldr Melaniphy (XJ632) and Flt Lt Williams (XG205) were then called in to provide top cover as a further series of strikes on the same target were mounted by Flt Lt Porteous (XG261), Lt Kerr, RN (XG298), Flt Lts Kemball (XG135), Hounsell (XE649), Sturt (XE655) and Etheridge (XJ692) and Fg Offs Wharmby (XE530) and Dix (XF454) through the early evening hours.
In what was a joint operation, two 37 Squadron Shackletons carried out fire-power demonstrations, each aircraft dropping 15 x 1,000 lb bombs on Jebel Hanak, close to Ataq, where 22 houses had been fired upon by dissidents under the leadership of Ahmed Bubakr Bin Saridm, a well known troublemaker and a recent arrival in South Arabia from the Yemen. It was hoped that the demonstration would persuade local inhabitants not to support the dissidents, who would, without support, have soon faded away.
Having had little effect, the action continued at first light on the 2nd from where it left off on the previous day, with three pairs, Flt Lt Williams (XF454) and Fg Off Dix (XE620), Flt Lt Hounsell (XG135) and Fg Off Wharmby (XG261) and Lt Kerr, RN (XG205) and Flt Lt Hulse (XJ632) mounting strikes on Jebel Khuder in pairs over a 90-minute period to cover the withdrawal and evacuation of FRA casualties by helicopter. As a result of the air action, five dissidents, including a prominent leader, were known to have been killed and three wounded.
There was no let-up in the pace of operations on 3 September when, during a three-hour spell in the afternoon, no fewer than fifteen strike sorties were flown to attack and destroy two houses near Wilan that belonged to a well known collaborator in the Wadi Maraban. The pilots and aircraft for these attacks were; Flt Lts Hounsell x 2 (XG237 and XE611), Sturt (XJ632), Hulse (XJ692), Etheridge x 2 (XJ692 and XG237), Williams x 2 (XJ689 and XE655), Sqn Ldr Melaniphy x 2 (XE620 and XF456), Wg Cdr Chandler x 2 (XG135 and XJ632), Sqn Ldr Porteous (XE552), Fg Off Wharmby (XE552) and Lt Kerr, RN (XE649).
By October, the up-country troubles had simmered sufficiently for only four operational sorties to be flown during the month, two top cover for some new trouble near the Yemeni border at Am Shudayf and two as top cover for a military convoy travelling from Dhala to Habilayn. The rest of the month concentrated on training with rocket firing on both the Khormaksar range and splash targets towed by Royal Navy ships. A two-week detachment to RAF Masirah comprised an exercise simulating deteriorating relations with a foreign power and subsequent invasion of Muscat. Once war had been declared, simulated strikes were made against airstrips, forts, wells and lines of communication, using the long-range underwing tanks to best advantage. When the war was declared lost, 8 Squadron return to Khormaksar to began an exercise with HMS Eagle code-named Little Eastern. This began with four Hunters on five-minutes readiness to be scrambled by Champion radar as it detected simulated mass raids by Fleet Air Arm Sea Vixens and Buccaneers.
Exercise Little Eastern continued into November when 8 Squadron Hunters, in return, staged a series of simulated strikes against HMS Eagle. Splash targets were towed by the carrier for the Hunters to shoot at and bounce aircraft were in the area. With this completed, the theme for much of the month was training although seven pairs were called in to perform flagwaves in the Russeis, Al Mithaf (2), Jebel Khuder, Jebel Harrir, Wadi Dulayah and Wilan areas, during tribal meetings and recruiting efforts.
Operational activities returned to the fore in December with 21 sorties being flown in co-operation with four separate FRA operations. Two of these involved 5 FRA and 45 Royal Marine Commando in Area West around Dhala, Habilayn and Wadi Taym, and required two armed-recce sorties, two airborne alert sorties and a five-aircraft strike near Wilan, carried out by Sqn Ldr Melaniphy (XE649), Flt Lts Taylor (XF456), Etheridge (XE617) and Kemball (XE530) and Fg Off Wharmby (XE546). In Area East, ten flagwaves and two armed-recce sorties were flown during a three-day garrison changeover between Ataq and Mukeiras and subsequently in the Lodar Plain and Wadi Ruqub areas
Training once again occupied much of the remainder of the month and included a high-level navigation exercise combined with practice diversions to Djibouti. Eight aircraft were used to formate as a letter J for the impending departure of the AOC, Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson, DSO, DFC, and on Boxing Day, four sorties were flown to drop Christmas Cards at Ataq, Beihan, Habilayn and Al Milah, with flypasts carried out over Army units in the Wadi Taym area. However, no sooner had the mist of a Christmas Grant cleared when a five-ship, late-morning strike on a target near Wilan was called for on the 30th and flown by XF456 (Flt Lt Taylor), XE546 (Fg Off Wharmby), XE617 (Flt Lt Etheridge), XE530 (Flt Lt Kemball) and XE649 (Sqn Ldr Melaniphy).