1417 Flight Galleries

5 - On Ops

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Life on the line     

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Not in use     

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Aircraft     

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At ease!     

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Pilots

1417 Flt pilots alongside one of their FR.10s at Khormaksar shortly after the Flight's formation in March 1963 (Peter Lewis)

L to R: Roger Pyrah, Johnny Morris, Peter Lewis, Jim Dymond and Geoff Timms

C-in-C, MEC, Lt Gen Sir Charles Harington talking with Peter Lewis and John Jennings during a visit to Tactical Wing in 1964 (Peter Lewis)

Ralph Chambers relaxing on a drop tank on his beloved XE589 at Khormaksar after the long ferry flight from 5 MU, Kemble, 09-01-65 (Ralph Chambers)

Ken Simpson carries out his pre-flight checks in the cockpit of XE614-GC before carrying out a recce sortie from Masirah in 1966 (Ken Simpson)

Sitting proudly in his FR.10, Roger Pyrah is about to depart on another sortie through the mountainous Aden hinterland in 1964 (Roger Pyrah)

 

 

Performing the task

Taking photographs of Al Qara, perched on top of a high promontary, is FR.10, XE599-GC. (John Severne)

Aftermath of a Hunter strike on an up country village as seen from the camera of a 1417 Flt FR.10. (John Severne)

Ralph Chambers flies his beloved FR.10, XE589-RC high over the Aden hinterland. (Ralph Chambers)

Making the most of clearance down to 50 ft is XE589-RC with Ralph Chambers at the controls. (Ralph Chambers)

With the pilot's initials on the fin, XF436-RP swoops low over the Aden hinterland in 1965. (Ralph Chambers)

With brakechute deployed, 1417 Flt FR.10, XE614-RJ, eases down the Khormaksar runway at the end of another sortie, 1967 (Malcolm Stelfox)

Captured Egyptian Air Force IL-14 can be seen dumped on the far side of the airfield.

Prototype FR.10, XF429-KS, taxies passed the Khormaksar control tower on its way back to the Hunter pan in 1967 (Malcolm Stelfox)

Captured Egyptian Air Force IL-14 can be seen dumped on the far side of the airfield.

A 1417 Flt FR.10 flying low over Shibam captured on film by the nose camera of Ken Simpson's FR.10 (Ken Simpson)

Stunning image! As XF436-PhN zooms through the sheer mountains north of Aden, the sound of its Avon echoes through the canyons below (Ken Simpson)

A 105 Sqn Argosy drops provisions to Army units operating in a remote desert area, photographed by a 1417 Flt FR.10 (Roger Wilkins)

This 84 Sqn Beverley was photographed from Ken's FR.10 starboard camera while coming into land at Khormaksar in 1966 (Ken Simpson)

Having mistakenly landed at Lawdar in 12-63, this UAR IL-14, 1148, was blocked from taking off by an Army captain in his Land Rover (Ken Simpson)

Despite having all its instruments smashed by the Egyptian crew, the 'Crate' was flown down to Khormaksar by test pilots from Boscombe Down in early 1964.

Martin Chandler leading Ken Simspon over Beihan airfield, prior to Martin making the first landing of a Hunter there (Ken Simpson)

Completing the sequence, three images taken from Ken Simpson's FR.10, shows Wg Cdr Martin Chandler ...........

........ clearing the station cinema when approaching Beihan and performing a touch-and-go before landing ..........

....... 8/43 Squadron FGA.9, XJ632-C, on this treachourus mountain air strip, 5 August, 1966 (all three, Ken Simpson)

Once safely on the specially prepared pad at Beihan, Martin assists with the turnround and ........

........ refueling of XJ632, carried out by groundcrew brought up from Ksar in this 78 Sqn Twin Pioneer (both, Ken Simpson)

Thre more images, this time of FR.10, XF460, between the mountain tops .......

......... blending in well with the village below ........

....... and taking a close look at a possible target (all three, Ken Simpson)

Forward Air Controllers under training up country by British Army GLOs attached to Tactical Wing, captured by one of Ken's F95s (Ken Simpson)

When he left Aden in the summer of 1964, OC 1417 Flight, Peter Lewis, brought with him a few of the thousands of photographs he took using the F95 nose cameras of his FR.10 and a representative selection are contained in the gallery below. To read all about flying the FR.10 on low level operations, click here display Peter’s page.

Peter's 'own' FR.10, XE614/PL, cruises up to the camera aircraft during a sortie from Khormaksar in 1964 (Peter Lewis)

After 20 years service with the Republic of Singapore Air Force, XE614 was preserved and is currently on static display at the Queensland Aviation Museum in Australia.

One of the most prodigious strikes carried out by the Khormaksar Hunter Wing was the dawn attack on Fort Harib in the Yemen on 28-03-64 (Peter Lewis)

This pre-strike image depicts the Fort shortly before it was hit by HE cannon and rocket fire from eight FGA.9s of 8 and 43 Squadrons and was taken from Peter's FR.10 (XE614).

Despite its solid stone-built construction, this post-strike view of Fort Harib confirmed its destruction (Peter Lewis)

Typical of the stone-built houses, this one is perched on top of a steep precipice, deep in the heart of the Radfan mountains (Peter Lewis)

All that remains of a house in the Radfan following an attack by Strike Wing Hunters (Peter Lewis)

A regular task for the Strike Wing Hunters, protecting Army convoys along the Dhala road. (Peter Lewis)

Troops give Peter a wave while giving their 3-ton Bedfords a break

Another Army convoy that enjoyed the protection of the Hunter force is seen on route to Beihan complete with recovery truck (Peter Lewis)

The journey to Beihan was not all open desert. Here, a Scout car follows a recovery truck as it rumbles through a bushy area (Peter Lewis)

One of the most scenic settings in the Hadramaut area of the EAP was the town of Saiwan, depicted here and in the following two images (Peter Lewis)

The main part of Saiwan captured on one of Peter's FR.10 nose cameras (Peter Lewis)

Despite its arid look, the Hadramaut enjoyed sufficient rain to sustain crops and fruit plantations (Peter Lewis)

The Hunters exercised regularly with RN ships during which, images such as this one of HMS Centaur in 1964, were captured (Peter Lewis)

Eastern Block spy vessels were a constant menace and continually monitored by Khormaksar-based Hunters and Shackletons (Peter Lewis)

This one is the Sinoutskerk and was caught by Peter's FR.10 lurking in the Gulf of Aden.

Up at the crack of dawn on an Operation Ranji sortie enabled Peter captured images such as this beautiful sunrise over the Gulf of Aden (Peter Lewis)

Operation Ranji. This involved flying sweeps of the coast looking for ‘gun runners’ landing weaponry for insurgents inland (Peter Lewis)

Arab Dhows, such as this one off the coast of Aden, were commonly used to land arms ashore.

Operation Ranji. Once ashore, the arms were loaded on to a truck (or camel) and driven off along the beach ..... (Peter Lewis)

..... or inland to some up country destination (Peter Lewis)

Operation Ranji. Four suspicious looking trucks are captured cooling off while on a long drive across the desert (Peter Lewis)

Operation Ranji. As camels were often used to ship arms from the coast to the mountains, they were photographed when spotted (Peter Lewis)

This scene was taken over a well at Am Makhnuk

Operation Ranji. Several camels and donkeys can be seen in this view of a well at Aldiyan (Peter Lewis)

Commonly known as the 'Empty Quarter' the Lodar Plain was one place pilots feared of having to eject (Peter Lewis)

A broad variety of objects were selected as targets for training purposes: this one being at Mafhid ..... (Peter Lewis)

..... while this one was a watch tower in Wadi Ruqub before it had received attention from the Hunters (Peter Lewis)

This intact watch tower, standing on a promontory in Wadi Ruqub, made an ideal reference point for pilots flying low through the area (Peter Lewis)

Peter 'snapped' this image of a village nestling at the foot of the mountains while flying further along Wadi Ruqub (Peter Lewis)

Good judgement was required by low flying Hunter pilots as they approached this wall of rock at the head of Wadi Ruqub (Peter Lewis)

The occupants of this tiny settlement north west of Ras Imram obviously preferred the isolation of this hot desert plain (Peter Lewis)

This group of houses was located some eight miles east of Al Mafhid (Peter Lewis)

Peter manoeuvres his FR.10 into position to take a series of photographs of the town of Al Mafhid (Peter Lewis)

Flying low over the centre of Al Mafhid, the F95 camera captured this excellent image of this assortment of houses styles ..... (Peter Lewis)

..... before moving on to a fruit plantation on the edge of the town (Peter Lewis)

In the following batch of 9” x 9”s are the before and after shots of a village in the Wadi Yahar, taken on 6 October 1964 from the nose camera of a 1417 Flight FR.10. Intelligence said that a camel train of weapons was on its way to Aden from the Yemen and was holed-up overnight in the house marked with a cross. Eight Hunters attacked it with rockets at dawn and, as you can see, they were extremely accurate, only two houses being taken out with the rest of the village untouched.

The Wadi Yahar with village in the foreground. The target house is on the lower right of the upper group and is marked with an 'X' (Roger Wilkins)

Pre-strike, exploded (no pun intended) view depicting the target (Roger Wilkins)

Post-strike image confirms the destruction of the target house (Roger Wilkins)

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