208 Squadron Galleries

5 - On Ops

Other squadron galleries

Life on the line     

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Crème de la Crème     

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Not in use     

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Aircraft     

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At Ease!     

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Pilots

Tim Cohu climbs into his Venom prior to another sortie from Eastleigh in 1959 (Pete McLeland)

Pete McLeland climbing into his Venom at Eastleigh in the same year (Pete McLeland)

208 Sqn Aerobatic team at Ksar in November 1960, comprising: OC Sqn Ldr Bob Ramirez, Flt Lts, Cohu, Biddiscombe and McClelland (Pete Biddiscombe)

Pete McLeland gives his son Neil the experience of a young boy's life, sitting in the cockpit of his father's Hunter, XE609 (Pete McLeland)

 

Performing the task

Night flying was curtailed at Eastleigh on 07-09-59 after 'somone' drove the Boss's aircraft WR400 into a storm drain (Pete McLeland)

Another view of the stricken Venom. Needless to say, 'Boss' Ramirez was not amused (Mike Halpin)

Armed Venoms on the pan at Thorn Hill, Rhodesia, during an APC detachment (Pete McLeland)

WR485 is the aircraft nearest the camera.

Low pass by Venom over the range at Ras Sadr, near Sharjah, in 1959 (Pete McLeland)

XF431-L hops over the threshold as it prepares to land at Bahrain in 1963 (Jim Cargill)

208 Sqn aircraft sandwich a 1417 Flt FR.10 (PL) but are dwarfed by a 30 Sqn Beverley at Embakasi on 05-12-63 (Peter Lewis)

This was the detachment to mark the independence of Kenya.

XJ687-F taking off from Embakasi Airport during the celebrations to mark Kenya's Independence (Peter Lewis)

The 208 Squadron Hunter line at Bahrain in 1963, shared with a Canberra B.2 and a PR.9 (13 Squadron) (Les Dunnett)

Two 208 Sqn FGA.9s, XJ632-K and XF388-B, and a 1417 Flt FR.10, XF460, on the Bahrain pan in 1963 (Les Dunnett)

View on the Sharjah pan in 1963 depicting concrete-headed practice rockets mounted on the underwing rails of an FGA.9 (Les Dunnett)

Looking along the line at Sharjah in 1963, the nearest aircraft being armed with concrete-headed rockets and a live gunpack (Les Dunnett)

Having connected the MASB on FGA.9, XF454-F, the Armourer gives the thumbs-up to the pilot before he departs for the Jeb-a-Jib range (Les Dunnett)

With concrete-headed rockets on board, FGA.9s XJ632-K and XF431-L lift off the Sharjah runway for a sortie on the Jeb-a-Jib range (Les Dunnett)

Heading a line of armed 208 Sqn FGA.9s at Muharraq on 25 March 1964 is XJ632-K (Ron Turrell)

The Aerobatic Team

The Hunter provide the ideal aircraft for formation display flying and 208 Squadron was tasked with providing a team for Middle East Command. Most displays began with various four-ship formations and concluded with the number four breaking away from the other three to give a series of solo aerobatics in a synchronised routine with the trio.

The Team taking off from Khormaksar in box formation for the Station's Open Day and Air Show, 18-11-60 (Pete McLeland)

The aircraft are: XE618-O, XE607-F, XE643-K and XJ643-M.

A practice loop over Embakasi Airport with open country beyond (Pete McLeland)

The aircraft are: XE618-O, XF421-H, XJ687-B and XE623-C.

The team's favourite photograph, taken with Mount Kilimanjaro as the backdrop, took two days to perfect (Pete McLeland)

The aircraft are: XE618-O, XE607-F, XJ687-B and XE544-L.

208 Squadron was proud of its display team, a 5-ship formation take-off from Khormaksar in 1962 being illustrated here (Jim Cargill)

A tight box formation of 208 Squadron Mark 9s pass over Khormaksar airfield during practice for the 1962 station open day (Jim Cargill)

The formation is lead by XE623 with XF421 in the box.

208 Sqn Aerobatic Team performing at the Khormaksar Open Day, attended by upwards of 50,000 people from the Protectorate, 18-11-60 (Pete Biddiscombe)

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