Dhofar Christmas

[m.street]

Came across my old copy of the SOAF song book yesterday and particularly thought of the Christmas Day shooting down of the Brigadier and his wife

THE BRIGADIERS SONG Tune – Early one morning

Just as the sun was setting
In a helicopter flying
They saw four adoo running
In the wadi below

Chorus:
Oh do not shoot me
this is the Briggly
his wife Shirley, the Doc and me

The adoo creased with laughter
They didn't get to Taqah
They landed in a hurry
In the wadi below

Chorus

The strikies came a scrambling
While the adoo were a rambling
And dropped five hundred pounders
On the adoo below

Chorus
Young Mario, hale and hearty
Went off to join the party
With Terry M map-reading
It was a piece of piss

Chorus

They found the Beefer and his crew
Not knowing what the hell to do
They brought them back from places far
And dropped them in the bar.

Chorus



NOEL
No war, No War, the Sultan did say
To certain of SOAF in bars as they lay
In bars as they lay on Christmas day
For the war with the Yemen is over today
Hooray, Hooray, in Dhofar today,
The Brigadier was shot down but
They’re all OK

 Crazy, amazing times when young men were allowed to do daft things and got away with it.........most of the time.


Have a great Christmas

Mike

[teeteringhead]

Happy days (daze?) in Dhofar! Only 38 years ago today that particular shoot down - J** R***, Brig Akehurst and Shirley.

And 39 years ago today we lost J B-S ........ to quote from the Brigley's book about the advance from Everest to Rakhyut:

The redeployment and planning for this operation took an exasperating 2 weeks, but was eventually launched on 25 December. Mike Lobb and his Firqats were leading the left battalion which was unopposed on that day and got half way to its objective. Johnny Braddell-Smith led the right battalion, but after good progress at first for about 2 Km through the trees and bushes they ran into a heavy and well-prepared ambush. The Iranians [Imperial Iranians, the Shah was still on the Peacock Throne] were moving in single file through scrub in which visibility averaged about 20 metres and the enemy moved fast to take advantage of their confusion. In the initial firing, Johnny and the sergeant major of the Firqat ran backwards towards the cover of some rocks. Johnny made it but the sergeant major was hit and killed. Telling his other Firqats to stay where they were, Johnny then moved out of cover to get the sergeant major's body. He was heard by the Firqats to cry out and groan bt the volume of fire was then very heavy and they withdrew, unsure of Johnny's fate. In fact he had been killed but both his body and the sergeant major's were not recovered until some weeks later because no one could rediscover the exact site of the contact.

Can't believe time has flown so quickly ...........

[teeteringhead]

And for completeness, the Brigley's account of the shoot down, whilst delivering beer and mince pies to the troops in benign (sic!) areas.

The last but one call before going to Arzat for tea with KJ [Kateeba al Janoobia - the Southern Regiment] was Tawi Atair. As we left, Flt Lt J** R***, our pilot, decided to fly low due south to the coast before turning west. I sat in the co-pilot's seat, stimulated as ever by the thrill of fast low flying. Suddenly we crossed a wadi about 100 metres wide and about 80 deep. Below us were three circular stone bayts and I watched as a man came out of one of them and immediately began to fire his AK 47 at us. There was a loud bang as the plexiglass just in front of me was holed by a bullet. In 2 or 3 seconds we were clear but a lot of alarming lights lit on the instrument panel including one which said "Master Caution". Having established that by good fortune no one was hurt, J** called Operations at Salalah and warned them he was making an emergency landing on the coast south of Tawi Atair. To everyone's relief he achieved this safely and we got out to survey the damage. There were 7 hits on the aircraft, 2 of which were through the drive shaft to the tail rotor, a hollow shaft about 2 inches in diameter without which at that height and speed we would quite probably have spun out of control. Another bullet was lodged in the oil cooler which gushed oil onto the ground. Another minute or 2 without that oil would also have created possibly insoluble problems. We had been very lucky.

Lucky indeed .........

[m.street]

My first strike in Dhofar……………………..(the twelve days of Christmas)

On my first strike in Dhofar, CSOAF said to me, “Your target is the bushy top tree”
On my second strike in Dhofar, CSOAF said to me, “Two caves at Simba and a target of the busy top tree”
Third “Three laden Camels”
Fouth “Four adoo running”
Fifth “Six – zero – Four”
Sixth “Six Hunters swimming”
Seventh “Seven Submarines”
Eighth “Eight Furqat lurkers”
Nineth “Nine mortar baseplates”
Tenth “Ten Trannies tossing”
Eleventh “Eleven helis humping”
On my twelfth strike in Dhofar, Bravo said to me “SAM…SAM…SAM

With due deference to R**** F******, the first of the few with a SAM up his chuff 19 Aug 75


“Air Commodore” Tune The Street’s of London

So how can you tell me, Air Commodor
You say to me that Sams won’t fly,
So let me take you on a scramble
Lead you down to Sheri****ti
I’ll show you something
To make you change your mind.



There’s an Adoo by the tree - Nellie Dean

There’s an Adoo by the tree, Eric Dear
With a Sam that points at me, Eric Dear
Now the waters start to flow
Down my right leg, don’t ya know?
And you say I’ve naught to fear?
You’re a con man, Eric Dear!!

Can't find the song that had " Dear little Eric he’s quite enteric he's AOC of Six" ………but I do remember it being sung with gusto by the Strikeys



Mike

[teeteringhead]

The Roller Skate JENKINS? I offer you the following (to the appropriately seasonal air of St Wenceslas!);

Defenders are a feat of @rse
And flown by bl€€din' w@nkers
They can't even land on grass
And wrongly use their anchors
Lifting half a Beaver-load
They use a kilometre
Even then they need more road
It's a record bea-ee-ter!

All friendly good natured banter! ;)

[teeteringhead]

Certainly must have been a gentle and forgiving aeroplane too JENKS.

ISTR the aforementioned Brig Akehurst was sent solo :eek::eek: in a Defender by S****y H******s, in a move of commendable jointery if rather doubtful legality!