After Khormaksar was lost, where was did the slipping crews usually overnight and change aircraft...Akrotiri I guess? Did VC-10's managed less stops than the Brits and Comets needed?
I've mentioned the 20 Sqdn Hunters deliveries problems in 1961. The Javelins of 60 Sqdn also had fun getting to Singapore around the same time.
They also flew in small groups and staged through about 15 places and took anything between 10 and 20 days to get to Tengah. Alas two were lost, one at Malta whilst refuelling and another downed in Pakistan with the loss of the pilot.
When the Confrontation got underway 60 Sqdn was sorely stretched and 64 Sqdn came to it's aid, moving 4 of it's aircraft that had been in India for Exercise Shiksha on to Tengah to join 60 Sqdn. in Nov '63.
Soon more were needed and these, like the 64 Sqdn aircraft, were FAW9R's, fitted with an outrageously long refuelling probe out front. They used both in-flight refuelling and staging posts and stopped off at El Adem , Muharraq, Tehran, Karachi, Gan and Butterworth, Getting to Tengah took eight days after leaving the UK and the flight was spread out leaving the UK over 3 separate days. After awhile more Javelins came with the move of a flight from 64 Sqdn to the Far East.
The loss of the Valiant tankers was a blow to fast-jet travel to the Far East and from late 1964 to mid '66 the Javelins had to be crated and shipped out.
By the time 74 Sqdn was tasked with getting it's Lightning F6's to Tengah in June 1967, the RAF was back up to speed with Victor tankers. 13 Lightnings went and were serviced by 17 Victor tankers and they staged through Akrotiri, Cyprus, Masirah, Oman and Gan.
The details given of the later deployment of 11 Sqdn Lightning F6's, in the excellent book 'Lightning Up' by AVM Alan White, include the fact that the deployment would require about 228 separate refuelling contacts and use about 400 Victor air and ground crew. The Lightnings flew for 9 hours at a stretch and some countries, like France wouldn't entertain refuelling in flight over them so the planned 3 hops of Muharraq, Bahrain and Gan had to change to Nice, Malta and Cyprus and Tehran before Bahrain.
The tankers flew with the Lightnings, bringing the fighters speed down to an uncomfortable Mach 0.8 and approaching Gan and again leaving it, the Lightnings flew with 'their probes in the Victors baskets'...effectively pulling continuous fuel from the tanker as they were too far to divert on internal fuel.
David
david taylor images ....under 'Aviation'...lots of Singapore pics from the early '60's.