This all reminds me of the night before the 1967 Six Day War started, when an Israeli military Stratocruiser (freight conversion) landed at RAF Waddington presumably to pick up assorted weaponry. It departed in the early hours via Rome. All presumably with the connivance of HMG, unless a local Milo Minderbinder was doing some sort of deal. Not sure which party was in power. How do I know this? I saw the flight plans.