Re air conditioning at Khormaksar: the following is from the 8 Sqn web site.
In July 1959, an article entitled “Up go the Venoms to shoot a camel” appeared in the London Evening Standard. Apart from being a blatant line-shoot, one paragraph did, for the Squadron, have a very profitable sequel. The paragraph was:
“…….another hardship is lack of sleep. Without air-conditioning, restful sleep is impossible and none of the pilots had an air-conditioned bedroom, although it could be so equipped for an outlay of £1,000.”
A few days after publication of this article the Station Commander received a letter from a lady who wished to remain anonymous. The letter asked if he would accept £1,000 to be spent on air-conditioning units for the pilots of No 8 Squadron. A letter accepting the offer was despatched by return of post and within weeks the installation of the units was complete! It must be added that the grateful Air Force not only refused to pay for the electricity consumed by the air-conditioners, but it also refused to maintain them. The Squadron could not afford to do so, and consequently they went unserviceable one by one before being removed and scrapped (by the Air Force).