RAF Sharjah
brakedwell,
I've just watched the video about the Pembroke accident (#405). Nice voice-over. Is that you?
I was surprised that the repairs took six weeks. Was there more to it than pulling down the tail and lowering the nose wheel?
I've just watched the video about the Pembroke accident (#405). Nice voice-over. Is that you?
I was surprised that the repairs took six weeks. Was there more to it than pulling down the tail and lowering the nose wheel?
It is my voice India Four Two. They replaced the fuselage from the wing forward, but I don't know where they got the new one from. A Beverley flew everything up from Aden, including a large air conditioned inflatable tent. One of the Chief Techs told me that although the repair was uneconomical it was an opportunity to test new repair equipment in the field.
One of the Chief Techs told me that although the repair was uneconomical it was an opportunity to test new repair equipment in the field.
Last edited by India Four Two; 11th Feb 2013 at 14:23.
i'll dig out some photos taken during a trip I did with a BBC film crew to film a burning ship in gulf - in a Pembroke this time. Quite an interesting story.
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While we're waiting brakedwell, here's another slide copy taken of Sharjah village. It was on the same flight as the Al Khatt one in XM959 on 11.3.66. RAF Sharjah just visible by the port windscreen wiper. The beached tug(?) clearly seen on the sand bar.
(Apologies for the blemishes. I have tried to get rid of them, but it only works on some.)
(Apologies for the blemishes. I have tried to get rid of them, but it only works on some.)
Last edited by SAROSKEETERMAN; 12th Feb 2013 at 10:04.
MV Dara
Very nice SAROSKEETERMAN, old memories well stirred!
I was on standby in Muharraq on Saturday April 8th 1961 when they called me out to fly a BBC camera crew to film a ship on fire off Dubai. The BBC team were making a documentary about Bahrain and having failed to charter an aircraft from Gulf Aviation they contacted HQRAFPG, who agreed to provide a Pembroke. I took off shortly before midday with a signaller in the right hand seat of WV743. The navigator was in the cabin seat next to the port side of the front bulkhead, looking after my camera.
We homed in on smoke from the burning ship and arrived at the scene of the disaster about 30 miles north of Dubai. A small tanker was standing by a hundred yards away, but we had no way of contacting it. For the next 30 minutes I made a series of orbits and low passes over and along the sides of the ship in order to give the film crew value for their money. During this time all three crew members were able to use my trusty Yashicamat, hence the different perspectives in the photos.
We saw several bodies floating in the sea around the ship and a few large sharks cruising amongst them. At that time we were didn’t know 238 lives had already been lost. We had been airborne for four and a half hours when we landed back in Bahrain. I said farewell to the BBC crew and went to my room and developed the negatives. (2 X 120 size B & W Ilford film)
I produced postcard sized prints of the six best negatives and walked over to the Officers Mess, only to be confronted by two scruffy characters in civilian clothes. The older man introduced himself as Harry Gibbons, Daily Express Middle East Correspondent based in Beirut. He was looking for the pilot who had flown the BBC camera crew to the Dara! I admitted it was me, assuming he had overheard the BBC crew talking about their flight in the Speedbiird Hotel. He was very enthusiastic about my pictures, but said he needed 10” x !2” sized prints to transmit them to London ASAP. After a high speed taxi ride to Manama we managed to get Ashraf to open up and bought a large box of 10” x 12” photographic paper, then a mad dash back and a super fast printing session completed the exercise. As soon as the prints were dry enough to handle, Harry and his side-kick left for the cable and wireless building in Manama, but not before he promised the copyright would always remain mine. I received a handsome sum for two photos published in the Daily Express and during the next six months several cheques in the region of £50 arrived from various Maritime Insurance Companies who had used them as evidence during an enquiry in Hamburg.
The Dara was taken in tow two days later, but never reached Dubai, sinking 3 miles off the coast near Um Al Quwain.
These eyewitness accounts describe what happened far better than I ever can:
The Ship Wreck Dara
A night of horror on the Arabian Gulf - The National
Dara anchored in Muscat Harbour in 1960
Arriving overhead
Low fly-by
Sunk
I was on standby in Muharraq on Saturday April 8th 1961 when they called me out to fly a BBC camera crew to film a ship on fire off Dubai. The BBC team were making a documentary about Bahrain and having failed to charter an aircraft from Gulf Aviation they contacted HQRAFPG, who agreed to provide a Pembroke. I took off shortly before midday with a signaller in the right hand seat of WV743. The navigator was in the cabin seat next to the port side of the front bulkhead, looking after my camera.
We homed in on smoke from the burning ship and arrived at the scene of the disaster about 30 miles north of Dubai. A small tanker was standing by a hundred yards away, but we had no way of contacting it. For the next 30 minutes I made a series of orbits and low passes over and along the sides of the ship in order to give the film crew value for their money. During this time all three crew members were able to use my trusty Yashicamat, hence the different perspectives in the photos.
We saw several bodies floating in the sea around the ship and a few large sharks cruising amongst them. At that time we were didn’t know 238 lives had already been lost. We had been airborne for four and a half hours when we landed back in Bahrain. I said farewell to the BBC crew and went to my room and developed the negatives. (2 X 120 size B & W Ilford film)
I produced postcard sized prints of the six best negatives and walked over to the Officers Mess, only to be confronted by two scruffy characters in civilian clothes. The older man introduced himself as Harry Gibbons, Daily Express Middle East Correspondent based in Beirut. He was looking for the pilot who had flown the BBC camera crew to the Dara! I admitted it was me, assuming he had overheard the BBC crew talking about their flight in the Speedbiird Hotel. He was very enthusiastic about my pictures, but said he needed 10” x !2” sized prints to transmit them to London ASAP. After a high speed taxi ride to Manama we managed to get Ashraf to open up and bought a large box of 10” x 12” photographic paper, then a mad dash back and a super fast printing session completed the exercise. As soon as the prints were dry enough to handle, Harry and his side-kick left for the cable and wireless building in Manama, but not before he promised the copyright would always remain mine. I received a handsome sum for two photos published in the Daily Express and during the next six months several cheques in the region of £50 arrived from various Maritime Insurance Companies who had used them as evidence during an enquiry in Hamburg.
The Dara was taken in tow two days later, but never reached Dubai, sinking 3 miles off the coast near Um Al Quwain.
These eyewitness accounts describe what happened far better than I ever can:
The Ship Wreck Dara
A night of horror on the Arabian Gulf - The National
Dara anchored in Muscat Harbour in 1960
Arriving overhead
Low fly-by
Sunk
Last edited by brakedwell; 12th Feb 2013 at 16:53.
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Sharjah & Saiq
Hi All, I was in Soaf in the 70s and this thread has brought back alot of memories of the area and the airfields, if you could call them that.
In 76/77, can't find logbook right now, so guessing, i flew the last a/c out of SHJ. We were in a Viscount and loaded up with all the old RAF junk that was left and took it back to Muscat. I asked about all the bulldozers and trucks around and they said that after we were airborne, they would rip up the runway. Shame no camera.
Brakedwell, great stories, wish i had your memory, can't even find my log books.
I was doing the 4 Firq Saiq on a Thursday morning and leaving Saiq for the run back to MCT for Thur. night fun and games at the Gulf Hotel and pimms at the Beach Club on Fri. Well over 30c at Saiq plus a 7-10kt tailwind so was rather weight restricted in the little Skyvan. A couple of Army mates turned up and asked for a lift, well i couldn't say no. One of them sat in the righthand seat and after we basically fell over the cliff, asked why that horn was blowing as i was dodging bushes at the end of the rw. Made them buy me several beers at the Beach Club and never did that again. Still remember the bushes going past.
By the way, there was no new rw there in the 70s. I think Cooper was still there.
In 76/77, can't find logbook right now, so guessing, i flew the last a/c out of SHJ. We were in a Viscount and loaded up with all the old RAF junk that was left and took it back to Muscat. I asked about all the bulldozers and trucks around and they said that after we were airborne, they would rip up the runway. Shame no camera.
Brakedwell, great stories, wish i had your memory, can't even find my log books.
I was doing the 4 Firq Saiq on a Thursday morning and leaving Saiq for the run back to MCT for Thur. night fun and games at the Gulf Hotel and pimms at the Beach Club on Fri. Well over 30c at Saiq plus a 7-10kt tailwind so was rather weight restricted in the little Skyvan. A couple of Army mates turned up and asked for a lift, well i couldn't say no. One of them sat in the righthand seat and after we basically fell over the cliff, asked why that horn was blowing as i was dodging bushes at the end of the rw. Made them buy me several beers at the Beach Club and never did that again. Still remember the bushes going past.
By the way, there was no new rw there in the 70s. I think Cooper was still there.
ULH Extreme
Old Sharjah must have been ripped up at the end of 1976 or early 1977. My last trip to Sharjah was in a Britannia 312 on the 17th/18th October 1976. On my next visit I landed at Sharjah New in a DC8 on April 21st 1977.
I'm still confused about the Saiq strip development. I know they levelled a longer strip northeast of the original after I returned home in Aug 1961, because I flew over it several times while on Argosies in Aden in 64/66. Many years later I used to fly over the Jebel Akhdar on our Vienna-Maldives flights when an even longer runway could be seen from FL370.
I have outlined the original strip.
Original Strip looking Northwest.
Looking South
SSW
This is the final development of Bait al Falaj before I left - a new ramp to drip oil on!
I'm still confused about the Saiq strip development. I know they levelled a longer strip northeast of the original after I returned home in Aug 1961, because I flew over it several times while on Argosies in Aden in 64/66. Many years later I used to fly over the Jebel Akhdar on our Vienna-Maldives flights when an even longer runway could be seen from FL370.
I have outlined the original strip.
Original Strip looking Northwest.
Looking South
SSW
This is the final development of Bait al Falaj before I left - a new ramp to drip oil on!
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Amazing that so many stories can come from such a small RAF station.
I spent only a couple of detachments there, from Cyprus, in the mid 60's, but did have a 3 day jaunt out into the hinterland on one occasion to a TOS camp. Love reading all the tales,
especially from you Brakedwell. They should be in a book!
I spent only a couple of detachments there, from Cyprus, in the mid 60's, but did have a 3 day jaunt out into the hinterland on one occasion to a TOS camp. Love reading all the tales,
especially from you Brakedwell. They should be in a book!
That upon my head is my one and only Hats SD.
In the meantime, I have just come across my homemade plate for Tarif. I hope it is legible. You will note that 34/16 was 7,100 feet long by about 1967 so it was a pretty big strip.
Interesting chart. IIRC only 34/16 was available in 59/61 and it was much shorter than 7100'. More importantly they stocked (free) Watney's Red Barrel. I know it was rubbish, but it was thirst quenching rubbish! Their steaks were pretty good too.
As they used to say:
"Don't take the p*ss out of Watneys, it's the only flavour it's got!"
By the way, the steaks at Fahud took a bit of beating.
"Don't take the p*ss out of Watneys, it's the only flavour it's got!"
By the way, the steaks at Fahud took a bit of beating.
Last edited by JW411; 18th Feb 2013 at 18:00.
