FED,
Thanks for the clear and visual description of the joys of Sycamore. Bit before my time (phew). Hats off to you and your brethren.

NutLoose,
Ahh, the 'educational cruises'. Mine was '74 around the med in a bucket entitled SS Uganda. We passed 'our' sister ship in the middle of the Med. While we shaked and rolled Eastwards in our tub, the sleek and velte lines of the Canberra going Westwards left us with more than a tinge of envy.

Eight years later, the SS Uganda later carried out honourable and respected work as a hospital ship 'somewhere down South', Canberra IIRC was converted to troopship config for same.

Camlobe

Troopships
 

I just remembered the sister ship to SS Nevasa was SS Oxfordshire; both taken out of military use around 1962.

Ours got off to a cracking start with a major storm in the bay of Biscay, Steak and Kidney pie with chocolate sauce, followed by sponge cake and gravy... I kid you not, they got them mixed up!!!!!

We then were due to arrive in Lisbon in the early hours of the morning, we awoke to find ourselves in Gibraltar, a failed military coup having taken place in Portugal as we were about to dock, hence the quick itinerary change, we then did Minorca, Majorca, Corsica, Naples, Capri, Pompeii, Stromboli, Rome, the Vatican etc.. we had loads of Canadians on board too.
My sister did her cruise on the Uganda, and mine on the Nevasa.

here you go, relive your history, that bucket carried on for another 12 years :)

ss Uganda virtual museum - Home

SS Uganda Trust Home Page

What about the "chuff nut"?
 

Yes, the blades were wood with bullet type ends BUT the helicopter only had 5 threads on the "chuff nut" to keep the head and blades on and the chopper in the air.
BTW - the same 5 threads are still in existance on most choppers today.

Buster - Best reply I can make is "Very likely"!! My Arabic was (shamefully) very limited, spoken only and limited mainly to "expletives deleted"!!
The photo was taken outside the combined Sqn/Flt hangar for APCSS/ACS/84 Sqn and the newly formed ??? heli Flt. Can't refer to my logbooks at the moment as they are recovering from the house destruction in December:sad:
Sqn offices in view behind the tail rotor and a Valetta fin to the right of the nose. Fascinating few months introduction to 'fling-wing' operations.

It certainly looks similar to "Rescue", particularly the last two letters on the left:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps96adcd4b.png

Can't see anyone providing the answer to the original question on here (unless I've missed it), but XG518 was with 208 Sqn at Bahrein for this period.

HTH.

Cheers CJ, IFT. :ok:

I do recall once seeing an all-yellow Dragonfly - but I have no idea if it was usual.

So the Belvedere was basically two four-bladed Sycamores bolted end to end :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:.

Then it must have been detached from Aden to cover an 8 sqn or 208 sqn detachment at Muharraq. BTW 208 were based in Nairobi at that time. I escorted an Aden based Sycamore from Um Said (Qatar) to Bahrain with a Pembroke (SAR cover for a Rhodesian Air Force Sqn Venom detachment from Aden) on 8/2/60. 208 sqn (Hunters) wasn't stationed in Bahrain until 1964 by which time the Sycamores had been replaced in the middle east. On the other hand that landscape does not look like anywhere in the Gulf, but it does remind me of parts of Kenya.
I was flown to the Jufair Jetty in the (yellow) Sycamore after being winched from the sea during a dinghy drill, but didn't record the serial number in my log book.

An old friend
 

As a very junior helicopter pilot (first tour!) I flew XG518 many times around the Aden Protectorate, in 1963 and 1964. I flew its final sortie from Khormaksar on 28 March 1964, landing on HMS Albion in the harbour with the other three Sycamores; we then had Whirlwind HAR 10s to play with.

So the photograph is of 518 "up country", probably on a training sortie.


XG518 finished up at CFS(H) Ternhill, where I met her again in 1965 for the instructor course.

Happy Days!

It was at Halton in 1968


The Aviation Photo Company | Bristol Sycamore | RAF 1 School of Technical Training Bristol Sycamore HC.14 XG518/S-E (1968)


http://forum.keypublishing.com/attac...1&d=1312456480

Tony Bell
 

Would welcome link to Tony Bell Sycamore Pilot RAF Khormaksar mentioned here earlier in this thread. Tony was a member of Aden Services Gliding Club at Sheikh Othman circa 1964. We have a Facebook page,Tony was mentioned today. All the best.