Tanker,

I assume Shacks is referring to the galley on board the aircraft along with crew culinary skills.

Dragonflies replaced by Sycamores in 1955 according to most sources.

Hammer, nail, head:ok:

Well, one squadron was tasked with carrying out long, tedious and usually uneventful patrols using pretty antique equipment.

And so was the other one....

TTN - Very funny!:ok:

Jack

Yes I'd got that about the in flight catering catering. Somewhat better than the soup heater provided for us in the Victor in my later incarnation after leaving the Rockapes. Guaranteed you a tin of luke warm oxtail soup by top of descent after a five hour sortie :*

Memory lapse!
 

Yes of course "Sycamore".Probably said Dragonfly as a result of a visit to Yeovilton not long back!Not long after I arrived in Ksar The SAR flight had to take out the casualty of a shooting accident at Conquest bay ,I remember it hovering over the rocks while a doctor and medic attended the casualty(he died)and then we loaded the body onto a stretcher and put it aboard and away it went!

Shooting
 

Wasn't Dave K**s the pilot ?, who had to go fly around the bay and await the call back as he commented the said aircraft was an ar*e to keep in the hover or nearby and it made his arms ache, whilst medic attended the patient.

If it was a Sycamore he would have had the engine at or above max continuous in the hover so he probably flew around to protect the engine.

I was at Khormaksar at the same time as 601-4. My logbook shows 02,03 and 04, so I guess the yellow one (if one there was) was XT601.

S&R started in Khormaksar in '55 - log books are distinctly grotty, after being immersed when the house was destroyed, but may be able to decipher dates if necessary. It was set up with 3 pilots and three 'Siggies' from APCSS/ACS on temporary loan because of a shortage of Navs. We did our winch training on the flight - best described as 'interesting!! We had two commissioned pilots and one Master Pilot - 'Tommy' Tomczak - later name changed to Tommy Pavey. He and I flew several times together - flights which emphasised the complete lack of suitability of the Sycamore for hot clime operation ... 44" of boost ... and going down:ooh: Phil Clay has just reappeared in memory and ??? Bamber? The other volunteer siggies were Brian Fletcher and Geoff Wigley - the latter is the one nearest camera,http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/u...ck/Syc01-1.jpg Brian was on stand down. This piccy was included in a related thread in 2013. Only lasted in role for 3 months then back to the Valettas.
No more S&R until back from Bangkok in '64 (someone has to do the hardship posts:E), when asked If I would like to try 22 Sqdn Whirlies ... and the rest, as they say, is history!!

XT601
 

Wasn't XT601 a Wessex ? just curious .

XT 601 was certainly a Wessex 2. All four XTs (01,02,03,04) were part of 78 Sqn. This was late '67. I'm just wondering if 601 might have remained in the yellow colours and sited somewhere else on the airfield. I've got a couple of contacts from those dasy who would know. I'll ask around.

Regarding the hot and high capability of the Whirlwind, in 1969 I flew a civvy WS55 Mk.3, with Gnome engine out of Abu Dhabi to a rig offshore, +30C and more was the 'norm' along with very high humidity, especially during summer. We managed to uplift eight oil rig workers so I would have thought the '10 could have managed a SAR payload in Aden? Stand to be corrected, of course! :)

Just helping Dougie M out with a spot of image processing/posting ... I'm sure he'll be along shortly to add his story :ok:

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/...psaluw0sbw.jpg

Best ...

Coff.

SAR WESSEX KHORMAKSAR 1967
 

Thanks again Coff for your sterling service.
I was at Khormaksar in 1966-67 and the SAR choppers were yellow Wessex flavoured. This pic was taken at an Open Day at the airfield.
Hope it helps with your deliberations.

Yellow Sycamores
 

This was taken in April 1958 when visiting KSAR in a Hastings.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psiwyos2qp.jpg

The Sycanores had a bad time at first in the Far East. Thet had wooden blades and when they caught the de Havilland Mosquito disease they would delaminate.

Not a good thing to happen to a helicopter.

They eventually solved the problem and so they carried on until the mid sixties.

I had a friend who was SAR at El Adem with Sycamores. The pilot would operate the winch via a mirror and the winchman would go down the wire. As there was insufficient power to lift both out of the dinghy then he would send the survivor up first. He would then be winched up unless there was insufficient power or fuel in which case he would be left behind in the dinghy and the Sycamore would take the survivor back and then return for him.

Even later than that! The last 2 (?) Sycamores soldiered on on Metropolitan Comms Sqn (which became 32) until 1969/70 at least.

FED - IIRC 2 mirrors. Actually, they were (from memory) Hillman Husky hub caps, highly polished and and positioned such that the pilot could see what was going on below the aircraft by looking slightly right. When we started, that 'system' had been discarded and we relied on the winchman using a headset plugged into an auto-feed intercom reel. The junction between headset and intercom was less than 100% watertight and water entry was an ear-splitting experience!!:eek:
Wet winch training was slated for (what turned out to be) our last week as 'fill-ins'. Intention was to winch from a dinghy in the inner harbour. However, on arrival, we could see some local residents - sharks and ray circling - 'jungle' drums having advertised the prospect of a free lunch, maybe, so discretion ... etc.

I had a refam ride with Digger Barrell at Northolt in 1971. I had forgotten how close the rotor blades pass over the cockpit roof and I found myself ducking at 1 Rrpm.