Blackburn Beverley photos

Yeah that mechanic must love his job otherwise he wouldn’t be hanging from the engine like a monkey with such a good chance of failing and breaking his neck.

That’s how it was whether you were on base or down route. No. 34 squadron at Seletar had the “luxury” of a mobile platform for engine and prop changes. For plug changes you hung like a monkey on a “giraffe”, down route engine changes were carried out with a gantry mounted on the wing to lift the engine with ourselves pushing and heaving from the “giraffe”.
Great days.

I think you are right about Muharraq being the location. Just found this page on the Bev Assoc website.

http://www.beverley-association.org.uk/html/photos/a-c/burl-h.htm

The background in the photos there is pretty much identical to the one in the first photos here.

The writeoff due to the bomb is also covered:

http://www.beverley-association.org.uk/html/photos/g-h/ginsberg-m.htm

Bevs

BP bowsers and the “lush vegetation”brings to mind Muharraq,also the runway there ended next to the sea.A beverley was destroyed by a bomb there in I think 1962?

In the second photo, the two aircraft closest to the camera carry playing card symbols, Spades and Hearts, on the vertical tail surfaces indicating that they are 84 Sqn aircraft. Judging by the colour of the Land Rover, that photo was certainly in the Middle East, possibly Khormaksar? The amount of barbed wire around the pans in the first five shots also seems to indicate an active service area. Khormaksar’s runway was also very close to the sea IIRC.

The final photo is certainly has a more African feel to it. There are not many airfields in the Middle East that have such lush vegetation on the boundary let alone grass on the airfield! Also, the aircraft in this last shot has “Royal Air Force Transport Command” titles on the rear boom rather than the “Royal Air Force Middle East” titles it wears in the other shots.

I would suggest that the first five photos were taken after 30 Sqn’s move to Muharraq in Sep 64. I still think Khormaksar is the most likely location for them. No idea on the location of the last shot though.

Yeah that mechanic must love his job otherwise he wouldn’t be hanging from the engine like a monkey with such a good chance of failing and breaking his neck.

I love the 4th piccy with the mech/tech on the steps at the engine.

As to where the pics were taken, the palm trees in the background would indicate Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya – the locale on some pics looks too “lush and tropical” for a Desert airstrip!

Certainly NOT Eastleigh. The vegetation looks to be much more “coastal”, could be Mombasa.

Planemike

Thanks for that. Yes, 119 does seem to feature in all the shots but looks like on two occasions as she lacks the large ‘B’ on the fuselage side in the last picture.

Feel free to disagree with me, but…I’m sure that most (if not all) of the pics are of the same aircraft: Beverley C.1 XH119 of 30 Squadron.

A quick search on google turned up this…

XH119 had its first flight on January 3rd 1957, then delivered to 30 Squadron 3 months later.

The Aircraft suffered a Cat 3 accident at Azaiba in Muscat when it had an engine fire whilst on a detachment from Dishforth. This resulted in extensive repairs and XH119 only returned to 30 Squadron in November 1963, by which time the Squadron was based at Eastliegh Kenya.

XH119 suffered another accident, when it went through the surface crust of an Airstrip in Abu Dhabi.

The Aircraft Returned to the UK for a complete refurbishment in December 1965 and during its extended stay at 32 Maintenance Unit, was one of a number of aircraft camouflaged.

Left Muharraq for the UK in March 1967 and declared a Non Effective Airframe (NEA) on 29th March 1967. Sold as scrap to BKL Alloys on 3rd January 1968.

Source; http://www.airpixbycaz.co.uk/cazsite/aviation/military/type/beverley/part01/bev14.html

The clues are the “30” in a diamond on the fin (indicating that the aircraft was attached to 30 Squadron) and the figures “119” below the diamond (indicating that the aircraft was XH119).

The above link is accompanied by a picture of XH119, taken at Blackbushe, Hants on 10 Sept 1959, and looking very similar to your pic.

As the above potted history indicates, XH119 did not acquire the “two tone brown” Middle East Air Force camo until after December 1965. Also, being put out of action due to an accident at Abu Dhabi in 1964, helps date your photo to sometime in 1965.

As to where the pics were taken, the palm trees in the background would indicate Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya – the locale on some pics looks too “lush and tropical” for a Desert airstrip!

Beverley question

You might like to try the Blackburn Beverley Association. I’m sure Brian (Holt) would be more than happy to add an article in the association magazine. Contact detail on the association website.