Recovering last night after a painful attack on my waterworks by a man armed with a camera, with negative results. I lay recovering in my ‘pit’ (Bed) and the first magazine to hand was on a pile of the much missed AIR Enthusiast, number 32. A letter headed ‘MiG-17 versus Canberra’ written by GJ Quick, Brampton, Cambs was in the ‘Talkback’ section. Here it is in full.=
In reading Ken Delve’s article ‘Canberras over Suez’ in AE/31, my attention was drawn by the account of the loss of Canberra PR Mk 7 WH799, allegedly to a Syrian MiG-17. Some years ago, a retired Syrian Air Force officer, who was a senior fighter controller at the time of Suez, gave me his account of the incident.
According to this gentleman, the course of the Canberra was plotted by ground observers phoning in to a central command post. The Canberra’s track was extrapolated and a Syrian Meteor vectored onto a climbing intercept of the prediction.
On reaching the anticipated point of interception, the Syrian pilot visually acquired the Canberra, which was below him. The Canberra was then shot down in a diving stern attack.
This version of events in no way contravenes the main thrust of Ken Delve’s very readable account, but does it, perhaps, throw up an historical curio by recalling the first ‘kill’ of one British built jet by another?
Ray:eek:
The history is on the book “Arab Migs”
1Saludo
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