Does ANYONE have a clue about #82 right? The suspense is killing me!

FF

Decimomannu, Sardinia, I think. Stands by to be shot down in flames.

David,

I have had a look at what I think is Kamaran Island using Google Earth. It seems to be pretty flat, mostly sandy and, at its highest point, around 20 ft amsl. There does not appear to be any sign of an airfield left on it.

If you enter:

14 36 43 96N

42 54 47 47E

in Google, that should take you there. It’s around 179NM northwest of Aden.

I was at RAFCAW Manby from September 1970 until September 1972 and Airwork was certainly responsible for the engineering aspects on the station then. As far as I am aware, they continued to do so right up to the closure of the unit in 1974. I don’t know when they commenced that service.

As mentioned by someone else, Airwork were also in Saudi Arabia but left earlier than indicated in the post. BAC as then was, latterly BAe and now BAE Systems, took over the Saudi contract in the early 70s. I think possibly 72 or 73.

That’s about my sum total of knowledge about the company.

That is an old (ish) pic of the Viggen, the latest news on the NAM website says she is now on her undercarriage and only a couple of minor panels and bits to finish off before her official handover.

Does anyone know if there will be a special day for this handover?, I wouldn’t mind being there to see that :p .

Regards,

John.

John,

Did you look on page 3 of the album? If you did, you would have seen the Viggen complete and standing on its own legs! Photos were taken yesterday.

Here’s a link to the photo:

http://photosbynigel.fotopic.net/p34883471.html

There has to be a very large question mark over some of the information recorded on this site.

For instance, here in Malaysia it makes no mention of the 2 Twinpins that are on display, 1 in the RMAF Museum in KL and the other in Taman Merdeka, Malacca.

The Brigand, RH755, that it mentions as being in private hands here is, in fact, lying on a jungle hillside where it crashed on 3 May 1952. Here’s a press report of that from some 6 years ago.

http://www.malaysian-museums.org/rmaf/

When the page opens, click on “Wreckage”. When that page opens, click on “Wreckage at Lenggong, Perak”.

Some items of wreckage were recovered to the RMAF Museum but most of what was left still rests where it fell.

As for Singapore, the site shows 6 surviving Javelins!!! A very nice thought but not really credible. Six were handed over to the fledgling Singapore Air Force for GI use in mid-1968 when withdrawn from RAF service. These were scrapped many years ago.

Just to wet your whistle amongst these photo’s of mine at NAM are a couple of the Viggen awaiting rebuild in hangar 2.

http://photosbynigel.fotopic.net/

Thanks, Nige. Good to see that it has arrived at last. Look good next to the Draken. Look forward to seeing more when the aircraft is fully assembled.

…..And does anyone have any Wessex ‘porn’ they want to share? (or any other vintage chopper pics).

How about a full frontal Wessex? This can be seen at the Newark Air Museum. Well worth a visit if you haven’t already been.

And talking of vintage……

One of the last operational Belvederes with 66 Sqn. Taken at Terendak Camp, Malacca, Malaysia, 9 April 1968. XG476 was the last Belvedere produced.