The month started with leaflet drops to the Yahari and Saadi territories as the first stage of Operation Walpole, aimed at removing Muhsin Hammud from Yafa and the bringing these territories under control under the policy of the recently formed South Arabian Federation. This was an attempt to unite the Aden Colony and the tribes of the Protectorate.
Bombing operations in the area were carried out almost daily until the 23rd. A further leaflet drop was carried out on the 24th, giving more details of what was required of the tribes in order that bombing should cease. Operations were then continued until the end of the month, though no bombs were dropped on Saadi territory after the 27th as it was reported that this tribe were considering submission. In all, 1,146 x 20 lb fragmentation bombs and 115 x 1,000 lb bombs were dropped, the former on villages selected by the Federal Government and the latter on cultivation other than coffee. At the end of the month the position was that the Saadi tribe were on the verge of submitting and the Yaharis were showing signs of weakening.
The 30th saw the first landing of an aircraft in the Upper Yaffa when a Sycamore, piloted by Flt Lt R. Ridley and carrying the Deputy British Advisor, landed at Hilyan where he conducted the negotiations for peace. It had been a long-term requirement of the WAP office to have an airstrip in the Upper Yafa area in order to bring authority to bear much more quickly in what was a particularly unstable and troublesome region. After dropping him off, the helicopter returned to Mukeiras and repeated the trip the following day in order to collect the Advisor. Cover for the aircraft was provided by a 37 Squadron Shackleton and a pair of 208 Squadron Hunter FGA.9s.
As a result of a dispute between the Abdalis and Houshabis, the Federal Army mounted Operation Canticle to restore order on the road to Kersh. The operation took place between 9 and 12 January, and several flagwave sorties were flown by 208 Squadron Hunters in support.
Supply drops were carried out by 233 Squadron Valettas at Sarar on the 23rd and Hilyan on the 30th.
Operation Walpole continued throughout the month, though no bombing sorties were carried out after the 23rd. In all, 37 Squadron flew 23 sorties and dropped 98 x 1,000 lb bombs and 472 x 20 lb bombs on villages and cultivation on both Saadi and Yahari Mattabs. The 1,000 lb bombs were dropped solely on cultivation. By the 23rd, certain sections of both Mattabs had indicated their desire to come to terms with the Government. A leaflet drop was flown on the 27th by a 37 Squadron Shackleton, informing the tribes that air action would be suspended in order to give them time to confer but would be recommenced if the Government’s wishes were not complied with.
Also on the 27th, a pair of 8 Squadron Hunters flew a flagwave sortie over Illani territory in response to a request by the Federal Army who were involved in a skirmish with dissident tribesmen near Khaura.
Seven Hunters from 8 Squadron were detached to Eastleigh between 18 and 28 February for a visit of the Duke of Gloucester and to participate in Exercise Firebird Seven. They were joined by a Shackleton of 37 Squadron for the first days, it being allocated for static display.
No. 8 Squadron’s remaining aircraft participated in Exercise Horse Marine between the 25th and 28th. This took place to the west of Aden and involved 42 and 45 Marine Commando, Royal Marines and HMS Bulwark. Air involvement included recce and ground attack sorties and a link was established between Tactical Operations and Brigade HQ for air requests.
Operation Walpole resulted in no further action during the month. A leaflet drop was made on the 12th and apart from one Shackleton and one Hunter photographic sortie, no further action was taken.
On 15 March, eight Hunter FGA.9s of 8 Squadron left Khormaksar for Bahrain on Operation Longstop to relieve 208 Squadron which returned to Khormaksar on the following day.
A dispute in the Upper Aulaqi resulted in a leaflet drop by a Shackleton of 37 Squadron on the Taysali and Marzaqi areas on 27 March and a flagwave by 208 Squadron Hunters on the last day of the month. Later on the same day, further flagwave sorties were flown by 208 Squadron over Illahi country when fighting was reported between the Illahi and Audhali tribesmen.
Operation Swat, which commenced on 28 March, was a Federal Army operation aimed at giving a show of strength in the Wadi Hatib area and to exercise the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the Federal Army. Ground forces were in position on the last day of the month and 208 Squadron was brought to operational readiness.
No fewer than 160 aircraft visited the station during the month and 394 sorties were carried out by Khormaksar-based aircraft.
Due to the continuing trouble between the Illhali and Audhalis, further flagwaves were flown over the area of Wadi Rehab by a 37 Squadron Shackleton, four 8 Squadron and six 208 Squadron Hunters. Operation Swat continued with the Federal Army sending troops into the Wadi Rehab under continuous air cover by the Hunters of 8 Squadron (six sorties) and 208 Squadron (16 sorties).
When trouble in the Margaqi area flared up again on 30 April, two 208 Squadron Hunters flew a flagwave at the WAP Office request.
This month the dream of the WAP office, to have an airfield in the Upper Yafa, was taken a step further. Airborne reconnaissance sorties of the area were carried out by the OC No. 5004 (AC) Squadron, flying in a Shackleton of 37 Squadron. Two reconnaissance sorties were flown and on the first the aircraft received a bullet hole through the wheel bay behind No. 2 engine which was not discovered until the aircraft landed at Khormaksar - the second reconnaissance went off without incident.
On 10 May, a Beaver aircraft of 653 Light Aircraft Squadron made a reconnaissance and full stop landing on a small strip marked out for them near Hilyan. Supporting this reconnaissance were two Hunters of 208 Squadron as top cover and a Shackleton of 37 Squadron as top cover and Search and Rescue if needed. The OC Tactical Wing, who was in charge of the operation, flew in the Shackleton. An SAR Flight Sycamore stood by at Mukeiras. While the Beaver was on the strip, it was fired at and received three bullet holes, two in the engine cover and one through the cockpit. Despite being overhead at the time, the Hunter pilots could not identify the source of the firing. The Beaver was able to start its engine and take off again without further incident and all the aircraft involved returned to base. On the receipt of requests from the WAP Office for air strikes on the dissidents positions in the area, a pair of 208 Squadron Hunters attacked two of them with 30 mm cannon and a 37 Squadron Shackleton dropped 52 x 20 lb bombs on a further position from where dissidents were reported to be firing from.
This isolated incident demonstrated not only the immense difficulty of a peaceful opening up of the Protectorate by building roads and airstrips but also the magnitude of the task of bringing the tribes within the new Federation.
Operation Desperado started on 26 May, Tactical Operations
During the remainder of the month, 8 Squadron flew 15 sorties, mainly flagwave, 37 Squadron flew one flagwave and 233 Squadron carried out three supply dropping sorties. No armed opposition was encountered and no strikes were necessary.
On 15 May, a Beverley of 84 Squadron was used to carry out a supply drop of ammunition, etc., to Sarrar and on the 24th a Valetta of 233 Squadron, with the Hunters of 8 Squadron as cover, carried out a supply drop to Hilyan.
June
During Operation Desperado, which began towards the end of May and ended on 3 June, 8 Squadron flew ten flagwaves, followed by another four on the 25th in support of Operation Landseer. This was a Federal Regular Army (the new name for the Aden Protectorate Levies) operation involving 2 Battalion and intended as a show of force in the Wadi Hatib by means of patrols around QBN (does anyone know what this is please?). Towards the end of the operation, patrols were sent in to Marzaqi country in search of dissidents thought to be in the area. None were seen. The operation commenced on 20 June and ended on the 28th with the return of the Battalion to Ataq. Plt Off P. Loveday of 8 Squadron was detached to the Battalion for the whole period as FAC.
With the completion of much of the building programme during 1961-62, it was felt that congestion and efficiency had improved sufficiently for an increase in the Command’s medium range transport force. With the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy four-engined turbo-prop having performing well at Benson, it was decided to form a new squadron at Embakasi but with the impending independence of Kenya, Khormaksar was selected as the home base for the newly reformed unit - the first five of 105 Squadron’s Argosy aircraft arrived on 17 June. It immediately began to work up, much to the relief of 30 and 84 Squadrons whose Beverleys were in much need of refurbishment back in the UK.
A total of 155 aircraft visited the station during the month and a further 523 sorties were flown by Khormaksar-based aircraft. The number of passengers arriving totalled 2,208 while 2,548 were flown out and a further 1,225 staged through. A staggering 441,122 lb of freight was transported out and 85,079 lb flown in. In addition, 26,401 lb of mail was transported out with 24,686 lb being transported in.
No records available for July.
The months started quietly enough with two flagwaves by 8 Squadron Hunters and a 37 Squadron Shackleton in the Marzaqi area on the 9th and by another 37 Shackleton in the Wahidi area. Further flagwaves were carried out on the 15th by a pair of 8 Squadron Hunters in the Rusais area. The sole supply drop was carried out by a 233 Squadron Valetta in the Husn Sufa area.
Total aircraft movements for the month were 3,820 comprised of; 2,580 Khormaksar-base military, 202 visiting military and 1,038 civilian.
Another quiet month and very few operational sorties were flown. On 12 September a pair of Hunters flew a flagwave sortie to Marfad in Upper Yafa and two sorties were flown by 37 Squadron Shackletons to the Wadi Markan. The first on 13th was for photographic and visual recce with a Political Officer and Arabs with knowledge of the area on board. A second sortie on the 29th was flown as a flagwave, taking in the area of the Wadi Rehab.
No. 37 Squadron flew sorties on the 6th, 7th, 11th and 24th as ordered by HQ MEC to identify and photograph Soviet Merchant Ships.
No. 208 Squadron left Khormaksar on 6 September for a six-week detachment to East Africa, while 8 Squadron returned from its two-monthly Operation Longstop detachment to Bahrain on the 26th.
Up in the Yemen the situation deteriorated sharply following the death on 19 September of Ahmed, the Imam of the Yemen. His son, Muhammad-al-Badr, succeeded him but overthrown by an Egyptian-inspired republican revolution a week later and a republic proclaimed under General Sallel. A torrent of hostile propaganda then ensued against Britain and the Federation over Yemeni radio broadcasts with calls for the inhabitants of South Arabia to rebel against their Government.
The first few days of this month were very quiet and then with the advent of the Yemeni coup, the tempo quickened considerably. Shackletons of 37 Squadron made shipping searches of the Red Sea on the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 14th and Canberra PR.9s on attachment from 13 Squadron, Akrotiri, and PR.7s of 58 Squadron, Wyton, made daily PR sorties of Yemeni ports from the 6th.
On the 22nd, a number of unidentified aircraft from the Yemen penetrated the WAP and fired rockets on two villages in the Nuqub area killing one child but doing little other damage. Thereafter, Hunters of 8 and 208 Squadrons maintained dawn to dusk cover of the area with no incidents. Beverleys from 84 Squadron were used to move the 2nd Battalion of the FRA from Ataq to Beihan and continued daily supply flights to the area. On the 29th a Valiant tanker of 90 Squadron that happened to be on short term detachment at Khormaksar, was used to perform a flagwave at the Beihan Wadi, with an escort of two Hunters.
No. 208 Squadron returned from its detachment to East on the 16th, three days before eight Hunter FGA.9s of 1 Squadron arrived for a week’s detachment from the UK before moving on to Bahrain. Shortly after departing Khormaksar for Bahrain on the 20th, 1 Squadron FGA.9, XG253, experienced engine trouble just after take-off and the pilot ejected near Lineibar. He didn’t have to wait long for rescue though, as a Sycamore from SAR Flight arrived 22 minutes later.
Also on the 19th, three Javelin FAW.9Rs of 23 Squadron (XH849, XH889 and XH890) made a non-stop flight from Coltishall to Aden in 8 hours 42 minutes, having been refuelled in the air by a flight of 90 Squadron Valiant tankers. At the time, this was the longest non-stop flight made by the all-weather fighter, the type having only recently been equipped for in-flight refuelling.
The continuous patrol from dawn to dusk of the Beihan area by Hunters of 8 and 208 Squadrons, which commenced in October, continued until 12 November. After this date, the commitment was reduced to one mission per day, at varying times, with the exception of the 23rd when continuous cover was again provided. Although only one mission per day was flown during this period the squadrons shared the task of providing one pair of aircraft at 60 minutes readiness and one pair at 90 minutes. In all 8 Squadron 134 sorties (192 hours) and 208 flew 128 sorties (202 hours). There were no incidents.
Throughout the period a PR.9 Canberra of 13 Squadron was attached to Khormaksar and flew on alternate days to give PR coverage of Yemen ports. In all 14 sorties, 25 hours were flown.
Two Shackletons of 37 Squadron were detached to Mauripur from 9 to 23 November to participate in CENTO Exercise Midlink V.
On 9 November, President Sallel, as he now proclaimed himself, made his intensions and ambitions very clear when in an address to both the Yemeni people and those living in Aden, he called on those in the ‘occupied’ South to be ready for revolution and to join a war against colonialism by following the example of their northern brothers. Four days later, Britain announced that it did not recognise the republican regime in the Yemen and would continue to support the Federation of South Arabia and the plans to incorporate the Aden Colony into it.
Operation Longstop commenced for the Aden Hunter squadrons when six aircraft of 208 Squadron flew to Bahrain on 30 November to relieve 1 Squadron, allowing it to return to the UK. The remaining 208 Squadron aircraft and personnel followed on in early December.
Canberra PR.3s of 39 Squadron on detachment from Luqa, flew throughout November continuing with a photographic survey of the Aden Protectorate which was virtually complete by the end of the month.
Patrols by Hunter aircraft of the Beihan area continued daily throughout the month. The intensity of the effort varied considerably from continuous cover dawn to dusk to a bare two sorties. Throughout the period, two Hunters were maintained at one hour readiness dawn to dusk. With the absence of 208 Squadron in Bahrain for most of the month, 8 Squadron filled the commitment and flew 123 sorties. When 208 Squadron returned, it took over the commitment and flew four sorties on the 30th.
In addition to the routine patrols, on the 22nd a reconnaissance of the Wadi Merkah area was requested. Two Hunter and one Shackleton sortie were flown for tooth visual and photographic reconnaissance but nothing of interest was seen.
Photographic reconnaissance of the Yemeni ports continued, being flown by Canberra PR.9s of 13 Squadron on detachment to Khormaksar in all, six sorties were flown.
The Operation Longstop changeover that commenced at the end of November was completed on 2 December with nine aircraft of 208 Squadron in Bahrain and nine of 1 Squadron at Khormaksar. All aircraft of 1 Squadron left Khormaksar for the UK on 4 December, a Shackleton of 37 Squadron being positioned at Khartoum to provide SAR cover for this move.
A further changeover took place on 28 and 29 December when eight aircraft of 8 Squadron flew to Bahrain and the nine of 208 Squadron returned to Khormaksar, night-stopping at Masirah. One Shackleton of 37 Squadron was positioned at Masirah to provide SAR cover for this move.
Two Shackleton MR.2s of 42 Squadron (WL754 and WL801) which had arrived on 26 November for colonial policing training, left Khormaksar for St Mawgan on 12 December on completion of their detachment.