LIBYA - El Adem

[buccaneer66]

Here's a couple of videos found on the net and for PNK it includes the bombing range.

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/watch/464946/2551535

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/watch/471869/2573405

http://uk.video.yahoo.com/watch/468251/2560097

[PNK]

Ooooh! Bombing Range (in Homer Simpson voice).

Was El Adem mainly used for its bombing range? I assume it was a "live" range as well.

[PETERTHEEATER]

It was a staging post to Mid and Far East for the short range aircraft of the day, Hastings and the like. Use of the range included V-Bombers flown from the UK on navigation and bombing exercises.

[John Cooper]

The range was on the escarpement above the plains of El Adem, Canberras & Hunters especially used this range in my day [mid 60's]. It was always interesting after a few Tinnies in the NAAFI to see the Parachute Flares floating down followed by some rather loudish thuds.

...........as Peter says it was a Staging Post to/fro The Far East but I can recall The SRN1 coming in on Desert Trials [failure] 60 odd crop sprayers en route to The Sudan and anything else that needed to refuel, thankfully the crews never found too many technical defects there it was far better to have those fixed at Malta or Gan [Maldives]

[lateron]

Hi Robin,

Are you certain of your dates?
I was there 1966 to 1968 and I was with the station comander every day. His name Group Captain Davenport .

[Robin]

Hi.

Did Gp Capt Davenport replace "Air" Frost in 1966. Obituary from the Telegraph, http://www.johnwfrost.com/

Robin.

[david Burgess]

Hi.
I served at El Adem 1968 - 1970 as an Assistant Air Traffic Controller and had the dubious pleasure of serving for a few months on the Air Weapons Range. A rather grand title for a collection of tin huts about 15 miles south of El Adem ( there was a more basic description of it's position ). The AWR was used by Vulcans from UK and Cyprus, Victors doing photo reccy with 8" photo flashes, it was the only range licensed for these. The main use was by the ground attack a/c, mainly Hunters. The clip shows Hunters from either 1 or 54 Sqn on their final Op day of the detachment when they basically fired or dropped everything they had as a squadron.

Gp Capt Davenport was succeeded by Gp Capt Peter Terry until our ignominious departure after the revolution.

[canberra]

Was that the smae Peter Terry who ended up as Governor of Gibraltar and authorised the SAS operation against the IRA?

[david Burgess]

Yes, I had a quick look at his profile on Wikipedia, it's definitely him. I am constantly amazed at the lack of information about El Adem, it seems to be a forgotten outpost.

[chard]

I staged through el adem in the early 60 from aden khartoum on my return to cyprus in a hastings,i was bumped off because some senior officer wanted to get back for a mess do,on take off the hastings ran into a hill and several people were killed,i managed to get a lift back to akrotiri in a 6sqdn canberra the next morning,so i beat the senior guy back to base anyway.