ADEN Khormaksar

An Aden Airways DC3 sports its BOAC look alike livery (left). These DC3s were a common sight at Nairobi Embakasi on Sunday mornings in the late 50s.  An Ethiopian Airways DC6B (right). PHOTOs Ronald Davison

An East African Airways Super VC10 is observed by an armed RAF policeman (left).  East African Airways Super VC10 is readied for Bombay or Nairobi (right). PHOTOs Ronald Davison

The mountains form an impressive backdrop to what was then in the mid-60s RAF Khormaksar which was also open to civilian aircraft.  Visible in the two photographs by Ronald Davison are Aden Airways DC3s, a series 700 Viscount and a VC10.

An Air India Boeing 707 (left) transits Khormaksar (left). The unmistakable bulk of a Blackburn Beverley (right).  PHOTOs Ronald Davison

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy (left) contrasts with a Shorts Belfast (right).  PHOTOs Ronald Davison

 Avro 748 (left) - a distant relative of today's BAe ATP (Advanced Turbo-prop).  East African Airways Super VC10 (right) PHOTOs Ronald Davison

Royal Marines sentry with SLR (British variant of the Belgian FN Self Loading Rifle) watches over a Comet 4C of Middle East Airlines (left).  Comet 4C of United Arab Airlines (right).  PHOTOs Ronald Davison

Armed sentries at Khormaksar in the sixties were not just for effect.  Both the NLF (National Liberation Front) and FLOSY (the Front for the Liberation of South Yemen) were engaged in the fight for independence.  A Series 700 Viscount VR-AAV had been quarantined after an engine change as it was suspected that a bomb had been placed aboard while the aircraft was hangared.  The above sequence of pictures show the results.  PHOTOs Ronald Davison

Of all the BOAC subsidiary companies, only Aden Airways so slavishly copied the BOAC livery, as evidenced here on a Viscount and accompanying DC3s at Khormaksar (left) PHOTO - Ronald Davison.  East African Airways had its own distinctive livery, except on the Britannias it chartered from BOAC.  On these aircraft "BOAC " was simply replaced with "EAAC" on the fuselage and the Flying Lion replaced the Speedbird on the fin, as shown here on G-ANBL at Heathrow - (above) PHOTO Air Britain.
 

But why, you may ask, does Aden feature at all in a website devoted to East Africa?  Until the sixties Aden and the East African countries had close political and economic links - all used a common currency - the East African shilling.  British military forces in Kenya and Aden also maintained a close relationship - RAF pilots frequently flew their aircraft to Nairobi for the weekend.  There were also direct civilian flights between Nairobi and Aden - both by East African Airways (see above) and Aden Airways. 

 
visit Aden Airways for Aden Information and Historic Flight Aden Khormaksar 50 Years Ago