laststandonzombieisland

How about this great Cold War Kodachrome?

Hawker Hunter FGA.9 SN XG256 of No 8 Squadron, RAF, armed with sixteen 20-pound rockets and four 30mm Aden cannons, is seen on a sortie in support of Radforce during operations in the Radfan region, Saudi Arabia, June 1964, during the Aden Emergency.

IWM RAF-T 4624

And of the same type but a different aircraft and squadron in the same conflict.

A Hawker Hunter FGA.9 of No 43 Squadron based at RAF Khomaksar, Aden, fires a salvo of 60-pound rockets at an enemy position during operations in the Radfan region of the Federation of South Arabia, now Yemen. IWM (RAF-T 4617)

In Aden, isolated British Army SAS units working against insurgents in the mountains would routinely call in air strikes that required considerable precision, and, predominantly using high-explosive rockets and 30mm cannon, the Hunter proved an able ground-attack platform.

Members of the SAS in the Radfan region in a Pink Panther land rover, 1965. From a collection of photographs assembled for use in Col Robin McNish’s ‘Iron Division – The History of the 3rd Division’, 1918-1977. National Army Museum, London NAM. 2007-12-6-148

Both No. 8 and No. 43 squadrons continued operations with their Hunters in the region until London withdrew from Aden in November 1967.

The transonic swept-wing Hunter first flew in 1951 and replaced the first-generation Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Venom in British service. With nearly 2,000 made across something like 70 versions when export series aircraft are included, it was a backbone of the RAF and allied service for decades, only being fully replaced in training and secondary roles in British service in the early 1990s. Ironically, some of the first sorties of Desert Storm, some 35 years ago this month, were to take out still-capable Iraqi FGA.59 Hunters on the ground.

As for No. 8 Sqn, founded in 1915, they are the first RAF unit to operate the E-7 Wedgetail and are currently based at RAF Lossiemouth. However, the Fighting Cocks of 43 Squadron, formed in 1916, disbanded in 2009 as part of the Government’s force reductions, though their legacy endures.