Greek and Turkish Air Order Of Battle, Cyprus 1974

Greece and Turkey video? The comment section will surely be civil and polite

I was stationed at Incirlik Air Base outside Adana, Turkey from April 1, 1974 to July 1, 1975. I was an U. S. Air Force Security Police Sergeant at the start of this conflict on 20 July, 1974 guarding our F-4s. First thing the Americans did was download (removal of all special weapons) and secured in bunkers in the Weapons Storage Area. From that first day of the fight, all of the Security cops went to steel pot helmets and the older flak jackets (strung up the sides with laces) until almost the day I left a year later. Blackouts every day (electric was cut) and we were told to cover our barracks windows with blankets for safety. That summer was brutal for those of us that had to wear the extra gear and work those horrible 9 and 3 shifts. I came home weighing 128 pounds soaking wet...and I brought a Turkish wife (Sema) with me. A Methodist Kentucky boy and a Muslim wife. Had 6 months remaining when the Air Force for some reason decided to send me to Malestrom A.F.B. in Montana to be retrained from Aircraft Security to Missile Security. Why? I was told from higher ups that it was my punishment for marrying a Muslim. Poor Sema never wanted to go back to Turkey and passed away in the late 1980s. This video brought back a lot of memories. I also worked as Master Surveillance Controller (tower surrounded by fences that detect metal, vibration and ground pressure near the fence line) and would stand on my tower landing and film home movies (Super 8mm) if returning Turkish F-100s coming back to land at Incirlik shot to hell and belly landing in the grass along the flightline.

There was a military coup in Greece in 1967 and a fascist junta regime was established. The same Greek junta regime executed another coup in Cyprus in 1974 with the aim of uniting Cyprus with Greece. Greece and Turkey were very close to an all out war. This video is full of technical information but it fails to demonstrate how close a devastating war between Greece and Turkey was.

Back in the 1990's I worked with a gentleman who was a retired U.S. Army ordnance officer. He was sent the Turkey to advise their army on the Nike-Hercules SAM system. Upon his arrival he found that all the missiles were aimed at Greece, instead of the Soviets...😂

Not Cyprus but Rhodes mid 60s .... I'm a 12 year old air-mad brat on Holiday with grandparent Every morning about 8am or so deafing screams as usually 2 Jets howl down just off the coast Hotel staff look nervous / annoyed. Other hotel guests grumble 'Greek Airforce - No respect for tourists'. Me: 'What? Those aren't Greek - look at them! Those are Turkish F-86 Sabers equipped for ground attack - Look at the weapons clusters - Wow!' Other guests look at me with fear & horror 'How do you know kid'? Well the Insignia tell you they're Turkish. The outer pods are drop tanks The rest of the clutter are bombs - Its obvious Oh the indents in the nose are cannon ports of course. Graceless _____s, they asked, then were not at all happy to have that explained

While the aircraft videos are much loved, I feel the videos on little known or obscure events/conflicts are what really sets your channel apart from others

Good video on the air operations of Turkey and Greece. My second hitch was US Navy - early 1980s (first hitch was USAF in late 1970s), I was stationed aboard USS Ainsworth FF-1090. She was decommed and given to Turkey in 1994, served as the TCG Ege in the Turkish navy, and decommed in 2005, now serving as a museum display ship at the Inciralti Sea Museum in Izmir, Turkey. So, happily my little ship wasn't scrapped or expended as a target. 😊

Btw, the Greek Air Force plans to restore their sole remaining Curtiss Helldiver to flying status, as they did with the "Greek Spitfire" LF Mk. IX a few years back

I absolutely love it when a channel puts the effort to teach me something i didn't know about before, this is an interesting undertaking, thank you for the hard work.

I was stationed at Akrotirin 74, I was actually on guard duty the morning the coupe happened., I watched the bombs going off in Limasol across the bay, and saw the RAF Rescue launches power out of their docks, very impressive. H H G did not deploy Lightnings, 56 Sqn were already stationed there, and yes they did fly cap missions over the British tourist evacuations from the north, although we did hear that we had to ask Turkish permission to fly those missions, apparently the Turks very kindly offerred to provide air cover for the evacuation for us, to protect us from the Greeks. Later that day we received reinforcements of a Buccaneer Sqn, soon folllowed by a Sqn of Phantoms. I really dont know where you got your information from, but in 74 there was 56 Lightning Sqn and a Bomber Wing of Vulcans permanently stationed at Akrotiri. It was not untill 75 that HMG, to prove that the Greeks could still humiliate someone, withdrew permanent fighter sqadrons from Cyprus, thus ending my only good posting in the RAF. 24:03

Brave video to release… this one’s comments section will be messy.

India vs. Pakistan series, next.

As a 17 year old British soldier I was sent to Cyprus just after the conflict started until UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence) was declared, which split the island in two. At the time I had just joined 2nd Troop C Sqn (Squadron), 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. A few months prior to this event we had parked our Chieftain main battle tanks and been issued with Mk 2 Ferret Scout Cars, 1st Troop received Mk 5 Ferrets with 4x Swingfire ATG missiles. We were then called the British Independent Armoured Recce Sqn. We were in the North half having watched the Turkish landings in Kyrenia. We were most likely the last people to freely cross from North to our base in the South. Now 50 years later I look back at my photos from back then and wonder how we survived.

The Greeks wanted enosis, in some respects they didn't, also the Junta of colonels lost power shortly after, shades of Argentina, a lost war (Skirmish) led in both cases to the overthrow of a military dictatorship.

Another great episode. I didn't really know too much about this fight. I hope you do some more on it.

Whatever planes we at that time, none could reach cyprus .The turks had airsuperiority over cyprus.

I evacuated from Kingsfield to Akrotiri via C130 in the evening of July 22nd. We were escorted due south then up the Egyptian FIR to abeam Akrotiri by a Lightning slightly above and astern while a Phantom took position slightly low and also astern. Both aircraft were very visible through the deployed ramp of the Herc On one of the days immediately preceding the invasion I saw a Vulcan at low-ish level flying east to west a few miles off the north coast of Cyprus I think it was Mr Callahagn who claimed in the House of Commons that the UK had no knowledge of the Turkish pre-invasion military build up … politicians are not known to be very honest

UK newspapers at the time definitely carried reports of the deployment of Lightnings to Cyprus.

I was listening to this on my commute and really enjoying it before it ended suddenly. I hope there will be a part two!

I love your channel. It's like getting a professional military brief from a professional narrator like Attenborough. I have no idea where you dig up things like NATO/US evals of Greek/Turkish flight training, or their internal force readiness from so long ago, but it's great! Head and shoulders above a "zoom, zoom, count planes, look at Janes!" doc.