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Luqa Airport
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 An unidentified 11 squadron Lightning F.3 on short finals to runway 24 in this undated photograph by Charles Caruana. The road layout remained the same until at least early 1979, after which a traffic island was added where the road splits (lower left, not seen in photo) to go either into Luqa village, or continue onto the old terminal. The low rubble wall running just outside the perimeter fence starting underneath the sign (lower right) has since been eliminated, allowing the road to be widened.
This page is basically divided into two parts. The first part consists of a description of Luqa Airport, whilst the second part is a description of what could be seen in the late sixties and seventies by a Maltese enthusiast.
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In the beginning
Luqa Airport's beginning dates back to the turbulent days of the Second World War. In 1939 the RAF felt that the seaplane base at Kalafrana, and the other two small airfields at Hal-Far and Ta' Qali, should have a supplementary airfield which would overcome all the bad weather problems that the other three suffered from. Thus it was designed from the start as an all-weather aerodrome.
The site chosen, at a height of 250ft above sea level, one and a half miles inland from Grand Harbour, was very hilly and contained many quarries from where the Maltese cut stone for building. Work started early in 1935, consisting at first of levelling the whole area. Luqa was to become Malta's first tarmac airfield. In actual fact, the new aerodrome boasted three main runways, all surfaced with tarmac and a fourth one which was left unsurfaced until 1941.
The four runways were:
NE-SE 06/24 1200 yards x 850 yards x 50 yards tarmac strip
NW-SE 32/14 1200 yards x 850 yards x 50 yards tarmac strip
N-S 36/18 1100 yards x 800 yards x 5O yards tarmac strip *
E-W 09/27 1100 yards x 850 yards x 50 yards tarmac strip **
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By the end of April 1941 the NE-SW runway was extended to 1400 yards, while the NW-SE runway, which was extended to 1400 yards by December 1940, was further extended to 1740 yards by April 1941. Luqa airfield, destined as a base for RAF bombers, went into operation on 1st April 1940, although in June 1939 Flt. Lt. George Burges had made the first landing at this new airfield in a Swordfish aircraft.
In July 1940 a small Station Headquarters was established at the angle formed by the runways NE-SW and NW-SE, consisting of six Bellman hangars, barracks, offices, and a petrol store at back. The SE part of the airfield served as the bomb dump, while machine-gun posts were sited along the perimeter. A month later, in August 1940, Luqa became an independent station with a Wing Commander as its Station Commander. A few months later the RAF appointed a Group Captain Station Cdr., due to the recognised importance of Luqa. So much so that, by December 1940, Luqa was already serving as a base for Wellington bombers.
During the war, Luqa Airport played an important part in keeping away German and Italian aircraft and ships from approaching Malta. Several aircraft squadrons operated from Luqa to the extent that by November 1942 personnel at the station numbered 4350 (comprising among others 770 Army personnel and 600 civilians, including Maltese). Luqa was able to handle 24 Wellingtons by 1941.
The year 1943 saw Luqa as a base for reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrol aircraft. In 1943, RAF Luqa was decommissioned as an operational airfield and served the RAF solely as a major staging post. But it wasn't to remain long in this role because, in April 1948, No.38 Squadron arrived on the station with its Lancasters.
After the war Luqa airfield settled down once again as a reconnaissance base, employing Meteors, Lancasters, and Shackletons. In 1956, due to the Suez Canal crisis, RAF Luqa was once again extremely busy due to its involvement in Operation Musketeer. Valiant and Canberra bombers operated against targets in the Egyptian Canal Zone.
The British withdrawal
On 21 September 1964, Malta obtained her independence from Great Britain, but signing a ten-year defence agreement with the UK. But after winning the 1971 elections, the Labour Government immediately expelled all NATO and US forces from the island, and asked the British Government to withdraw its forces by 1 January 1972. The deadline was later extended to 15 March and then 31 March of the same year. Although negotiations were constantly being held, the Ministry of Defence initiated Operation Exit, the pull out of all service personnel out of Malta. No. 13 Squadron re-located to RAF Akrotiri, and No. 203, by now re-equipped with the Nimrod MR.1, took up station at NAS Sigonella in nearby Sicily. On 20 March, a Nimrod made a low pass over Luqa as the RAF Ensign was lowered for what was then thought to be the last time. However, a few days later, agreement over the rent money to be paid for the use of facilities in Malta was resolved. A new agreement, which would expire on 31 March 1979, was signed. No. 203 returned between 21-29 April supported by no less than 25 Hercules and 19 Belfast sorties. No. 13 returned later in October.
Updating the airport
Back in 1969, plans had started being drawn up on how to improve Luqa Airport, the more so since a new breed of wide-body airliners, like the B.747, were entering service, necessitating longer runways. Part of these plans called for the extension of a runway, and in May 1972, the Maltese Government started work on the extension of runway 14-32 (NW-SE). An Italian engineer, Sig. Mario Marra, took charge of the whole project, which got underway in May 1972 and took five years to complete.
Extended from 1781 yards to 3833 yards, the runway was inaugurated on 1 October 1977. The very first aircraft to land on it was an Air Malta Boeing 720B, AP-AMJ, when, in the late afternoon of 27th September 1977, it took off and made several touch-and-goes on the new runway. The first wide-body aircraft to land was an Alitalia DC-10, l-DYNL, on the inauguration day. The first Boeing 747 to use runway 14-32 was EI-ASI of Aer Lingus on October 22, 1977.
Luqa was decommissioned as a RAF station on 29th September 1978, for which a special programme was held. The RAF's aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, the last time they would be seen with the Gnat, together with a number of other RAF front line aircraft like the Harrier and Jaguar, gave a spectacular display in front of a very large crowd. Air Chief Marshal, Sir David Evans KCB, CEB, RAF, was the reviewing officer.
The runway
Runway 14-32, extended from 1781 yards to 3833 yards, was inaugurated on 1 October 1977. In this photo, the threshold of runway 32 is at the upper right. Going along to the runway, i.e. to the left, the large apron (roughly in the middle of the photo) is Park 9. Further left can be seen a smaller apron, this being Park 8. Also visible is the Air Malta hangar. Below the hangar, and slightly to the left, is what appears to be a large circle. That is the compass bay, an area free from any magnetic fields, to enable an aircraft’s compass to be properly calibrated. Immediately below the compass bay is the threshold of runway 14. (A cockpit view of the approach to runway 14 can be seen here.)
If you go to bottom right, you’ll see the threshold of runway 06. The darker part of the runway signifies the part that was extended during the fifties. To the left of the 06 threshold is the northern taxiway, and if you move along this, that large whitish area is park 4, where the majority of airshow participants are placed on static display. Further along the taxiway, and to the left, is park 3, and above that is a large concrete area with two hangars. This is park 2, and a better view of this park can be seen in this photo. (The large hangar, middle right belongs to Lufthansa Technic, see under New terminal.) Interesting to note that there is actually a taxi-way from Park 3 to Park 2. This is because before the extension of 14/32, the threshold of 14 was very close to the fence.
Going back to the northern taxiway, just before turning left into Park 3, there is rectangular grey area, situated between the taxiway and runway 24/06, and is also directly below the compass bay. This used to form part of the old east-west runway mentioned earlier. Above this grey area, and at right angles to it, you can see what appears to be a road, starting from Park 2, and cutting across the northern taxi-way, and runway 24/06. This is what remains of the old north-south runway.
Civil Aviation
Although in those days Luqa had a total of eight parks for aircraft, only No. 8, with six parking bays, was dedicated solely to civil operations. (A ninth Park was added with the extension of runway 32/14.) The arrivals and departure lounges led directly onto this park, and an open-air viewing balcony, situated above and between bays 2 & 3, provided excellent facilities for aircraft photography, either when taxiing within the park -- especially between bays 1 and 4, or when using runway 14.
However, a foreign airline, soon after it started operating to Malta in the eighties, complained that this balcony was a security threat, and in 1985, the Government installed window panes.
In 1973, the Air Malta Company was set up, and shortly afterwards, a hanger was built for its aircraft on Park 8 towards bay 6. After the British departure, Air Malta also took over a hangar previously used by the RAF overlooking park 2.
In 1978, another aviation company began operations from Malta, this being Mediterranean Aviation, or Med-Avia.
That same year also saw the handing over of Hal-Far airfield to the Maltese Government, which affected two different bodies. The International Air Rally of Malta, which had been using Hal-Far since 1969, started using Luqa Airport as their venue.
Far more serious were the consequences for the Malta International Aviation Company, (MIACO), who were ordered to vacate their premises by September 1978. Finding an alternative site on an island measuring 17 miles by 9 would prove to be a bit problematic. The problem was eventually solved by moving into a hangar and buildings outside the village of Safi, previously used as a Maintenance Unit (MU) by the RAF. The site itself is located just outside the perimeter of runway 32/14. A gate was installed in the perimeter fence of Luqa Airport, and a taxiway leading from the runway to this gate was also constructed. For aircraft to enter or depart, airport security had to open the gate, and along with MIACO personnel, psychically stop traffic whilst an aircraft entered or departed company premises. Although MIACO went into voluntary liquidation in February 1985, the site is now used by two different companies, Med-Avia and NCA Int. In the late nineties, a traffic lights and barrier system went into operation, thus providing a more orderly and safer means of traffic control during aircraft entry/departures.
Another company that is involved in aircraft maintenance started operations as from 1 January 2003, when a new joint venture between Air Malta and Lufthansa Technik of Hamburg came into being. Lufthansa Technik (Malta) performs checks on B.737 and A.320 type aircraft. Apart from Lufthansa, other clients so far have included Spaniar and Travel Service.
After the departure of the British Armed Forces in 1979, Luqa Airport saw the AFM's Helicopter Flight (since re-named Air Squadron), move to Park 7, previously the residence of the RAF’s No. 13 Squadron.
The Flight, at the time equipped with four Bell 47s and an AB.206, had been based at St. Patricks since its inception in 1972, and had made a brief sojourn to Hal-Far airfield prior to the British departure. It has since remained at Luqa, and an additional hangar has also been built.
General Aviation
This class of aviation has seen the highest registration of aircraft in Malta, and in fact, at the time of writing (August 2006) there are a total of 30 light/microlight aircraft – but excluding biz-jets/commuters – representing 52.63% of aircraft currently carrying the 9H prefix. One of the complaints by GA aircraft owners was the lack of hangar space, exposing the aircraft to the elements. For this reason, over the last two years, three different hangars have been constructed at Parks 1, 3 and behind the control tower. The last houses a number of micro-lights of the Island Microlight Club.
Air traffic Control
Before we continue, a word about the air traffic control operations.
In preparation for the expected British withdrawal in March 1972, it was planned to bring Egyptian personnel to take over the running of ATC facilities. Most probably, the 11th hour agreement with the British Government made such plans redundant.
By the sixties, it became apparent that the control tower, situated between parks 1 and 2 was now two small for Luqa's requirements. Probably coupled with the Maltese government decision to widen and expand runway 14/32, a new control tower was built on the opposite side of park 8. Work started in 1971, and cost the British Government £Stg1.25 million. The tower was inaugurated on 24 September 1974. (In the above photo, the present control tower is seen in the early stages of construction. The old tower was situated above, and slightly to the right of, the fin of the camouflaged PR.7.)
Another "mini" control tower was built on Park 9, to ensure better safety and control of aircraft movements. It handles all aircraft movements within the park.
Personnel
After the British departure in March 1979, controllers were given the option of either forming part of the ATC Corps of the Armed Forces of Malta or to leave – the purpose for forcing controllers to become part of a military unit being to eliminate the chances of a strike. Several left to continue with their careers abroad. The relationship between the AFM and the ATC Corps was never a happy one, and there were many occasions when ATC personnel were threatened with a court martial. Morale was always low and investment in new equipment, or training, was minimal.
This situation continued until 28 February 1995, when all ATC staff stopped working to show their disapproval at the Government-proposed reorganisation of the ATC. The situation lasted for around 35 hours, during which the Malta Flight Information Region (FIR) was closed. A number of flights, for humanitarian reasons, were permitted to depart or land in Malta. Most of the problems were resolved after ATS representatives had talks with the Prime Minister, Dr Fenech Adami, but their primary request, to become part a civilian unit, was not met. In the Budget speech of 1997, Dr. Sant, the Prime Minister of the day, announced that the ATC was to be demilitarised.
The ATC Corps ceased to exist on 30 April 1998, and on 1 May became the ATS Division of MIA (Malta International Airport) plc, which was a change for the better. No only was the staff freed from the threat of military discipline but working conditions improved. The right to strike, however, is still denied, as they provide what falls under the classification of an essential service.
New Radar
In the meantime a new radar system, replacing the old Plessey AR1 approach radar at Luqa, complete with modern ancillary services, had been installed, and the ATS staff started working earnestly on this new system. It also resulted in a number of Italian Air Force PD.808s coming to Malta, to assist in the radar’s calibration. A new Area Control Centre had been built and operations transferred to the new ACC, which was inaugurated on 27 April 2001.
In 2001 a second radar was bought to replace the Secondary element of the Dingli enroute-radar. Works on this site started in April 2002. Not only was the secondary element replaced but also its Primary antenna was dismantled and refurbished. Both Secondary radars are Alenia Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radars with a range of about 220 nautical miles and covering up to 50000 feet. This type provides extremely accurate position information due to the unique construction of the radar antenna. The old Selenia Primary Surveillance Radar at Dingli has a range of around 150 nm while the Luqa primary radar has only 60nm range to cover operations in the vicinity of Malta.
On 1 January 2002, MIA plc ceased to be the Air Traffic Service provider. Its functions have now been taken over by a dedicated company, the Malta Air Traffic Services Co. Ltd. Besides taking over all obligations and duties previously carried out by the ATS Division of MIA, MATS is actively involved in several international ATC projects. A group of ATS staff forms part of the project teams, conducting research and studies in future Communication, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) strategies. In addition, earlier in 2002 year, 2 Maltese controllers spent nearly 8 weeks in Rome, forming part of an international ATS team conducting radar simulations on these CNS/ATM projects.
New Terminal
Another development was the construction of a new civil terminal overlooking Park 9. The old terminal had been inaugurated on 1 April 1958, by 1991 the old civil terminal at park 8 had been enlarged, anticipated increases in passenger movements dictated the building of a more modern and suitable terminal. This was inaugurated in 1992, and with it came a change in name. Whereas previously, exiting the old terminal brought you to the outskirts of Luqa village, the new terminal touched the outskirts of Gudja *** village. It was therefore decided to refer to the airport as Malta International Airport, rather than Luqa Airport.
Accidents
As with any other airport, Luqa has seen its share of tragedies. Apart from the Second World War, accidents have also occurred in peacetime. First to spring to mind would be the Vulcan (XM645) crash over the village of Zabbar in October 1975, and the crash after take-off of a 13 Squadron Canberra in late 1978.
As for civilian aircraft, the hi-jacking of a KLM B.747 in November 1973 caused a sensation. Not only was it the first such incident, but runway 24/06 wasn’t deemed safe for operations by such wide-bodied aircraft. It is to the crew’s credit that they did so without any damage to the aircraft or property on the ground. After negotiations with the Prime Minister of the day, Mr. Dom Mintoff, the passengers were released, and the aircraft departed Malta.
This episode was followed by a Libyan Arab Airlines F.27, 5A-DDU in October 1979, and a B.727, 5A-DII, also of L.A.A. In both cases, after negotiations, the hi-jackers surrendered, and the passengers released.
But by far the worst was the hi-jacking of a Egyptair B.737 in November 1985. The attempts by Egyptian commandos to storm the aircraft and rescue the passenger resulted in 60 deaths, and the capture of only one of the hi-jackers.
Another incident, which had no casualties, was the Super Constellation, which had the false registration of 5T-TAF. This was impounded in Malta in 1968. After the pilots skipped bail and left Malta, the aircraft was sold in 1973. It was turned into a Bar & Restaurant by its new owners, something of a novelty in those days. Although it had closed for business several years ago, talks were being conducted to acquire it for the Malta Aviation Museum at Ta' Qali. Located a stone’s throw from the Med-Avia/NCA premises at Safi, it was regrettably destroyed in an arson attack in January 1997.
Memorable Moments
Luqa Airport hasn’t only witnessed tragedy. From an enthusiast’s point of view, other memorable occasions in recent times include the holding of a summit between Presidents George Bush (Sr.) and Gorbachov in December 1989, which brought a flurry of US military aircraft activity to Malta. Other aviation highlights would be the setting up of Air Malta, and the large number of aircraft it leased, the number of British-registered Heralds, Viscounts and HS.748’s leased by Tunisavia, (amongst other aircraft types), the seven Zimbabwean-registered Turbo-Trushes in 1988, the number of Caribous seen when NCA first started operations in 1986, the various aircraft seen by foreign heads of state for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in November 2005, and of course, the annual airshow.
* As from 1941. This runway is no longer in service.
** This runway is no longer in service.
*** As the Maltese alphabet does not contain the letter Y, the letter J is pronounced as a Y.
The above history of Luqa Airfield first appeared in the Luqa Aviation Yearbook 1983/84, as Luqa Airport – A Brief History. I am grateful to the committee of the Malta Aviation Society (MAS) for granting me permission to reproduce it here. I have also posted additional material that didn’t appear in the original article.
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Spotters Paradise
We've covered the history of Luqa. But, what was it like, to be on the outside, looking in? As editor of the MAS newsletter Take-Off, I had, in 1991, asked my colleague, John Visanich, to write a series of articles about the airport from an enthusiast’s point of view. Both Maltese, and foreign spotters familiar with Luqa, can compare the layout of the airport then with now. Even though only ten years have passed, additional changes have taken place, and these have been marked, and explained in footnotes. The difference in aircraft movements, is of course, fairly obvious!
Having acquired wheels as my 1967 Christmas present, I lost no time in cycling off with a friend to Luqa, equipped with nothing more than sheer enthusiasm. No air band radios, no cameras, no binos, and no logbooks, just Mark 1 eyeball. I was lucky, as I then lived at Tarxien, so about 12 minutes pedalling brought me to the civil terminal, or as it is better known today, Park 8.
These first visits were the most exciting ones of my life, as they were sorties of discoveries. At this early stage, I did not have the benefit of being acquainted with older and more knowledgeable friends, so I had to discover Luqa by myself. Up to this point in time, all I had known of the airfield was the open-air civil terminal balcony (1) from where I had waved good-bye to my aunts and uncles as they departed on their annual summer holidays, first in BEA Viscounts, then Vanguards and Comets. In those days, the balcony was a great place to observe from a distance the hectic military activity all around, but now I wanted to get closer. It was time to start making my way around the perimeter fence.
The most notable difference at Luqa, between then and now, is of course, runway 32, which was extended (and this is an understatement) between 1972 and 1977. In those days, the threshold of runway 32 was where taxiway Foxtrot nowadays connects Park 9 with runway 32/14. The threshold of runway 14 was opposite No. 2 hangar, (2) now occupied by Med-Avia. The spot we now occupy to photograph aircraft landing on runway 14, near the airfield fuel terminal (for Maltese readers, this location is what we nowadays commonly refer to as ”hdejn tal-fuel”) in those days provided the best location for viewing aircraft landing on runway 32! Moreover, there was a taxiway between the runway and the perimeter fence, running from Park 7 to the threshold of 32, through which Shackletons and Canberras passed right under our noses. The taxiway was removed when the runway was extended.
Another notable difference is of course the civil terminal, which is how we referred to Park 8 in those days, as the rest of the airfield was occupied by the RAF, and all the other parks were used by the military. The terminal building was a very different affair from what it is today, and constituted the large hall which houses the check-in desks, (built in the fifties) and some office buildings and cargo sheds. The area occupied by the Arrivals Lounge, VIP Area (3) and Air Malta line maintenance hangar was in those days, a car park.
The control tower was inaugurated in 1974. Before that, the small tower (4) that still stands to this day over the Met. Office was in use. A tiny wartime tower, which stood near the fuel terminal, was still in existence up to the late seventies, if memory serves me well. Its base can still be seen today. Another airfield landmark, which featured a lot in backgrounds of our static photographs, was the black-and-white-chequered tower, which housed the weather radar. This was situated near Park 7, and was pulled down in the late eighties, its use having been rendered obsolete by modern equipment.
So that, as far as Luqa’s topography is concerned, is basically it. In the coming issues, we shall be recalling my first sorties of discovery around the perimeter fence, and Luqa’s residents and visitors in those days.
In the sixties, i.e. before the extension of runway 32, the way to Mqabba and the far end of the airfield was via the road which today comes to a dead-end a short distance beyond the VIP building. In those days, this road went past the threshold of runway 32, (where Crash Gate 6 stands) and gave access to the villages of Mqabba, Qrendi, Safi, Kirkop and Zurrieq. As soon as one went beyond the runway threshold, a minor road on the right took you to the RAF gate (5). This road forked in two for a short distance, and a crude sign painted in black and white on a stone instructed motorists to “Keep Left”, by which name we called this area, until it was dug up during the extension works of runway 32/14.
On the West Side of 32’s threshold, a very wide low gate provided access for aircraft from Luqa to Safi. where a RAF Maintenance Unit (MU) was then located (6). Aircraft slated for attention by the MU, normally for heavy maintenance or complete overhauls, would be towed out of this gate, and taken via the public road to Safi. I saw Canberras, Shackletons and even an Argosy take this route, a short stretch of which still exists and serves as a parking area opposite the new SGS building. I still remember my awe when, one day, I literally cycled beneath the wing of a 203 Squadron Shackleton MR.3/3 (one of my favourites then) on its way to Safi.
Taking the narrow track (7) which starts near the present Gate 7, and following it in the direction of the aircraft bays was where the going got really interesting. The Shacks of 203 Squadron did not arrive at Luqa before early 1969, but prior to that, detachments of Shackletons MR.2s were practically always present. These memorable machines occupied what is now Park 7, and some of the individual bays were scattered along 32s western taxiway. There was very limited viewing of parked aircraft in this area, unfortunately, due to the many buildings in the way.
One item of interest was the Gloster Meteor hulk that could be seen for many years beside the perimeter fence behind the hangar now occupied by the Air Squadron. This relic comprised just the central fuselage section, from the nose wheel to behind the wing trailing edge and wing roots, including the main undercarriage. In the late seventies, the hulk was moved to the Hal-Far fire dump and destroyed.
In those days, we referred to Park 7 and the complex of aircraft bays by its popular RAF name of Old Sun Spot. It was here that one of Luqa’s resident squadrons, No. 13, was accommodated. At that time (the sixties) it was equipped with the Canberra PR.9, then the latest thing in aerial reconnaissance. A Canberra T.4, for continuation pilot training, was also assigned to the squadron.
With Nato and the Warsaw Pact in the middle of the Cold War, the RAF was re-applying camouflage to most of its aircraft, so by the end of 1967, most of 13 Squadron’s PR.9s were in a very clean, glossy grey/green disruptive war paint with light grey undersides. There were still one or two all silver examples around, sticking out like the proverbial sore thumb. But by early 1968, all were in camouflage. The Squadron’s T.4 was silver overall, with a generous dose of Day-Glo stripes on the nose, tail and wingtips.
No. 13’s dispersal area was the first place where I watched military aircraft at very close quarters. One particular bay was just inches from the perimeter fence; a Canberra could not be photographed with a 50mm lens. In later years, I got some beautiful close-up shots using my 135mm lens. Old Sun Spot remained 13 Squadron’s domain until the unit returned to the U.K. in October 1978. Other interesting items I observed in the area included Cyprus Strike Wing Canberra B.15/B.16s in 1968 and Royal Navy FR Hunter GA.11s in 1970. I’m trying to visualise how 13 Squadron Tornados would have looked here.
The Old Sun Spot area and the track that winds its way outside the perimeter fence have remained basically unchanged after all these years, except for the addition of the new control tower in the early seventies. But only memories occupy the pens now.
But Old Sun Spot did not comprise just 13 squadron’s dispersal area, but extended along the perimeter all the way to Mqabba, Bay no. 1 being the spot housing the remains (or rather, the ashes) of a former MIACO DC-4, N6304D. (8) Bay no. 2 is where the remains of ex-Air Malta B.720B 9H-AAM (8) can be seen. What is generally not known is the fact that Park 7 is not this whole area in its entirety, but just bays 9 to 12, and the small ramp in front of the Air Squadron. Bays 6 to 8 are actually Park 6, whilst Bays 1 to 5 are park 5. So now you know why we have Parks 1 to 4, and 7 to 9, which everybody knows, but apparently, no parks five and six.
So we are now on the narrow, un-asphalted, pot-holed track leading from behind the today’s control tower, and proceeding to see what surprises Bays 1 to 5 hold in store for us (provided we don’t fall into one of the disused quarries along the way)! The track was already difficult enough to be tackled by bicycle, let alone by car, although one adventurous enthusiast, who is still a MAS member, regularly used to drive his dark green Morris Minor along this route. (7)
In those golden years the first five bays of Old Sun Spot were frequently used to park visiting “foreign” or non-RAF military aircraft, including many exotic deliveries. Allow me to indulge in some nostalgia – the list will not fail to amaze you.
The most frequent occupants were French Navy Beech C-45 and RAF Varsity navigation trainers, the latter type usually coming over from England in groups of five or six on Friday afternoons to spend the weekend in Malta before returning on Monday morning. Dominies gradually took over from these venerable twin piston-engined aircraft whose ancestry goes back to the Wellington bomber. Aeronavale C-45s usually came over in pairs for a night stop. Other frequent Aeronavale visitors to Old Sun Spot were Flamants (a piston twin with a barrel-like fuselage and large twin fins), and the occasional C-47 and Bretagne. The last-mentioned was also a queer-looking, French-manufactured beast that resembled a scaled-up Flamant. Colour schemes were basically natural metal and white, with doses of Day-Glo in some cases. Looks like I got carried away describing some of the least interesting machines, so let’s get on with it.
Probably the best piece of hardware to occupy Bay 1 and 2 were the four Royal Libyan Air Force F-5s that landed at Luqa on 25th May 1969. Bear in mind that these two bays are just a few feet away from the fence, so image what it was like shooting Libyan F-5s with a standard lens! This group consisted of three single-seat F-5As and a twin-stick (two-seater) F-5B. One of these small fighters blew a tyre on landing, which was a blessing as this resulted in a visit by an RLAF C-47 bringing the necessary spares. If any of you are wondering why I’m prefixing Libyan Air Force with the word “Royal”, let me remind you that this was four months before King Idris, then ruling monarch of Libya, got booted out of Tripoli by a certain Colonel. RLAF markings consisted of red/black/red roundels, changed to red/white/black after the revolution and finally green discs from about 1978.
A word about airfield security in those days. This was in the hands of the RAF Police who frequently patrolled the perimeter fence in their Land Rovers. We got very little bother from these men, with one or two exceptions, whose hobby was spotting enthusiasts car numbers, or stopping to say something stupid like “You can’t take photos”.
However, visiting foreign air crews weren’t accustomed to funny people poking their lenses at them through the wire, close enough to see whether they are using f/8 or f/5.6, and this got them nervous at times, to say the least. So frequently, we had these crews from Southern Europe, the Middle East or Timbuktu, gesticulating and shouting incomprehensible words, which we loosely translated as meaning “You can’t photograph our precious C-47”. One particular Aeronavale Neptune crewman got so irritated at the sight of tele-lenses pointed at him at six in the morning whilst taxing for take-off, that he climbed up to his waist out of the roof hatch to make an obscene gesture with his hands. Photographic proof of this exists, I assure you.
But when it comes to obscenities, no one beats the Italians. One Fiat G.91 jock, mad at having his mount photographed while taxiing down the Northern taxiway, (9) turned his aircraft’s rear end towards the perimeter fence and gave us a blast of hot gas! I wonder if this was the same joker who, a couple of years later, smashed through the fence after an aborted take-off in another G.91!
Where were we? Yes, we had Italian AF F-86K Sabres in Old Sun Spot, Royal Saudi AF Strikemasters on delivery, Iraqi AF An-12s (no, this was long before Desert Storm) Royal Navy Hunter GA.11s, all shape and sizes of Canberras, single examples of US Navy Vigilante, Crusader and Tracker aircraft, Aeronavale Atlantics and Nord 262s, Italian AF Albatrosses, G.91s and Trackers, Royal Navy Wessex and Sea King helicopters, and RAF Victors and Vulcans, just to mention a few off-hand.
Oh yes, I mustn’t forget the RAF Shackletons, Belgian AF C-119 Flying Boxcars, Malaysian AF Caribous and the occasional USAF C-47, C-130 and HH-3E Jolly Green Giant that also visited the Old Sun Spot in my days.
And not on an entirely aeronautical theme, the Old Sun Spot area contained (as it still does today), an old quarry which served as a weapons dump. Nowadays, it is in the hands of the Airport Company of the A.F.M., and used for storing our Bofors L70s among other things. In my younger days, 1,000-lb bombs for Vulcans could be seen neatly stacked in rows at the bottom of this pit.
And now I must really dash. Someone just phoned to tell me there’s a Coconut Airways B.737 on Park 9. How absolutely exciting!
Notes:
1 The balcony was situated between parking slots 2 & 3.
2 Med-Avia have since moved to Hal-Safi.
3 The entire area previously occupied by the arrivals/departure has been turned into a cargo area.
4 After having been vandalise over the years, the tower’s structure was deemed unsafe, and pulled down.
5 This is gate 7, the one we use to enter on visits to the Air Squadron and Control Tower.
6 This area is now occupied by NCA and Med-Avia.
7 This is the track we take to arrive at the cement room to photograph aircraft using runway 24/06.
8 Since this article was originally written, the ashes and remains have long since disappeared. Basically, the aircraft were close to the cement room we climb on to photograph aircraft using runway 24/06.
9 This is the taxi-way that leads from Park 4 to the threshold of runway 06.
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