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RAF Akrotiri is situated on the Akrotiri Peninsular on the south coast of Cyprus, probably the most sought after posting in the Royal Air Force. Those about to be posted to RAF Akrotiri, personnel currently serving here and many thousands who have had the pleasure in the past, all must surely agree that the only downside to this unique location, is that at some point we have to leave and go back to UK, where we all eventually seem to reflect on our time at RAF Akrotiri, wishing we could come back for another look. We look forward to your
input in our visitors book and invite you to send us some of your
pictures and stories about the good times you had out here in Cyprus, we
hope this website will jog some faded
memories into action. Workshops (REME), Engineering Wing and Supply Squadron. These units are manned by Army and RAF personnel, and were originally named Joint Transport and Movements Unit, Joint Supply Unit and Joint Maintenance Unit, was replaced by the Cyprus Engineering Unit (CEU) and the Cyprus Logistics Unit (CLU) and they were replaced 4 ½ years ago with a Joint Unit – the Cyprus Services Support Unit (CSSU). In the 1990s the Station's role as a staging post remained as important as ever. Never was this more apparent than in the run-up to the war in the Gulf, Operation GRANBY. Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 prompted a huge military build-up of Allied Troops in the Gulf. RAF Akrotiri played a key role in that build-up and almost every Section of the Station was affected in some way; RAF Akrotiri and its personnel rose to the challenge. Following Operation GRANBY the Station became similarly involved in Operation HAVEN in support of the Kurds in Northern Iraq. It was not until June 1991 that the Station could claim to have returned to normal. In January 1975 the British presence in Cyprus was drastically reduced; Akrotiri's fixed-wing aircraft squadrons were redeployed to the UK. All that remained at 'Big A' was a vastly reduced Station administrative establishment, No 84 Squadron, No 34 Squadron RAF Regiment, the Near East Joint Services Hygiene Unit and the RAF element of the Joint Services Support Unit. After 20 years of bustling active service, Akrotiri was run down to a new establishment of 350 Service personnel. It was decided to build a RORO (roll-on-roll-off) jetty at the Akrotiri Mole, a ferry terminal at which ships with bow or stern doors could be loaded or unloaded simply by driving on or off. The resident RCT maritime squadron built the longest mexefloat in the world to get the filling for the 'dolphins' out by pipeline - hundreds of tons of gravel and cement by fire-hose. The new facility was tried out by a very apprehensive RN Destroyer captain. He may only have had two feet of water under his keel, but the arrangement worked. |
1981, No 84 Squadron began to re-equip with Wessex HC2 helicopters, a changeover complete by March 1982. XD184 last flew on 1 March 1982 and in its 25-year life span flew a total of 7286 hours. On its tail is the 'Spades' playing card symbol. Playing card symbols have been used by No 84 Squadron to mark its different flights since the inter-war years and this policy is retained to this day. XD184 also sports a scorpion emblem on its cabin door which No 84 Squadron adopted in the 1920's and was formally recognised as the Squadron badge in 1936.
until the squadron's conversion to Phantoms was completed in 1976. On 17 July 1976 XS 929 moved to RAF Binbrook to serve with the resident squadrons, latterly No 11 Squadron, until its last flight and delivery to RAF Akrotiri on 19 May 1988. XS 929 is a Lightning F Mk6 single-seat interceptor aircraft depicted in No 56 Squadron
colours,
armed with 2 Red Top missiles and powered by 2 Rolls Royce Avon turbo-jet engines, capable of a maximum speed of 1500mph. By coincidence, XS 929 operated at RAF Akrotiri from August 1973 to January 1975 with No 56 Squadron when it was an F Mk3 with a smaller ventral fuel tank. A second respray was finished in time for the visit of Her Majesty The Queen in October 1994. A third refurbishment and respray was completed by CSSU in late 2001. XS 929 made its initial flight on 1 March 1967. It was the 116th and one of the last Lightning F Mk6 aircraft to be built.
