RAF Akrotiri

A RAF Tornado GR4 returns to RAF Akrotiri after a mission undertaken during Operation Shader
Location of RAF Akrotiri within the Western Sovereign Base Area
English Electric Lightning (XS929), displayed as a gate guardian at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus
An 11 Squadron Eurofighter Typhoon parked at RAF Akrotiri
U.S. Marines helicopter at RAF Akrotiri
Red Arrows flying over HMS Illustrious next to Akrotiri
View of Akrotiri from the cockpit of a Hawk TMK1
The passenger terminal at RAF Akrotiri

Large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

- RAF Akrotiri

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Limassol

City on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name.

Ancient Amathus
Kourion Greco-Roman theatre.
Tigranes the Great and the Four Kings
View of Kolossi Castle built in 1210 by the Frankish military.
The Limassol Medieval Castle was rebuilt in 1590 by the Ottomans.
Limassol old town with British colonial architecture
Angela Merkel and Nicos Anastasiades attending the EPP summit in Limassol in 2013
Limassol Armenian school
Limassol Marina
Cranes in Limassol Harbour.
Columbia Plaza in the old city centre
Fasouri Watermania, Cyprus' biggest waterpark
Ayia Napa Church
Limassol castle
View from the coastal front.
The medieval (Crusader) castle.
Tour during Limassol Wine Festival
The Cypriot Carnival Festival in Limassol
Limassol Nightlife, October 2020
Spyros Kyprianou Athletic Center
Skatepark in Molos area

To the west of the city is the Akrotiri Area of the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

No. 84 Squadron RAF

Squadron badge
Blenheims of 84 and 203 Squadrons attacking Vichy French targets in Syria
UN troops of UNFICYP boarding an 84 Squadron Whirlwind in 1977
84 Squadron Bell Griffin HAR2 dips its bucket off the coast of Atlit, Israel during firefighting efforts on 3 December 2010

No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is at present a Search and Rescue Squadron based at RAF Akrotiri, using the Bell Griffin HAR.2 helicopter.

Bell 412

Utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter.

Bell 412EP of the Los Angeles City Fire Department
UH-X prototype
Bell 412 operators
Chilean Air Force Bell 412
Bell 412 of Indonesian Navy
An Agusta-Bell AB-412 of the Italian Army
A Royal Norwegian Air Force Bell 412
A Slovenian Air Force Bell 412
A Royal Thai Air Force Bell 412
A Bell 412EP Griffin HT1 of the Royal Air Force Defence Helicopter Flying School hover taxis to the runway at RIAT in 2010.
Griffin HAR2 of No. 84 Squadron RAF during medevac exercise, 2020
A Finnish Frontier Guard Agusta Bell AB-412
An LA County Fire Dept. 412 sits atop a helipad in the mountains in the Angeles National Forest.
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Rotor head and transmission of a Bell 412

Bell Griffin HAR2: Search and Rescue helicopter based on the Bell 412EP, operated by No. 84 Squadron RAF since 2003 at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Akrotiri and Dhekelia

British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus.

Inside the officers' mess, c. March 1969
Garrison officers' mess Dhekelia, 1969
An SBA Police station in Akrotiri
Map of Akrotiri, Western Sovereign Base Area, BFPO 57
Map of Dhekelia, Eastern Sovereign Base Area, BFPOs 58 & 59
Episkopi Bay on the west coast of Akrotiri
Holy Cross Church in Akrotiri village
Akrotiri village
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The United Kingdom desired to retain sovereignty over these areas, as this guaranteed the use of UK military bases on Cyprus, including RAF Akrotiri, and a garrison of the British Army.

Royal Air Force

United Kingdom's air and space force.

Badge of the Royal Air Force
A late-war version of the Spitfire, which played a major role in the Battle of Britain
The Avro Lancaster heavy bomber was extensively used during the strategic bombing of Germany.
The Handley Page Victor bomber was a strategic bomber of the RAF's V bomber force used to carry both conventional and nuclear bombs.
The Avro Vulcan was a strategic bomber used during the Cold War to carry conventional and nuclear bombs.
RAF Shackleton flying in formation in 1957 during the Jebel Akhdar War in Oman
Typhoons and Red Arrows flypast for the 90th Anniversary of the RAF, 2008
A Typhoon on QRA intercepts a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bomber approaching UK airspace
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston
RAF Mount Pleasant, home to No. 1435 Flight providing air defence for the Falkland Islands.
Jaguar aircraft used for training by No.1 School of Technical Training at RAF Cosford
Members of the RAF Regiment on parade, 2013
Typhoon FGR4 ZK330 'EZ' of No. 6 Squadron
F-35B Lightning
Poseidon MRA1
Royal Air Force Ensign
red disc removed
confusion
The RAF coat of arms at the gates of RAF College Cranwell
The Red Arrows in formation with an F-35B and a pair of Typhoons at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2016
Airseeker R1
Shadow R1
MQ-9A Reaper
C-17A Globemaster III
Atlas C1 (A400M)
Hercules C4 (C-130J-30)
Voyager KC2 (A330 MRTT)
Chinook HC6A
Puma HC2
Griffin HAR2
AW109 Grand New
Viking T1
Tutor T1
Prefect T1
Texan T1
Hawk T2
Phenom T1
Typhoon T3
Juno HT1
Jupiter HT1
Protector RG1
E-7 Wedgetail

The Suez Crisis in 1956 saw a large RAF role, with aircraft operating from RAF Akrotiri and RAF Nicosia on Cyprus and RAF Luqa and RAF Hal Far on Malta as part of Operation Musketeer.

No. 6 Squadron RAF

Number 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at RAF Lossiemouth.

Squadron badge
Lanoe Hawker's Bristol Scout C 1611, flown by Hawker on 25 July 1915 in his Victoria Cross-earning engagement.
Hawker Hardy aircraft operating from RAF Ramleh airfield in the 1930s
No. 6 Squadron Hawker Hurricane Mk.IId BP188 over the Western Desert during 1942.
A No. 6 Squadron SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3 over northern Iraq during 2000.
Two Eurofighter Typhoons FGR.4 of No. 6 Squadron carry Paveway II training rounds en route to the Cape Wrath range in Scotland during March 2013.

On 6 April 1956, after a brief period back at RAF Habbaniya in Iraq the squadron returned to Cyprus and operated from RAF Akrotiri.

1983 Beirut barracks bombings

Early on a Sunday morning, October 23, 1983, two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War.

A smoke cloud rises from the rubble of the bombed barracks at Beirut International Airport (BIA).
The USMC barracks in Beirut
The building in 1982
Sketch map of the route taken by the suicide bomber on the morning of October 23, 1983. [From the Long Commission Report].
Diagram of the attack.
Marine Gen. P.X. Kelley (left) and Col. Tim Geraghty (right) take Vice President George H.W. Bush on a tour around the site of the Beirut barracks bombing two days after the explosion.
Marine Barracks in Beirut after bombing, October 23, 1983
Chaplains, U.S. Marines, and family members observe a moment of silence during a memorial service
USS New Jersey (BB-62) fires a salvo against anti-government forces in the Shouf, January 9, 1984
Beirut Memorial, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Sign from the "Peacekeeping Chapel" at the Marine Barracks, on display at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Center, Fort Jackson.
Tribute to 58 French paratroopers of the 1st and 9th RCP who died for France in the 'Drakkar' building in Beirut on October 23, 1983.

U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force medevac planes transported the seriously wounded to the hospital at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and to U.S. and German hospitals in West Germany.

No. 9 Squadron RAF

Oldest dedicated Bomber Squadron of the Royal Air Force.

Squadron badge
A Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8, similar to what No. 9 Squadron operated between 1917 and 1918.
Vickers Wellington Mk.Is of No. 9 Squadron, on a mission in WW2, flying in formation.
Avro Lancaster B.3, ED831 'WS-H', of No. 9 Squadron taking off from RAF Bardney, Lincolnshire, for a raid on the Zeppelin works at Friedrichshafen in Germany.
A No. 9 Squadron aircrew shortly after returning from a raid in January 1944.
No. IX (B) Squadron Avro Vulcan B.2 XJ784 at Offutt AFB, 1976.
No. IX (B) Squadron Panavia Tornado GR.1 ZD810 in Gulf War markings at RAF Alconbury, 1991.
No. IX (B) Squadron Panavia Tornado GR.4 ZD748 in 1998.
No. IX (B) Squadron Panavia Tornado GR.4 ZA469 at RIAT in 2007. (This aircraft is today preserved at IWM Duxford).
No. IX (B) Squadron Panavia Tornado GR.4 ZA456 in a special scheme celebrating 100 years of No. 9 Squadron, 2015.
No. IX (B) Squadron Tornado GR.4 ZG775 in a special scheme to mark the retirement of the Tornado, 2019.
No. IX (B) Squadron Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 ZJ913 at RIAT, 2019.

Their Vulcans were equipped in late 1966 with WE.177 laydown nuclear bombs at RAF Cottesmore in the low-level penetration role and assigned to SACEUR, before spending six years in the same role 1969-74 at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, as part of the Near East Air Force Wing (NEAF) where the squadron formed part of the United Kingdom's commitment to CENTO.

De Havilland Venom

British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.

Privately owned Venom FB.50 in flight.
de Havilland Venom FB 1
A Venom NF.3. Note the clear view canopy and revised tail surfaces of this mark.
Venom FB.4 with revised tail surfaces. This aircraft served Nos. 28 and 60 Squadrons of the RAF.
Instrument panel of a Swiss Venom
Venom FB.1 built by Fairey Aviation in 1954
Venoms of the Patrouille Suisse display team in formation over Interlaken, Bern, 1983
British RAF Venom attacking Nizwa Fort during Jebel Akhdar War in Oman
Privately owned long nosed Swiss Venom FB.54
De Havilland Venom (formerly of the Swiss air force; now in the livery of the Iraqi air force) at the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim
RAF Venom NF.2 night fighter at the Farnborough air show in 1952
A Swiss Air Force Venom with its array of armaments at the Flieger-Flab-Museum.
Orthographically projection of the Venom NF 3, with profile of the FB 1 (FB 50 similar).
Instrumentation within the cockpit of a preserved Venom

6, 8 and 249 Squadrons, flying from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.

No. 73 Squadron RAF

Formed on 2 July 1917 during the First World War.

A Hawker Hurricane Mark I flown by Flight Lieutenant J E "Ian" Scoular, commander of 'B' Flight, No. 73 Squadron RAF, being refuelled and re-armed between sorties at Reims-Champagne, 1939 or 1940
Spitfire Mark IXs of No. 73 Squadron RAF, undergo servicing and refuelling at Prkos, Yugoslavia 1945

The squadron arrived in Akrotiri in March 1957 to form part of the Middle East Air Force Strike Wing, equipped with Canberra B2s.