- Joined
- Jan 20, 2014
- Messages
- 381
- Reaction score
- 860
- Points
- 93
- Location
- Kamp-Lintfort/Germany
- Website
- www.tomvandutch.de
The Nicosia airfield has been used by the Royal Air Force since the 1930s, and during the Second World War the runway was expanded by the J&P company. On September 24, 1947, Cyprus Airways began scheduled services.
Through the abandonment of various bases on the Suez Canal, in Iraq and Jordan, the Royal Air Force Station Nicosia, or RAF Nicosia for short, became an important base for the British Middle East Air Force at the end of the 1950s. What was once the most important RAF station in the Middle East was abandoned in 1966 in favor of the newer Akrotiri airfield in one of the two Sovereign Base Areas.
Construction of the new terminal began in 1966, with the Wiesbaden engineering firm Dorsch und Gehrmann, which specialized in insulation against aircraft noise, being involved in the planning. The terminal was opened in 1968. However, in the early 1970s the airport reached its capacity limits, so expansion plans were presented in June 1974.
Many buildings built by the RAF during the war still stand today.
So e.g. B. the tower, the air traffic control center, hangars and former residential barracks.
Some of these residential barracks, which are located away from the airfield, are part of the UN headquarters (which is directly behind the airfield) and are still in use today.
During the Cyprus conflict, the Turkish Air Force destroyed two of Cyprus Airways' fleet of three Trident jets (the remains of one of the aircraft are still visible). A short time later, the airport was between the fronts in the Cyprus conflict and the UN declared it a UN protection zone. In the middle of the tourist season, Cyprus Airways lost both its aircraft and its base. We had to temporarily stay in Larnaca. An airfield was prepared on a former military airfield, which opened in February 1975 and was later expanded into an airport.
Time has literally stood still at the airfield and much of it is still as it was when it was left on August 16, 1974. A real time capsule.
It was quite an adventure getting there. After finding a well-hidden parking spot, we started looking for a passage through the NATO wire. Once that was done we had to find a way through the main fence and see what height we were approximately. After everything had been explored, we set off the next day under cover of dusk and tried our luck. We got onto the site without any problems and then walked towards the terminal. Although the terrain was flat, it took us almost 40 minutes to get to the terminal, which was 1.5 km away, as the ground was very uneven and we had to walk carefully.
At the terminal we found a window with a narrow gap of almost 25 centimeters. The attempt to look for further access was prevented by 2 dome cameras on the roof of the terminal. So go back to the window and squeeze in through the gap. We managed that too and were in the terminal.
Now we had to wait almost 45 minutes until we had enough light to start taking photos. While we were waiting, we suddenly saw someone on the apron. A UN employee or soldier was doing his morning jog there and was easily visible through his bright yellow shirt.
During the time in the terminal, white UN vehicles and other civilian vehicles repeatedly drove across the apron and parking area. Due to the heavy traffic we decided not to go to the control tower and the Hawker Siddeley Trident (DH 121). Which, in retrospect, was the right decision.
When we left the terminal it was already light. Thinking for a long time about whether to leave or not was not an option. So get out of the terminal, quickly across the apron and first take cover behind one of the barely existing bushes to observe the area.
We had to stay here for a while because a vehicle came onto the apron from the right side.
After everything was quiet we continued. Here too we aimed for a bush to take advantage of the cover. I was just before the bush, my companion about 15 meters behind me, when we suddenly heard a loud noise and then discovered the cause of it. A patrol helicopter flew directly towards us. I managed to take cover behind the bush, but unfortunately my companion couldn't because they were too far away.
We walked a little faster now and had to take cover again as a truck was driving across the area. We watched the area and then saw 2 or 3 white UN vehicles where the DH 121 was.
Had the helicopter spotted us and reported our position?
We briefly observed the vehicles and saw that they were stationary.
So we continued. We tried to walk in such a way that we used every cover possible and kept checking on the vehicles that were still there. Suddenly noise again. The helicopter came flying in from the other direction.
This time we were able to take cover in time. Now it wasn't far to a depression. Behind the depression we were no longer visible to the vehicles and then quickly walked to the fence to leave the airfield area.
The complete album, with more the 100 pics, you will find on my homepage.
Through the abandonment of various bases on the Suez Canal, in Iraq and Jordan, the Royal Air Force Station Nicosia, or RAF Nicosia for short, became an important base for the British Middle East Air Force at the end of the 1950s. What was once the most important RAF station in the Middle East was abandoned in 1966 in favor of the newer Akrotiri airfield in one of the two Sovereign Base Areas.
Construction of the new terminal began in 1966, with the Wiesbaden engineering firm Dorsch und Gehrmann, which specialized in insulation against aircraft noise, being involved in the planning. The terminal was opened in 1968. However, in the early 1970s the airport reached its capacity limits, so expansion plans were presented in June 1974.
Many buildings built by the RAF during the war still stand today.
So e.g. B. the tower, the air traffic control center, hangars and former residential barracks.
Some of these residential barracks, which are located away from the airfield, are part of the UN headquarters (which is directly behind the airfield) and are still in use today.
During the Cyprus conflict, the Turkish Air Force destroyed two of Cyprus Airways' fleet of three Trident jets (the remains of one of the aircraft are still visible). A short time later, the airport was between the fronts in the Cyprus conflict and the UN declared it a UN protection zone. In the middle of the tourist season, Cyprus Airways lost both its aircraft and its base. We had to temporarily stay in Larnaca. An airfield was prepared on a former military airfield, which opened in February 1975 and was later expanded into an airport.
Time has literally stood still at the airfield and much of it is still as it was when it was left on August 16, 1974. A real time capsule.
It was quite an adventure getting there. After finding a well-hidden parking spot, we started looking for a passage through the NATO wire. Once that was done we had to find a way through the main fence and see what height we were approximately. After everything had been explored, we set off the next day under cover of dusk and tried our luck. We got onto the site without any problems and then walked towards the terminal. Although the terrain was flat, it took us almost 40 minutes to get to the terminal, which was 1.5 km away, as the ground was very uneven and we had to walk carefully.
At the terminal we found a window with a narrow gap of almost 25 centimeters. The attempt to look for further access was prevented by 2 dome cameras on the roof of the terminal. So go back to the window and squeeze in through the gap. We managed that too and were in the terminal.
Now we had to wait almost 45 minutes until we had enough light to start taking photos. While we were waiting, we suddenly saw someone on the apron. A UN employee or soldier was doing his morning jog there and was easily visible through his bright yellow shirt.
During the time in the terminal, white UN vehicles and other civilian vehicles repeatedly drove across the apron and parking area. Due to the heavy traffic we decided not to go to the control tower and the Hawker Siddeley Trident (DH 121). Which, in retrospect, was the right decision.
When we left the terminal it was already light. Thinking for a long time about whether to leave or not was not an option. So get out of the terminal, quickly across the apron and first take cover behind one of the barely existing bushes to observe the area.
We had to stay here for a while because a vehicle came onto the apron from the right side.
After everything was quiet we continued. Here too we aimed for a bush to take advantage of the cover. I was just before the bush, my companion about 15 meters behind me, when we suddenly heard a loud noise and then discovered the cause of it. A patrol helicopter flew directly towards us. I managed to take cover behind the bush, but unfortunately my companion couldn't because they were too far away.
We walked a little faster now and had to take cover again as a truck was driving across the area. We watched the area and then saw 2 or 3 white UN vehicles where the DH 121 was.
Had the helicopter spotted us and reported our position?
We briefly observed the vehicles and saw that they were stationary.
So we continued. We tried to walk in such a way that we used every cover possible and kept checking on the vehicles that were still there. Suddenly noise again. The helicopter came flying in from the other direction.
This time we were able to take cover in time. Now it wasn't far to a depression. Behind the depression we were no longer visible to the vehicles and then quickly walked to the fence to leave the airfield area.
The complete album, with more the 100 pics, you will find on my homepage.
