The Sultan of Oman’s Air Force (SOAF) was formed on I March 1959 as part of an agreement between His Highness the Sultan and HM Government following a hitter campaign in 1957-59 against Omani rebels in the Jebel Akhdar, in which the Sultan requested and received considerable British assistance. SOAF’s original equipment comprised three armed piston Provosts and two Pioneers, but in the late 1960s the Provosts were replaced by eight BAC Strikemasters. The Sultanate of Oman’s location at the entrance to the Arabian Gulf was, and is, of great strategic importance, and it has long been in the interests of HM Government to help in maintaining stability there.
The 1960s saw further insurgent outbreaks in Dhofar Province, the most westerly part of Oman, which borders the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (formerly the South Arabian Federation), and with the communists in firm control of that area following the British withdrawal from Aden, it became a relatively simple matter for them to supply aid to the insurgents in Oman itself. If the insurgents were to be held in check an expansion of SOAFs combat element was clearly needed, and in the early 1970s Hunters were acquired from a variety of sources. Some were ex-RAF FGA.9s which had served with the squadrons operating in the Gulf, others were the FGA.73s transferred from Jordan, and the rest were the Kuwaiti FGA.57s brought out of storage, together with two T.67s. From these various sources SOAF managed to raise a squadron (No 6 Squadron, at Thrumrayt) of some fifteen airworthy Hunters; some of the aircraft were hybrids, with components of ex-RAF FGA.9s married to parts of the ex-RJAF Mk.73s. In service the Hunters were flown mainly by RAF officers seconded to SOAF, but there was also a small nucleus of British, New Zealand and Jordanian mercenary pilots.
By the mid-1970s, SOAF pilots were facing an enemy equipped with some highly effective anti-aircraft weaponry, including ZSU 23/4 23-mm AAA and SA-7 shoulder-launched SAMs. In view of the growing number of incursions into Omani territory from across the South Yemen border it was decided to attack guerrilla bases there with all available SOAF strike aircraft. The raids, which began on 17 October 1975 and lasted into December, were mounted in conjunction with bombardments by warships of the Imperial Iranian Navy, the Shah of Iran having already lent considerable military support to the Sultan of Oman. No RAF pilots took part in the operation, which was carried out by mercenary pilots. The tactics adopted by the Hunter pilots involved flying to the target area at 15,000 feet, then diving on the objective at a sixty- degree angle, releasing their bombs at 2,500 feet and pulling up to 10,000 feet in a 7G spiral after weapons delivery. Rockets were fired at a slant range of 4,000 feet, and below 10,000 feet pilots maintained a speed of not less than 480 knots. Avoidance tactics on sight of a missile launch involved breaking towards the threat and throttling back to reduce the Hunter’s infra-red signature. Some twenty-three SA-7 launches were seen during the campaign, but only three hit their targets; one Strikemaster was shot down, and another Strikemaster and a Hunter were damaged. Other losses (none involving Hunters) were attributed to AAA and intense small-arms fire. Targets attacked included vehicle depots, supply dumps and, occasionally, an airfield.
In 1977 the Hunters of No 6 Squadron were complemented by the first of twelve Jaguar Internationals, these being delivered to No 8 Squadron which was also at Thrumrayt. Both the Jaguars and the Hunters were armed with the AIM-9P Sidewinder for air defence. In the ground attack role, the Hunters’ main weapons (excluding the 30-mm cannon) were 1,000-lb bombs, BL-755 cluster bombs and 80-mm Hispano SURA rockets. A second Jaguar squadron, No 20 Squadron, formed at Masirah in 1983. At the time of writing, early in 1988, the Hunters of No 6 Squadron were due to be replaced by eight Tornado F.3s. Their main role will be air defence, patrolling the vital Straits of Hormuz.
