Air Force History 1970s
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On September 20, two Hunters took off from Mafraq just before sunset at 1700 hours to survey the battlefield. At that time Iraqi troops were deployed in Jordan (as part of the eastern front land forces), particularly around the Mafraq area. The next day after the Air Force launched the first strike, the Iraqis issued a warning that they would shoot any aircraft taking off from the base. They fired some rounds at one of the formations.
The King, as Supreme Commander, ordered the Hunter squadrons to be evacuated to PHAB, H5 and on the following day, Hunter Mk 9s attacked the Syrian armour below the Husn ridge (between Irbid and Ramtha), with anti-tank rockets and machine guns, to such devastating effect that the tide of the battle turned in favour of the Jordanians.
The Hunters encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire and the skies were full of puffs of smoke. The noise from the aircraft and the heavy weapons with the dust of the tanks, made it a unique battle scene. The morale of the pilots was so high that each one was eager to fly as many missions as possible.
F104s were tasked with combat air patrol and reconnaissance missions. By the afternoon of the 22nd the Syrians had pulled back across the border. The only Air Force casualty was Lieutenant Samir Shorafa who was shot down by ground fire whilst flying a Hunter. He parachuted to safety but was taken prisoner by the Syrians and transferred to Damascus. He was later released.
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Painting of F104s
flying air patrol in September 1970
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Paintings of Hunters attacking Syrian armour,
September 1970
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In December 1971, eight F104s were flown by No 9 Squadron pilots to Pakistan, with a technical team, where they stayed until the end of the war with India.
This was a gesture in recognition of the help and close co-operation over the years with the Pakistan Air Force.
When the October 1973 War started between Israel, Egypt and Syria, the Prince Hassan Air Base at H5 had been closed for runway repairs and No 9 Squadron (F104s) were stationed temporarily at the King Hussein Air Base in Mafraq with the other squadrons of Hunters. They returned to PHAB on the second day of the war to operate from there flying combat air patrols. A flight of Hunters was redeployed to a landing strip at Azraq. The RJAF were ready to intercept any targets violating Jordanian air space and there were many scrambles but no engagements.
The Air Force was re-equipping during the 70’s and twenty two F5As and Bs arrived in December 1974 from Iran. The first flight of the F5E was on May 10, 1975 at PHAB with a total of sixty two coming into service.
The T37B equipped No 6 Training Squadron at the KHAB. The Hunters were flown to Oman as a gift and the F104 was taken out of service in 1977. The transport squadron was re-equipped and four new radar stations came into service.
The first pilots fully trained in Jordan received their wings from HM King Hussein in December 1975 at KHAB, Mafraq.
One of the most tragic accidents in the history of the RJAF was on February 9, 1977. Her Majesty Queen Alia Al Hussein (wife of King Hussein) had been visiting a hospital in the south of Jordan and was returning to Amman in an Allouette III of the Royal Squadron when, south of Amman, the helicopter disappeared from the radar screen. It crashed and killed all the occupants.
By 1978 the Air Force had a total of 78 fighter pilots, 28 transport pilots and 24 helicopter pilots
In 1979, after the peace treaty was signed between Egypt and Israel, the Arab countries met in Baghdad and decided to re-equip the front line Arab states with modern weapons. The RJAF would acquire two Mirage F1 squadrons.
In July 1981 the Mirage F1C and E, armed with Matra and Magic
air-to-air missiles, became the front line fighter aircraft for the Air Force stationed at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Azraq. The Mirage was inferior to the US F15s and F16s flown by the Israeli Air Force and the more advanced MiG-25 and MiG-29 Soviet fighters in the Syrian inventory. |
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