Zimbabwe and home - Tony Cunnane's Life and Times

I then went my own way again and flew to Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, while the Team spent a few days in the dry north of the Republic at Hoedspruit, home of the SAAF’s own aerobatic team, the Silver Falcons. I was made very welcome in Harare by the staff of the British Embassy but they told me it would be very difficult to obtain any advance publicity  for the Team "...because of the political situation".

That evening I invited myself to the offices of the Harare Herald, just a short walk from my hotel -  I thought the Air Attache had made an appointment for me but he hadn't - and he would not have done had I asked him! I spent about an hour telling a nervous reporter all about the Red Arrows. I was very conscious of the fact that the reporter, who asked me no questions, spent most of his time making surreptitious glances towards the man I assumed to be the News Editor at the other end of the room. Looking back when I had returned to my hotel room, I was not even sure that the reporter had understood a word I'd told him. The next day a lengthy report was spread over three columns of the Harare Herald but there was hardly a mention of the Red Arrows. Most of the article was about the Air Force of Zimbabwe and their participation in the ‘historic air show at Charles Prince Airport.’ Perhaps they had heard how the Red Arrows had stolen the show at Waterkloof and did not want the same to happen at their air show. Charles Prince Airport, approximately 8 km northwest of Harare, is not named after Prince Charles. It was originally called Mount Hampden and later renamed after its former airport manager Charles Prince (who was a Royal Air Force officer during World War II). I thought you would like to know!

The Red Arrows eventually arrived in Harare from Hoedspruit. Air Commodore Simon Bostock, Commandant of CFS, later reported that the Harare display took place ‘before a modest crowd by South African standards but there was a great deal of good will.’ Performances by aircraft of the Air Force of Zimbabwe were noisy and spirited, he continued, but hardly within normal safety regulations accepted within Europe. I learned that the Air Force of Zimbabwe, AFZ, is so-called so as not to be confused with the neighbouring Zambian Air Force, ZAF.

Nevertheless a spectacular picture (above left) of the Red Arrows flying over the Falls was obtained by the Team’s own photographer, Peter Mobbs, flying with Red 10. I write 'picture' in the singular because, although Peter was using the motor drive in his camera, the Hawks were travelling at 400 miles per hour and as a result there was only a single frame that had the Red Arrows centrally placed over the Falls. There was no time or fuel to go around again for another attempt. Peter spent some anxious days until he could develop his film but he need not have worried. His superb picture (the small version above does not do it full justice) appeared in several of the UK national newspapers and was seen around the world in newspapers, brochures and magazines. Up until the day I retired I was still getting mail from members of the public asking where they could get copies. If only one PR photograph had come out of the whole tour, this one would have made the tour worthwhile. What a pity that Peter was an RAF serviceman and so he got no royalties from his work!

"The journey north from Zimbabwe was relatively uneventful with light winds and stunning scenery" said Squadron Leader Rands. "I was mesmerised by the greenness and beauty of Kenya and Ethiopia. In the many trips I have flown over the Mediterranean and the Alps I have never had such superb visibility as we found over Africa. It was a little compensation for the stiff legs and numb bum after 15 hours in the cockpit over three consecutive days!"

The detachment arrived back home on 19 October having flown 23,000 nautical miles. The Hawks had amassed a total of 631 flying hours and the support Hercules 75 hours. The Hawks then underwent an extensive series of engineering inspections and servicings.

Just 35 days later, on 23 November, the Red Arrows took off from Scampton for what was expected to be the very last time. That final departure from Scampton was an emotional occasion, more so perhaps for those left behind. The media were there in force to film the events for posterity and John Rands led his pilots on one final flypast over 4 Hangar, the Team’s home since 1983. The Hercules support aircraft took off just a few minutes after the Hawks had disappeared from sight and sound. What we thought at the time would be the very last aircraft to leave Scampton, shortly after the Hercules, was a Chipmunk flown by Station Commander, Chris Burwell, on his final day in command.

But, not for the first time in its illustrious history, Scampton was not yet finished.

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