RAF bomb disposal in cyprus 1974

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The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island.

The coup was ordered by the military junta in Greece and staged by the Cypriot National Guard in conjunction with EOKA B. It deposed the Cypriot president Archbishop Makarios III and installed Nikos Sampson.[37][38] The aim of the coup was the union (enosis) of Cyprus with Greece, and the Hellenic Republic of Cyprus to be declared.

The Turkish forces landed in Cyprus on 20 July and captured 3% of the island before a ceasefire was declared. The Greek military junta collapsed and was replaced by a civilian government. Following the breakdown of peace talks, Turkish forces enlarged their original beachhead in August 1974 resulting in the capture of approximately 36% of the island. The ceasefire line from August 1974 became the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus and is commonly referred to as the Green Line.

Around 150,000 people (amounting to more than one-quarter of the total population of Cyprus, and to one-third of its Greek Cypriot population) were displaced from the northern part of the island, where Greek Cypriots had constituted 80% of the population. Over the course of the next year, roughly 60,000 Turkish Cypriots, amounting to half the Turkish Cypriot population, were displaced from the south to the north. The Turkish invasion ended in the partition of Cyprus along the UN-monitored Green Line, which still divides Cyprus.

When the Turkish attacks on Cyprus began with the invasion in July 1974.  Chief Technician Fred Knox was the SNCO in charge of EOD at RAF Akrotiri.  The EOD team was supplemented with members of the Weapon Engineering Squadron some of whom had EOD training.  The teams were assembled and kitted out with what equipment they had (which wasn’t a great deal).  The team had to be ready to deal with a variety of UXB’s delivered by a variety of aircraft of the Turkish Air Force which included F100 Super Sabres, F104 Starfighters and F84 Thunderjet/Thunderstreak/Thunderflash whatever they were called at the time!

The weapon loads were a mixture of 500lb & 750lb bombs along with 2.75 inch rockets of HEAT (high explosive anti tank) variety.  The aircraft also carried 20mm ammunition rounds of differing varieties.  The teams were readied and knew what sort of things to expect.

On July 27th a preliminary cease fire had been arranged to enable the evacuation of civilians.  The EOD team was requested to deploy to the Larnaca and Famagusta areas of the island.  The team members were Flt Lt Ted Costick, Fg Off David Wilson and Chief Tech Fred Knox.  They found three major UXB’s which were causing concern for the Greek National Guard.  The main reason that worried the Greeks was the lack of their own EOD qualified personnel.  This meant that the RAF EOD team had to carry out the work to render safe the UXB’s.

 The first item dealt with was the rocket pod pictured here. It was complete with 2.75 inch rockets.  As they hadn’t been fired they were considered safe and transported to an area set aside for demolition. The second item was a 750lb General Purpose bomb situated under a church in Famagusta.  The item was fuzed in the tail and a partial detonation had occurred.  The reason was unknown but the bomb case had split from front to rear.  The bulk HE was still there.  As there wasn’t any danger this was left for a second team to take away for destruction later. 

 Task three was situated in the Venus Beach Hotel on the sixth floor.  Strangely, the bomb, another 750lb GP was lying on a bed without its fins and the fuze exposed.  The render safe procedure was decided upon and a piece of equipment known as an “IGOL” was used to remove the fuze by unwinding a long cable to spin the fuze out of the bomb.  The procedure was successful and a block and tackle was then used to lower the bomb to the ground and onto the back of the Land Rover. 

Flight Leiutenant Capstick with Chief Technician Fred Knox with the bomb on a bed in the Venus Beach Hotel together with one of the Greek Cypriot armed forces personnel.

There were many other tasks undertaken by the EOD teams in Cyprus during the conflict and after but only so many can be mentioned here but one stands out from the rest as being most unusual.  It was a call to Paphos where two UXB’s had been sighted in the harbour.  One was in about 6ft of water and the other at about 15ft.

  The team comprising of Flt Lt Ted Tout, Fg Off David Wilson and Chf Tech Fred Knox liaised with the Greek army to find a method of raising the bombs once they had been rendered safe. 

  A small portable crane was spotted on the harbourside and this was used to joist the bombs out.  The crane operator offered to train Fred to use the crane but then volunteered himself to join the team.

Fred and Dave donned trunks, masks and flippers and decended into the water to fix an IGOL to the bomb fuzes and remove them.  The area had been evacuated and even a pelican had been taken away by a the local café owner.

 According to the areas of responsibility regarding UXB’s etc that were promulgated during WW2 “All bombs, mines, munitions etc found below the high water mark are the responsibility of the Royal Navy”  Fred relates that in this incident, the involvement of the RAF EOD was probably due to “clerical error”. 

Among the tasks carried out by RAF BD in Cyprus during the conflict, there was also the job of collecting the many arsenals of weapons held by both factions  involved in the fighting.

Weapons found included a hoard of guns and rifles complete with ammunition that was labelled "Sweet Pickles," this cache' was taken away and destroyed.

There has been relative peace in Cyprus but there is still a certain amount of bad feelings.

 After the hostilities of 1974, the United States applied an arms embargo on both Turkey and Cyprus. The embargo on Turkey was lifted after three years by President Jimmy Carter, whereas the embargo on Cyprus remained in place for longer, having most recently been enforced on 18 November 1992. In December 2019, the US Congress lifted the decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus. On 2 September 2020, United States decided to lift the embargo on selling "non-lethal" military goods to Cyprus for one year starting from 1 October. Each year the US decided to renew its decision (the latest being September 2024), a move which was heavily criticised by Turkey. In August 2024, Cyprus and the US signed a defense cooperation agreement valid for the next five years; Turkey also condemned this agreement