Arid FACs 5 of 3! Saudi CAC CA-26 Winjeel T.21

[comrade harps]

CAC CA-26 Winjeel T.21
a/c 688, 9 Squadron, Royal Saudi Air Force
Sadah, Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (North Yemen), 1963
Pilot: Lt. Mohammed Ameen



First flying in 1955, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation's CA-25 Winjeel was designed to meet a RAAF requirement for a basic trainer. Two CA-22 prototypes were followed by the CA-25 Winjeel T.1 production version for the RAAF. The CA-26 Winjeel T.21 was an armed export variant, equipped with 2 .30 cal Browning machine guns mounted in the wings and provisions for rocket launchers, the carriage of .50 cal gun pods or small bombs. Several customers acquired the CA-26 for armament training, light strike and FAC duties. The Winjeel would go on to successfully serve alongside its jet-powered sibling, the CAC-28 Bunjill, with the RAAF and export users into the 1970s.




The Royal Saudi Air Force purchased 16 CA-26 Winjeel T.21s for training duties with 21 Sqd at Tabuk in 1957. The second batch of 36 was acquired in 1959 to arm two combat-coded units, 9 and 10 Sqds, both based at Khamis Mushayt, but with detachments throughout the Kingdom. The Winjeel T.21 was armed with 2 wing-mounted .30 cal Brownings. As delivered, they could also carry light bombs, .50 cal gun pods and Australian-made RP-3 rockets. They were progressively replaced in the late 1960s and early '70s by Beechcraft T-34C-1 Mentors in the training role and by the Rockwell OV-10A Bronco in 9 and 10 Squadrons.


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The Saudi Winjeels were active in several crises and conflicts. 9 Squadron Winjeels saw action supporting Royalist Yemeni and Saudi forces during the 1962-65 North Yemen Civil War. This unit also saw combat against domestic insurgencies backed by the Arab Nationalist governments of Egypt and South Yemen between 1963 and '67. 10 Squadron used Winjeels from 1964 to '68 in Africa. Their task was to defend the majority Saudi-owned uranium mine at Arlit, Niger, and the road and rail route (the so-called Uranium Highway) that connected the mine with the Red Sea port of Khartoum in Sudan.



Published photographs show this Winjeel, marked 688, with 9 Squadron at Khamis Mushayt between 1959 and 1963 and at various locations in North Yemen in 1963, including Sadah. By 1965 it had been transferred to 10 Squadron and that year was photographed "somewhere in Sudan." Photos from 1966 and '67 show it at Arlit and Agadez in Niger and at N'Djamena in Chad.



A variety of ordnance was seen on 688 over the course of its service. 4 RP-3s or a pair of. 50 cal gun pods were carried when photographed at Khamis Mushayt. In North Yemen, the loadout was usually 4 American supplied 5-inch HVAR rockets, although flares were carried for night work. The standard loadout in Africa was 2 LAU-32 rocket pods or 2 SUU-11 Minigun pods, although some photos of 688 in Africa show it with a pair of both weapon types.




Winjeel T.21 688 is modelled here as photographed at Sadah, North Yemen, in 1963. Its external armament is 4 5-inch HVAR rockets with white phosphorus warheads for target marking. Employed on armed overwatch, artillery spotting, visual reconnaissance and FAC duties, 9 Squadron crews often worked with Saudi jets to prosecute targets. These included F-104G Starfighters (armed with a 20mm Vulcan cannon, plus Mk.82 or M117 bombs or LAU-3 rocket pods) and CAC-28 Bunjil T.41s (armed with 2 .30 cal Brownings and loadouts including Mk.81 or Mk.82 bombs and LAU-32 rocket pods).



The Winjeel was generally flown solo on operations in North Yemen. The pilot who usually flew 688 during this conflict has been identified as Lt. Mohammed Ameen. He would go on to fly F-104G and S Starfighters and F-5E Tiger IIs. He retired as a full Colonel.

[Dizzyfugu]

Neat. 

[Wardukw]

Cool ..very cool Harps mate  and i do like that camo 

[Flyer]

Nice! 

Have to ask though as I have noticed the similarity between the Winjeel and BAC Provost, is this a kit of a Winjeel or a Provost?

[comrade harps]

Have to ask though as I have noticed the similarity between the Winjeel and BAC Provost, is this a kit of a Winjeel or a Provost?

It's the Matchbox kit of the Percival Provost. The Provost and the Winjeel do look similar, hence the conciet.

[zenrat]

 

[NARSES2]

That does look good