HU-16 Albatross

In the summer of 1964, while the situation in Cyprus had brought Greece and Turkey to the threshold of open war, U.S officials noticed a new development in the area.Warships not belonging to the surrounding countries and certainly not of their own 6th Fleet, sailed in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean.They were painted in a dark grey colour and flying a white flag with a broad blue stripe at the bottom, and a red hammer and sickle on the top left corner:
This was the “Piati Eskadra”, the 5th Fleet of the Soviet Navy.
The U.S and NATO reaction to this event was not immediate.They believed that the Soviet Union was in a routine “show the flag” mission for their friends in the area, Syria and Egypt.They were slow to realise that the Soviets had decided to become the second naval power in the world.
Furthermore, the attention of both the American administration and the public was drawn to the events in South Viet-Nam.It was the time when the L.Johnson administration started sending U.S troops in great numbers into this country.There was little interest in the why the Soviets were sending a few more ships in the Mediterranean.
Things though, were becoming complicated.
The various “advisors” and “analysts” of the U.S administration had not fully realized the fluid situation prevailing in the Eastern Mediterranean since 1967.
In the spring of that year, a military junta overthrew the elected government in Greece and established a dictatorship.Further afield, the tension between the Arabs and Israel was growing and would eventually lead to war.Obscured by these events the growth of the “Piati Eskadra” went almost unnoticed.The new “detail” to the Soviet presence in the area, was that their ships did not need so much the friendly ports of Latakia in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt.On the east and west of the island of Crete, marginally outside the Greek territorial waters, two large anchorages for the Russian warships were established! (1)
The problem started to become serious, demanding a solution.The first step was to strengthen the U.S 6th Fleet.The second, to adjust the NATO plans to the new situation.In order to meet the challenge, new defence procurements had to be made, and here the difficulties arose.
As the situation developed, the two NATO members that will have to shoulder a large part of the responsibility of meeting the problem, were Turkey and Greece.

51-0068 just before touching down on Eleusis AFB in the beginning of the '70s.

The first country controlled the Marmara straits, through which the Soviet ships were passing, coming out from the Black Sea and into the Mediterranean.
Turkey , easily and with simple means could stop the ships coming through in the event of a crisis.
Greece, near the territory of which the Soviet fleet anchorages lay, had to undertake their surveillance and if necessary to be able to attack them.As far as the surface ships were concerned, the task was achieved by the various naval surveillance centers.The problem was in confronting the submarine threat.According to the experts, the best way for detecting and fighting submarines is from the air.Greece at that time had no suitable aircraft and her means of buying them was non-existent.Almost all the armament procurements until then, were through NATO and U.S funds.
And although the financial problem could be solved , the political obstacles were quite another matter.The military dictatorship in Greece had forced the U.S Congress to demand from President Johnson to enforce an arms embargo.Under this embargo, deliveries of F-5 fighters and discussions for the sale of C-130E transports had been cancelled.
The solution to the problem came from a completely unexpected quarter.Leonid Ilich Brezniev!
In August 1968, the Soviet forces rolled into (then) Czechoslovakia in order to put an end to the so called “Prague spring”.
The democratic freedoms of the Greek citizens had to take a second seat in the U.S and NATO considerations.For them the primary danger came from Soviet aggression and it had to be tackled.
So, the Greek embargo was circumvented.

faeth

Albatross 515289, named "Faethon" was modified for the EW role.

Another factor contributed to the solving of the problem.
At this time, the Kongelige Norske Luftforsvaret or Royal Norwegian Air Force was in the process of changing its anti-submarine aircraft.It was decided in NATO, that the older Norwegian aircraft should be transferred to Greece.
The Greek authorities had no objection to that.
And why should they?On the one hand they would acquire aircraft that will fill an important gap, and on the other, the transfer would represent a welcome break in the embargo.
The aircraft in question were none other than the venerable Grumman Albatross.
These were amphibians that had been constructed in 1951 and ’52.Some of them had started life as Grumman SA-16A-GR and others as SA-16B-GR .Very soon the former were modified to 16B.When delivered to the USAF they served in the SAR (2). role until 1960.Afterwards they were modified for the ASW (3) role and in 1961 and ’62 were transferred to Norway.
Two Norwegian squadrons were equipped with the Albatrosses.The 330 Sq flying from Sola near Stavanger, and 333 Sq in Andøya in the north of Norway between Narvik and Tromsø.Their role was not limited to the ASW and SAR but to other rather unusual duties.These included medevac, postal service to remote areas, ice and ..polar bear observation.
In 1968 the Norwegian Air Force started to replace them with P-3B Orions and Sea King helicopters.
The Norwegian Albatrosses even though they operated in adverse weather conditions they were not used extencively.
So, when they were returned to the U.S it was decided that they go through factory inspection and maintenance and to be transferred to Greece and Spain.
Spain was not a NATO member then, but the Americans had started to supply Franco’s armed forces with modern weaponry to replace their WWII era equipment.
Twelve of the ex U.S.,and ex Norwegian Albatrosses* were offered to the Hellenic Air Force.Three of these arrived in the 112 Wing at Eleusis Air Base in February of 1969.

cockpit

The cockpit of an Albatross.The age of the aircraft is obvious.

Training of the air and ground crews started immediately.Flying training was undertaken by personnel of the U.S Coast-Guard.
During the next month 9 more aircraft arrived, while on August, 1 of the same year the 353 Naval co-operation Squadron was established.All Albatrosses came under this squadron.
The Grumman Albatross became the first flying-boat to enter service with the Hellenic Air Force after 55 years.
In 1914 the Hellenic Navy had bought one of the few Sopwith Bat-boats.This aircraft was a real failure.It is said that it was named “the donkey” and that only Collyns P.Pizey (4). and A.Moraitinis were able to take off in this aircraft.

51-7207 during water trials in lake Trihonis.

By the end of 1969 the first part of training was completed and in the spring of 1970 operational training started.For the pilots and the ground crew it was undertaken by the U.S Coast Guard as noted above, while for the anti-submarine equipment operators the instructors were from the U.S. Navy.It was a new experience for the Hellenic Navy men who were occupying the seats of tactical co-ordinator, radio operator and anti-submarine equip. operator.The first was an officer and the other two warrant officers.
The rest of the crew :pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer were from the Air Force.
The 353 MNAS is something of an oddity in HAF.As an Air Force unit administratively comes under Air Support Command, but the Hellenic Navy has its operational control.In other words the Air Force General Headquarters keeps the aircraft flying and the Navy Headquarters decides what and where their missions will be.

The center section of the cabin of an Albatross, looking forward.

This peculiarity was not an obstacle for the completion of operational training, which took place in 1970.
So, by the end of that year 353 Squadron started to fly operational missions.And of course, there was no lack of work.
The Soviets and our neighbours the Turks were making sure that there was plenty of it.
In February of 1971 one more Albatross was delivered to the Squadron.However, this was a HU-16C aircraft, coming from U.S Navy stocks and lacking the ASW equipment.It did not last long and around 1976 it became a source of spares for the rest of the Albatross fleet.
Over the years, the Grumman aircraft served faithfully, but their age was already showing.Unfortunately nobody was interested for their replacement.In the beginning of the ‘80s, some discussions took place for their “upgrading”.There was a Grumman proposal for the replacement of the engines and systems, but the high cost and the old age of the aircraft made it unrealistic.Despite the many problems, the elderly Albatrosses carried on.This was made possible by the tireless efforts of their crews and ground personnel.

The starboard side of the cabin, immediately behind the cockpit.

No serious accident had taken place in 353 Squadron, until January 23, 1992.At around 10.30 in the morning of that day, Albatross 51-7202 named “Kronos” (Saturn), took off from its base at Eleusis.It was a test flight after the change of the port engine.The crew was: pilot Wing Commander P.Zafirakis, commanding officer of 353 Sq., co-pilot Flt Lieutenant Chr.Dimopoulos, and flight engineer W/O C.Papamihail.
All of them were very experienced and knew the Albatross very well.While they were flying over the city of Eleusis, the port engine developed problems and stalled.The pilot tried hard to manage the aircraft back to base which was near, but then noticed that the landing gear had also a malfunction.Nothing could be done to save the aircraft.It started losing height, hit an electric pole and crashed on two houses injuring two residents in one.All crew were killed."Saturn" had stayed faithful to its myth, devouring his children.
After this accident, the discussions for the replacement of the Albatrosses not only intensified, but took a dramatic urgency.Dissagreement surfaced between the Air Force and the Navy for the type of aircraft: The Air Force wanted a multi-role aircraft that could be fitted with replaceable palettes with anti-submarine equipment, which could be removed to free the aircraft for other roles, according to the needs.The Navy, of course wanted a dedicated anti-submarine aircraft.After inexcusably long discussions and lack of will on the part of the Defence Ministry, a decision was made to replace the Albatrosses with the Lockheed P-3B Orion.
And again, these aircraft were not new.They were built between 1967-69 and they had flown shortly with the U.S Navy.When they were replaced by the P-3Cs they went for storage to Davis-Mothan in the Arizona desert.
From there, 10 aircraft were picked by Hellenic Air Force and Navy personell.These were 4 P-3As and 6 P-3Bs.The former would serve for ground training and spares.The Bs will become the operational aircraft.All were serviced and brought up to flying condition.They started to arrive in Greece in 1995 and they underwent extensive maintenance at the Hellenic Aircraft Industry in Tanagra Air Base.The first P-3B TACNAVMOD was delivered to the refurbished facilities of 353 Sq. in 30 May 1996.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Wing Commander Panagiotis Zafirakis, Flight Lieutenant Christos Dimopoulos and W/O Constantinos Papamihail.