The plan was,  for the take-offs to start at 22.30 hrs  of July 21, with a separation of  5’ between  take-offs, so that all aircraft would be airborne by  midnight.
The flight to Cyprus, the landing, unloading and return to base, should take place  under cover of darkness to avoid detection  by the Turkish Air Force.There were strict orders not to land in Nicosia in daylight.
On the night of 21st of July, all the assigned aircraft and the unit to be carried,  were ready in the 115 Combat Wing base at Souda bay.
The take-off plan was kept by the first five aircraft,  when delays started to occur (according to some  opinions  deliberate), with the result that  the order was given  to abort  the remaining take-offs, leaving five Noratlas and all the Dakotas with the heavy equipment  behind!
The last aircraft to take-off was ”Niki 15” (fifteenth in the take-off order), outside the  time limits and  having ignored the order to abort!
The aircraft that finally took-off, flew over the city of Chania, climbed to an altitude of 7000 ft over the White Mountains,  and when over the sea, dropped to an altitude of 300-500 ft.They followed a south-eastern course, until  a point approximately 34º N and 27º E, where they turned east in the direction of Cyprus.
The area ahead  was monitored by the Turkish Air Force and the detection of the  slow transports meant their certain destruction.
The Noratlas crews knew very well that in this mission they were alone, there was no friendly fighter escort  for their protection.Their only protection was the  darkness and the element of surprise.There were  no navigational aids, these being shut down because of the outbreak  of hostilities, and  no reference points to  take their bearings, so the skills of the navigators were critical.They did not fly in formation,  but idependently  and had no visual contact between them, the crews had  only a general idea about where the preceding or following aircraft  was!
Most of the aircraft had dropped to an altitude of no more than  40-50 ft.,  a very dangerous  situation, where the slightest  mistake  from the pilot  meant  sudden death  for the crew and occupants,  on the surface of the Eastern Mediterranean.
The flight to Cyprus, was estimated to take around two hours for the slow and heavily laden  Noratlas aircraft.Many of them, had all kinds of malfunctions, but their heroic crews pressed on, taking them to their destination.

Other aircraft flew over the  British base of Akrotiri  which went on alert.The Command of the British Forces in Cyprus, warned that they will intercept any further overflights of the area.
Over the island, the aircraft climbed higher and their crews noted the large fires blazing on Mt Troodos, the result of the  Turkish Air Force bombings of the previous day.These  blazes were the source of the  gleams of light on the  horizon, that had helped them   with their navigation earlier , when far out over the sea.
Some aircraft started to receive light arms fire from the  Turkish Cypriot positions on the island, but  the crews were not overly worried.
One by one,  the  heavily laden transports started their final approach to Nicosia airport  losing  progressively height.
Near the airport, they  encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire, even though they  knew the airport and the surrounding area was in Greek hands.The time was a little over 02.00, July the 22^nd.
Before take off, at their briefing,  the crews had been told that the Greek-Cypriot forces holding the Nicosia airport  were informed for their coming and ordered not to open fire on their approach.
There are many conflicting reports about such an order being  issued, who gave it, what it really said, or at what time it was sent out.
The  fact is,  that  the aircraft trying to land,  received  a barrage of fire from  positions inside and  outside the  airport.The fire came from Greek-Cypriot anti-aircraft positions, and  from various  other spots manned by civilians firing at the Noratlas transports, with all kinds of weapons.Later, it was learnt that  all those firing at the approaching aircraft thought that they were Turkish, having heard nothing  of any coming Greek reinforcements.
Aircraft ”Niki 1”,”Niki 2” and ”Niki 3”, under a hail of fire, managed to land and unload the commandos and their equipment.
Noratlas ”Niki 4” got hit by  heavy  AA fire,  caught fire  and crashed two miles before the runway.All on board, except one, were killed.”Niki 7”, received a  direct hit on No 1 engine , and had No 2 on fire , but its heroic crew managed to land the aircraft.Two of the commandos on board got killed and 11  others were injured from the fire that almost tore the aircraft apart.Some of the Noratlas pilots, on their final approach, turned  all their lights on, in a desperate effort to warn those firing from the ground about their nationality.This had little effect on those firing, but  at least  the last aircraft had no casualties even though they all  carried the marks of the fire they received.
Belatedly, and after most of the aircraft had landed,  the forces on the ground realised that the aircraft were friendly and  the fire ceased . Unfortunately, too late for the 33 killed and the two Noratlas transports.

Last, and just before the first light, ”Niki 15” landed, carrying the heavy equipment of the 1st Commando Battalion.
All the aircraft that landed  in Nicosia airport,  took off immediately for the return flight, except of course, the unfortunate ”Niki 4” and three others:”Niki 3” which had engine problems and could not take off, the  almost destroyed ”Niki 7”, and ”Niki 12”, that ran out of fuel.All three Noratlas aircraft were destroyed on the ground by Greek-Cypriot Forces, under orders of the  Hellenic Air Force Headquarters, presumably as an attempt to erase all evidence of  this symbolic Greek contribution  to the Battle of Cyprus.
The pretense of course was, that Greece was not officially at war with Turkey!!
The rest of the aircraft,  saving fuel and flying always very low, to avoid the Turkish Air Force that was soon to resume flying  with the daylight, started to arrive in Souda , except 4 which landed in Rhodes,  these being  short on  fuel or having sustained damage.
Two of the Noratlas that took off  from Souda, never landed in Nicosia:”Niki 13”, after wandering over the sea, reported  "navigation difficulties" and landed in Rhodes.”Niki 14”, arriving late over Cyprus and after the first light, followed the orders to the letter and turned back without landing.

In Nicosia,  when daylight came the Turkish Air Force started  to bomb  the airport.The commandos of  1st Battalion  that survived  the nightmare of the previous night, took positions in the defence of the  airport.In the  days that  followed they fought gallantly against the Turkish invaders.
Unfortunately, the  heroic mission of the Hellenic Air Force  was the only help from Greece to arrive  in Cyprus at the time of crisis.
The heroism of those that took part, and the sacrifice of those  killed  during it, were not enough to alter the course of the events.
It will, nevertheless, be one of the brightest moments in the History  of the Hellenic Air Force, albeit not fully recognised.