Buccaneer 1981 - 1984 (6)
The Buccaneer crews were all cleared to fly at
100 feet above the sea [33], the safest height to fly for deconfliction. No other aircraft, fixed or rotary wing, operated that close to the water. The intelligence suggested that there was no co-ordinated air defence network within the city. If there were to be any reaction, it would be sporadic and late. The major problem with the Show
the Flag sorties was ComBritForLeb himself. He applauded the raising of the morale of his own troops, but he thought that the sorties should also support the Lebanese Army to the South of Beirut in the Soukh Al Garb area. The Commander British Forces Cyprus (CBFC) and the Air Cdr both firmly overruled him. On 11 Sep, two pairs of Buccaneers took off from Akrotiri, flew
out through the CTF60 airspace, and 17 minutes later crossed the coast at the Beirut International Airport [34]. They flew past the British block of flats in Hadath and turned North over the city [37]. Back into the city again and past the block of flats on the way back. The crews passed safely through CTF60 airspace then flew back to Akrotiri. A total sortie of 40 minutes. During the sortie, as the Buccaneers approached the flats, 
ComBritForLeb came on the radio and ordered them to change their routes to fly to Soukh Al Garb. This was undoubtedly beyond his authority and clearly contrary to the pre-arranged orders. The Air Cdr intervened and immediately ordered the crews to stick to their briefed plan. After landing, there was a long dialogue between Commander British Forces Cyprus and ComBritForLeb. CBFL was adamant that the Buccaneers should have threatened Soukh Al Garb. As well as that strictly “army to army” confrontation, the other major concern was that the voice comms between Episcopi and Beirut were not reliable. However, despite these sticking points, the potential rewards of showing the flag were considered great enough to warrant a second try. On 13 Sep, another pair of Buccs got airborne flew the same profile. All went well and again, the US Navy was very co-operative. This time, ComBritForLeb did not attempt to retask the Buccaneers in the air. We carried on working on a concept of operations for Likely Actions 2, 3 and 4.
