Historic Royal Saudi air force aircraft found in the desert after the Jeddah Kandara airport closes in 1981.

For years, Jeddah Kandara airport was the gateway to the Western provinces of Saudia Arabia and, for the Hajj pilgrims, the pivotal commencement of their pilgrimage to Medina and Mecca.

For an aviation enthusiast, it was home to the number 8 wing of the RSAF and their C-130 Hercules. Air France also had a facility for its international flights. This, in turn, produced many FAF C-160 Transall flights from Djibouti and transits of Pakistan airforce Mirage111s and Singapore airforce T-33s on delivery flights. 
   

Looking out across the airport from my advantage point, one could observe a distant group of aircraft dumped in the desert. With temperatures touching 50 degrees Celsius, the heat haze inevitably made serial reading and closer identification of types difficult.

In 1981, the new King Abdulaziz's airport north of Jeddah city opened with all the latest high tech and glitz, and the now-defunct Kandara airport became a development site. As with most construction programmes in Saudi Arabia, speed being the critical factor, a new highway was to be found progressing across the disused airport.

Amazingly, the new highway drove straight through that group of dumped aircraft, and once the tarmac was laid, I made a trip to the site.

It was not that straightforward as with photography banned and many construction workers busy along the route, I would have to be very careful not to be seen, especially photographing military aircraft. Driving out in a GMC pickup truck would allow me to blend in with the work teams.

Some aircraft had been moved or pushed aside at the site by heavy machinery. It was an impressive sight with MK52 Vampires, T-28s, T34s, C-54, A-26 Invader and many more planes dumped in a dust bowl.

Unfortunately, it was more complex than I had thought not to be visible whilst trying to achieve the photographs.

Below are the photographs I took while worrying about a passing police car and puzzled looks from the construction crews.

  

Looking out over the vast airport's barren desert, you can see the dumped aircraft in the top left-hand corner. Rumore was that the Catalina (bottom right) belonged to Jacques Costeau.

To my advantage point, photography was always tricky due to the enormous heat haze that was only exaggerated by using a 500mm lens. This is one of my last photographs at the old Jeddah airport.

Driving out to the dust bowl, this is the first view of the wrecks.

Vampire Mk52s and DHC-1 Chipmunks 

55281 T-34A RSAF

450 C-54 RSAF is now preserved at the Riyadh Museum, static outside.

Cambrian Airways DC-3 serial unknown. Interestingly, the sand has stripped away some paint to reveal the RAF Auxillary Airforce marks. Any information on this aircraft would be much appreciated.

A closer study of those markings is undoubtedly far from Cardiff Rhoose.

Vampires Havard and Chipmunk with the city of Jeddah beyond.

205 T-6 Havard RSAF.

Probably HZ-ABE, but the star here was the far A-26 of the RSAF. Sadly, a police car stopped on the new road 'gulp.' I am not a hundred per cent sure, but this aircraft was TA-26B 301 RSAF, now displayed at the museum in Riyadh's capital.

5B-CAV Cypriot registered DC-3. Looks like it suffered a fire. I am unsure if this was a Haji transport aircraft bought for spares. I have a reference to 5B-CBD being preserved, or is it the same aircraft?

Beech 18, under the cheatline, clearly carries Kingdom of Saudia Arabia, but above, It is too badly weathered to enable reading. This aircraft is now perched on a pole and found on a roundabout in Jeddah. 

A historic 'seal' the similarity to this Saudia airline wingless F-27 and a beached seal?

450 C-54 RSAF and other various types.

611 DHC-1 Chipmunk RSAF.

49-1681 T-28A RSAF preserved.

603 DHC-1 Chipmunk RSAF and Vampire MK52.

509 Vampire MK52 RSAF.

Vampire MK52 RSAF Identity is unknown. These two aircraft, presumed to be instructional airframes, were moved to the engineering faculty of King Abdulaziz's University in Jeddah. 

51-7723 T-28A RSAF.

51-7723 T-28A RSAF.

What an impressive aircraft the T-28 was! 51-7723 still looks great after years of neglect in the desert.

There you have it, looking back some thirty-eight years. Thank goodness I was not arrested, and I can enjoy looking back on the slides of a past era. They were all captured on Kodachrome 64.

Anybody familiar with Jeddah back then would probably know of the Hotel Kandara standing right opposite the Kandara airports terminal and Haji terminal, quite the oasis for a Western worker based in Jeddah. 

Happy memories, indeed!