Between 1958 and 1964, the Greek Air Force had an
aerobatic team called Hellenic Flame, consisting of five, then seven,
Canadair Sabre Mk. 2's, based at Tanagra (see photo, left). During their
existence, they became quite famous for their displays not only within Greece,
but also in France, West Germany, Italy and Turkey. They disbanded in September
1964.
However, three years later, the Hellenic Air
Force Command decided to form a new team, this time with 337 Squadron, using
the Northrop F-5A and called them New Hellenic Flame. Very little is
known about this team, as they began training in July 1967 and only made two
performances, before disbanding in late 1967. No photos of the team have ever
been seen..... until now.
ADTSIG member Adrian Balch, has uncovered an
extremely rare photo of one of the team's F-5A aircraft, via a contact in
Greece, who discovered this photo in the archives of 337 Squadron. So here
exclusively, is a New Hellenic Flame F-5A, with it's pilot, Major
Andreas Frangopanagos.
As could be reasonably expected, the aircraft
is largely natural metal, but interestingly, does have some "special" red trim
on the nose, engine intakes, fin leading edge and outer wings. The shadow on
the tarmac also indicates that the aircraft were fitted with tip tanks.
This
photo must not be reproduced without permission
