Helwan 500
a/c 4312, 4261 Squadron, 426 Air Regiment, Abu Rahal Air Base, Egypt,
11 September 1980
Personal mount of: Captain Hossam Hassan



Wasat an Nukhaylah is a remote oasis in north-western Sudan. The UN established a permanent military facility adjacent to the oasis in 1962. Named Camp Lodge (after Canadian Army Private Harold Lodge, the first acknowledged fatal casualty on UN peacekeeping duties in Sudan), the site was commonly referred to as The Lodge. A hub for long range desert patrols along the borders with Egypt and Libya, the site grew substantially during the late 60s as a major command, control, communications and intelligence facility.




The morning of 11 September 1980 began like any other at Camp Lodge. Formation and roll call began at 06.30hrs against the background sound of Sudanese Air Force OV-10D Broncos and EMB.326GS Xavantes taking off for their morning patrols from the nearby Camp Lodge Air Base. But why was there an air raid siren? Surely a drill. Camp Lodge had never been threatened by hostile airpower. As men stood on the main parade ground, tense and at attention, the sound of anti-aircraft fire prickled through the air.




Amid the screeching sounds of rockets, the parade ground burst into fire, blood and pain. Men ran, toppled or were slain to slush where they stood. Concussions pummelled at bodies and flechettes tore flesh from bone. Only a CCTV camera overlooking this site of carnage witnessed the passing shadows of two jet planes as they delivered the coup de grâce: each jet dropping a pair of napalm canisters on the torment below. As boiling explosions of flame engulfed The Lodge's main parade ground, the Egyptian Helwan 500s sped low into the distance over the desert terrain.




The Egyptian invasion of Sudan was launched with the attack on Camp Lodge on 12 September 1980. 16 Helwan 500s of 4261 and 4262 Squadrons of 426 Air Regiment, Egyptian Air Force (EAF) had "severely degraded the capabilities of Camp Lodge." The Lodge's critical command centres, radars, communications and signals intelligence antennas and sundry other facilities had been knocked out of the war for Sudan. At 07.00hrs, the Egyptian Army pushed south under an umbrella of artillery barrages, interceptors and SAMs. At midday, the Egyptian government announced that "a humanitarian operation to restore order and a just peace to UN occupied Sudan has begun."




Around 180 Helwan 500s were available for the invasion of Sudan. Derived from the Helwan 300 (a locally built version of the Sukhoi Su-7BMK), the 500 featured a more powerful engine, refined wing aerofoil profiles and a fuselage and avionics suite based on the Sukhoi Su-17. Those serving with the 462 Air Regiment represented Egypt's best offensive air power capabilities. For the Camp Lodge attack, they were aided with air refueling from Tu-16Ns and ECM support by Yak-28 Brewer Es. The mission's only loss was a Helwan 500 that the pilot ejected from due to an engine fire, likely due to a Redeye SAM fired during the attack.




The Helwan 500 modeled here, a/c 4312, was the lead aircraft targeting the main parade ground. Depicted as photographed before taking off on the Camp Lodge mission, it is armed with two internal 30mm cannon, four 16 round 55mm rocket pods and a pair of 460lt napalm tanks. Its pilot for the sortie was Captain Hossam Hassan, who went on to become a General in the EAF.



The Egyptians were successful in securing Sudan as the UN pulled out of the African theatre later in the month. Thereafter they executed their plan to split the country into Darfur, Sudan and South Sudan.

Butterscotch, Caramel, and Milk Chocolate.
No, not your paintwork, my supper.

Good job Comrade.   

Nice! I had a similar idea many moons ago, even though it was a X-20 cruise missile/Su-15 kitbashing with "Nile" camouflage. 


1:72 Helwan Aircraft HA-410 "4642" Egyptian Air Force (EAF); 204th Fighter-Bomber Brigade, Belbaits Airfield, around 1971 (Whif/Kit bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on May 17, 2024, 05:15:59 AMNice! I had a similar idea many moons ago, even though it was a X-20 cruise missile/Su-15 kitbashing with "Nile" camouflage. 


1:72 Helwan Aircraft HA-410 "4642" Egyptian Air Force (EAF); 204th Fighter-Bomber Brigade, Belbaits Airfield, around 1971 (Whif/Kit bashing) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

I did think of that model, which is one reason why I didn't go for a Nile scheme.

The kit is the Modelsvit Sukhoi S-32MK Hybrid, a real world prototype with Su-7 wings and a Su-17 fuselage. As Modelsvit make kits of both, it is in effect a kitted kit bash. I thought, why not.

It looks very plausible.

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on May 17, 2024, 06:38:56 AMIt looks very plausible.

It does indeed........and it reads well too.

Quote from: Rheged on May 17, 2024, 06:40:17 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on May 17, 2024, 06:38:56 AMIt looks very plausible.

It does indeed........and it reads well too.

Does indeed 

  

Yep I like it 👌 😀
I really like both paint jobs too..it's got me thinking 🤔 

Yep, plausible indeed. You could see the Su-32MK being adopted by the Soviets as an export-for-licence-build option since the recipient nation's aircraft industry wouldn't need exotic capabilities like machining/fabricating the titanium wing pivot box/spar of the Su-17, just standard "alloy-bashing" techniques.

Nicely done!

Bravo!

Miko