Aircraft over Aden, Picture of the Week for 25 May 2012

Beverleys over Khormaksar, 1960's - or are they Argosys?

I spent roughly two years of my childhood in Aden at the start of the 1960's. My father, Major John S. Gilbert was a doctor with the RAMC and he worked with the Arab soldiers of the APL, later the FRA.  I found this picture amongst his photographs after his death on 24 December 1999. He was a keen amateur photographer but I don't think he took this photo. For one thing he usually didn't have access to a plane!

The jagged hills in the background are the extinct volcano which juts out into the sea forming the harbour, Aden was once the third busiest port in the world. The volcano itself houses the town of Crater, the highest point is the peak of Jabal Shamsan, 553 metres above sea level. The buildings in the foregeound are part of the Khormaksar airbase. In the distance are Maala and Steamer Point (Tawahi).

The large island in the bay was called Slave Island and the causeway road across the water was built by an American oil company to link their oil refinery on the mainland with the Aden peninsula and port. Only motor vehicles were allowed to use the causeway in those days. The camel carts were forced to use the hot coast road to reach the inland areas. Between the causeway and the beach are the salt pans. The salt was harvested and dried on the beach. The pans, once dried out, were refilled via sluice gates in the causeway, they attracted huge flocks of flamingoes, pelicans and gulls.

Can anybody shed any light on the origin of the photograph?

* Update - These are Argosy aircraft of No.105 Squadron, RAF Transport Command. Not Beverleys as I first guessed. They were the first Argosies based outside the UK and flew out of Khormaksar Airbase. They were used for desert exercises and parachute drops.

Still no information on the origin of the photograph.