A memorial copy of Noratlas aircraft was presented on the 44th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus
21 July 2018/
“Noratlas 53-228 on training mission at Ellinikon. Operated by the Hellenic Air Force and based at Athens Elefsis AFB from 1970 until the mid 80’s”. The Nord Noratlas was a 1950s French military transport aircraft intended to replace the older types in service at the end of World War II. Several hundred were produced in a run lasting over a decade, finding a wide variety of uses. In 1970, the Hellenic Air Force received 50 surplus Noratlases from Germany as World War II compensations and NATO help. These Noratlases were based at Elefsis AFB near Athens, with the 354th Tactical Airlift Squadron. 53-228 wore the marking 53+28 during her military career with the German Air Force. Accordingly, in 1947 Direction Technique Industrielle organized a design competition for a medium-weight cargo aircraft offering great flexibility in use. Société Nationale de Construction Aéronautique du Nord (SNCAN) answered with the Nord 2500, while their competitors, Breguet and SNCASO, offered the BR-891R Mars and SO-30C respectively. The Nord 2500, with its rear-opening clamshell doors allowing ease of loading, was considered the most promising, and DTI ordered two prototypes on April 27, 1948. The first prototype took to the air on September 10, 1949 powered by two Gnome-Rhône 14R engines of 1,600 hp driving 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers, but it was found to be too slow for most applications. The second prototype replaced the 14Rs with two SNECMA-built Bristol Hercules 738/9 2,040 hp engines driving four-bladed propellers, and this model was rechristened the Nord 2501. DTI ordered 3 more preproduction Nord 2501s, which they flight-tested extensively against the similar Fairchild C-82 Packet. The N-2501 was found superior, and the first 34 were ordered on July 10, 1951. After an eventual production run of some 425 planes, the last Noratlas was constructed in 1961. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Credits: Landrover109
In the framework of the memorial events of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiadis carried out the unveiling of a Noratlas transport aircraft. The carrier is similar to the one which was hit by friendly fire while it was transporting commandos from Crete in defence of the island. Inside the aircraft, one can find items that were retrieved from the 1974 wreckage.
On 20 July 2018, which is the 44th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the Republic of Cyprus used this unveiling as a way to honour the Greek commandos and airmen. The place of the unveiling, which is called Tymvos Makedonitissas, is where the aircraft fell. Inside the memorial aircraft, one can find items that were recovered from the 1974 wreckage.
Noratlas was part of a covert operation called NIKI, which was being executed in defence of Cyprus, which was then under Turkish attack. It was transporting 28 commandos from the base of Souda and 4 crew. The aircraft was mistakenly thought by the Cypriot defence forces to be Turkish and was shot down with anti-aircraft fire.
As a result of the impact, 16 soldiers were tossed outside of the aircraft. Their bodies were collected and buried in the military cemetery of Lakatamia. Commando Thanasis Zafeiriou was the only one to survive the crash and died on 1 September 2016. The rest of the soldiers had to be buried with the wreckage, because their bodies had jammed at the front part of the aircraft.
The following video shows the interior of the memorial Noratlas:
