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New Hellenic Flame

Exclusive, never-before-published photo of this little-known and very short-lived team !


Hellenic Flame Sabre Mk.2Between 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 thumbnail 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 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.

Adrian Balch, one of our SIG members, 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, for the first time, you can see 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

New Hellenic Flame F-5A
Click on the photo to see a much larger, higher resolution version.

This photo must not be reproduced without permission