the serial numbers. Everybody could take
plenty of photos from the long row of de‐
commissioned A‐7 and the still opera‐
tional aircraft as well.
In the morning as well as in the afternoon
the pilots and the ground crews prepared
themselves for the fly out ceremony on
the very next day. One could see the ten‐
sion and the impression on the faces of
the pilots and the ground crew. Maybe
not everybody has already realised, that it
will be the very end of the A‐7 Corsairs
career. No matter what, on this particular
day there was plenty of flying and the
photographers had more than one oppor‐
tunity to take great shots from the A‐7
during the start up procedures of each
aircraft, on the taxiway and on the last
chance position. Also many of the ground
crew members took their chance to take
a last picture from the A‐7, their com‐
rades and, of course, of themselves with
their pocket cams. One crew member was
even dressed as a buccaneer, much to the
delight of the spectators, who could take
a very special shot from this scene. Beside
all the rehearsals and the preparation for
the fly‐out event the Lockheed Martin F‐
16 from the No. 335 Sqn. did their daily
job, the great ZEUS Demo team did some
rehearsals as well as the T‐6 Demo Team
Daedalus. This day became unforgettable
for everybody involved and finally, one was pleased to see a very rare Embraer ERJ‐135.
On the next day the base was open for the general public to get a chance to see the venerable A‐7 for the last
time in the air. In one of the hangars, which was solemnly decorated, one A‐7 was placed into the corner,
covered from the curious eyes of the public by a blue fabric. When the Greek Minister of Defence, Dimitris
Avramopoulos, arrived in his limousine and inspected the guard of honour, the festivities could officially
start. Beside the Minister of Defence, there were plenty of high ranking military as well as civilian dignitaries
present; the Chief of Staff of the Hellenic Air Force, Lieutenant General Evangelos Tournas, the Commander
in Chief of the Hellenic Armed Forces, General Mikhail Kostarakos, Vice Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the
Deputy Minister of Defence Ioannis Lampropoulos, among others. Lieutenant General (ret.) Antonios Iorda‐
nou honoured all those who served with the A‐7 since 1975. In his speech he said, that the A‐7 made a big
contribution to the National security for almost 40 years. Then the blue fabric was taken off from the A‐7 in
the corner and everybody could see a brand newly applied beautiful colour scheme (grey‐silver) with all five
squadron emblems on the tail.