AirVenture 2000 — A Week Among the Aircraft and the Atmosphere
Malta GC
Malta GC — A Leave That Turned Into an Unexpected Detour My time in Malta GC didn’t start with a posting order — it began with a simple 14‑day break from RAF El Adem. I went over expecting nothing more than a bit of sun, a change of scenery, and a chance to get away from the dust and heat of Libya. Malta was exactly that: warm evenings, easy days, and an island that felt relaxed in a way El Adem never could. Then Gaddafi took over back in Libya, and everything shifted. Overnight, going back wasn’t an option. Instead of returning to El Adem, I found myself attached to RAF Luqa for the next six weeks. What was meant to be a short holiday suddenly became a completely different chapter — new routines, new faces, and a sense of waiting for whatever came next. Those weeks on Malta had their own rhythm: the airfield at Luqa, the trips into Valletta, the feeling of being temporarily displaced yet strangely settled. It wasn’t planned, but it became one of those periods you remember clearly years later. This gallery reflects that unexpected stretch of time —the places, and the atmosphere of Malta GC as I experienced it.
Neolithic Cave Dwellings Malta
Sloop Marie Georgette in Grand Harbour, Malta. A wooden vessel with a long history, she had survived a wartime air attack in which her captain was killed. By the time this photograph was taken she was serving a quieter role as a supply boat to Gozo, still carrying the memory of her earlier years in her timbers.
USS Massey (DD‑778) of the US Sixth Fleet visiting Grand Harbour, Malta. A veteran Gearing‑class destroyer, she was a regular presence in Mediterranean waters, carrying out patrols, exercises, and port visits as part of the fleet’s forward deployment.
A unit of the US Sixth Fleet
A unit of the US Sixth Fleet in Grand Harbour
USS Grand Canyon of US Sixth Fleet in Grand Harbour
Panel of RAF Memorial Valetta
RAF Memorial Valetta
Malta Blue Grotto
Boats at the top end of Sliema Creek
Boats in Sliema Creek
Neolithic Temple at Tarxien
Ship moored in one of the creeks off Grand Harbour
The mouth of Grand Harbour seen from the Lower Baracca
MV Velma Lykes from the port side
Another view of the MV Velma Lykes
MV Velma Lykes moored stern‑on in Grand Harbour, Valletta. Ships don’t come alongside the quays here; instead they lay stern‑to the harbour wall and unload their cargo by lighter, with small craft ferrying everything ashore.
Tug St Elmo going to pick up MV Atlantic Challenger
St Elmo is joined by another tug on the far side of Grand Harbour
Three tugs await MV Atlantic Challenger at the mouth of Grand Harbour
MV Atlantic Challenger enters Grand Harbour
MV Atlantic Challenger in Grand Harbour
MV Atlantic Challenger procedes up Grand Harbour
Grand Harbour with the MV Atlantic Challenger and the bow of MV Velma Lykes
