Desert Vanguards

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Vultee P-66D Vanguard - Royal Dhimari Air Force, 1944

The British dependence on oil from the middle-east, and especially from the Kingdom of Dhimar, during World War 2 made the sporadic Parani attacks on the Mazadran Oil Fields a deep concern to Britain during the summer of 1941. In late September 1941, to support the Dhimari armed forces defending Mazadran and the Al'Samara region, the British Government donated 30 of the 100 Vultee P-66 Vanguard fighter aircraft it had itself inherited from an embargoed Sweden order. Delivered during November 1941 the Dhimari Vanguards were more than a match for the Italian Fiat CR. 42 Falco aircraft that formed the backbone of the Parani Air force but were later outclassed when Germany began to supply Bf 109E-7's to Paran during the Spring of 1942.

Skin Credit: Charles