Oman

[bigjarofwasps]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me anything about the campaign in Oman, in the 70`s?

How long did it last? Other than the SAS, what other units were involved?

Was a medal awarded for it?

BJOW

[Ulsterman]

The conflict proper went from 1969-77, although the last big ops. were in 1975.

There were @ 300 loaned officers, NCOs and Warrent Officers as well as the SAS squadren (@80 soldiers) in 1974.

There were several other allies involved-the Iranians had a Brigade there (which got mauled badly on the coast) as well as the Jordanians. There were some CIA training officers involved as well as MI people.

I have met Royal Marines and RAF officers who were there. Marines acted as LRPs in the mountains-as did the SAS.

24 killed and 55 wounded were British. About half the killed were SAS.

The GSM with bar "Dhofar" was issued for service there from Oct. 1, 1969 - Sept. 30, 1976.

It's the rarest GSM out there.

[bigjarofwasps]

Cheers Ulsterman, thats very interesting, thank you.

BJOW.

[Gunner 1]

Below is the medal group of a Major in the Royal Artillery who was seconded to the Armed Forces of the Sultan of Oman from September 1972 to July 1974. The medals from left to right are the British General Service Medal (1962) with clasps South Arabia and Northern Ireland; The Omani General Service Medal with clasp Dhofar and a Sultan's Commendation device; The Sultan's Commendation Medal; and the Omani As Samood Medal. British personnel seconded to the Armed Forces of the Sultan of Oman did not receive the Dhofar clasp to the British General Service Medal, receiving instead the Omani General Service Medal with Dhofar clasp.

Gunner 1

[John]

Received a piccy from my Dad , of me , a very long time ago. Its a Commando armoured car, ambushed by the rebels, with an RPG-7 and small arms fire, in the early seventies, i think. It's taken on Salalah plain. All the crew were killed.

[eitze]

Found 4 pictures on my PC, which I`ve saved two yers ago from a dealer`s catalogue; don`t know who it was .

Perhaps it will be of interest for you.

[eitze]

As you can see it goes to a RAF member, who supported the Sultan`s Forces.

[eitze]

Artillery

[eitze]

And the last - "Lawrence of Arabia"

Two good books on the medals and the campaign:

- Lt Col A.R. Tinson: Orders & Medals of the Sultanat of Oman (Spink, London, 1995)

- Peter Thwaites: Muscat Command (Leo Cooper, London, 1995)

Once I`ve collected ODM of the Sultanat of Oman

Greetings

eitze

[Ed_Haynes]

Just noticed this thread, sorry. Sometimes, it takes me a while . . .

The Omani medals for this campaign:

Midalit Al-Hamalat / The Campaign Medal -- Awarded to all officers and trained enlisted men (untrained personnel were excluded) who participated the the Jebel Akhdar War against the followers of Imam Ghalib bin Ali between 1 November 1958 and 1 February 1959. Established: By Sultan Said bin Taimur in 1959. Manufactured by Spink and Son (London, England). Obverse: A circular oxidized bronze medal. In the center, the Omani national emblem. Above and below, legends in Arabic. The medal is suspended from a swiveling straight-bar suspender (this is the only Omani medal to have aswiveling suspender). Bronze-gilt examples have been reported, but they seem to be merely trial or presentation specimens. Reverse: A wreath surrounding the lower two-thirds of the Medal. Above, a legend and, in the center "1378-79 H. [= 1958-59 C.E.]" and "JABAL AKHDAR / 1958-59". Ribbon: Diagonal stripes of green and red. This color scheme is said to represent the Jebel Akhdar (literally "Green Mountain") defanced with blood. The ribbon may be seen carrying a bronze (or silver?) khanjar device representing bravery in battle (essentially, a MiD).

[Ed_Haynes]

Midalit Al-Khidmat Al-'Alamat / The General Service Medal -- Originally intended to serve as a multi-purpose Omani general service medal (along British lines), for service of at least six weeks with a unit of at least company size, the medal has to date only been awarded with one bar, for the Dhofar Rebellion. Despite apparent discussion to that effect, other bars have not been instituted, based on the principle that active service is part of the normal duty of Omani armed forces personnel. There is, for example, some suggestion that a bar was contemplated for the Second Gulf War. Awarded for suppression of the Dhofar rebellion led by the Dhofar Liberation Organization (created 1964) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arab Gulf (PFLOAG, created 1964), later (in 1974) merged and renamed as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (PFLO); these groups received assistance from the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen). The Dohfar bar was awarded for fourteen days of consecutive service, thirty days of visits, or service abnormally terminated by wounds between 23 May 1965 and 20 June 1976 in those areas of the Dhofar Province and adjacent waters lying between longitude 52?00' and 56?30' E and latitude 16?30' and 18?00' N. Suppression assistance came to the Omani government from Iran, Jordan, and the United Kingdon and financial support came from India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the Trucial States (later, the United Arab Emirates). About 1971, the obverse of the medal was redesigned with the name and title of Sultan Qaboos. The die for the medal, with legends altered and the bar omitted, was used (at short notice) for the Accession Medal of Sultan Qaboos in 1970 (see below). Established: Struck by Spink & Son (London, England). Obverse: Circular, gilt, Omani coat of arms in the center. Inscription in Arabic above and, below; as these inscriptions differ for the various issues of the medal, they are detailed below. The medal is suspended from a straight-bar suyspender. The bar bears the name of the campaign in Arabic, "Dhofar"; so far, only this single bar seems to have been issued to this medal. Reverse: Mountains above laurel branches, Arabic inscription above. Ribbon: Equal of red, off-white, and green. The original ribbon design was intended to represent the three regiments of the Omani army: the Muscat Regiment (red), the Northern Frontier Regiment (green), and the Desert Regiment (sand), but there is also the interpretation that the colors represented blood, sand, and the green of the Jebel Akhdar region. When the ribbons were finally made, the sand-colored stripe came out very light, appearing - ironically and embarassingly - as if the ribbon represented the red-white-green colors of the opposing Dhofar Liberation Front. After Sultan Qaboos' accession to power, these colors were those used in the new Omani flag, so the embarsassment that ahd existed before was diminished. The ribbon of the Sultan Said medal may be seen carrying a bronze (or silver?) khanjar device or a bronze palm leaf representing bravery in battle. Awards: The medal was also awarded to Iranian and Jordanian troops who served in this campaign; this came in addition to their own national awards. British troops were not (officially) allowed to receive both this medal and their own Campaign Service Medal 1962 with "Dhofar" bar; many British officers on long-term loan to Oman did, however, opt for the Omani medal.

-- Sultan Said (1965-70) - with his name in the obverse inscription - very rare.

-- Sultan Qabus (1970-76) - with his name in the obverse inscription - the common variety. (This is the variety shown below.)

Edited October 20, 2006 by Ed_Haynes

[bigjarofwasps]

WOW!!!!!!! Cheers guys!!!!!!!!!

[eitze]

Just took a fast photo of my small Oman collection.

Nearly all pieces were made by Spink & Son, London.

Enjoy

eitze

[bigjarofwasps]

Cheers E, thats a smashing collection. My Dad is entitled to three of the medlas in your collection.

[Ed_Haynes]

Have put some of my Omani guests up over at http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2785 and have more I should/could add over there.