The pre-dawn light over Cairo West Airbase was very faint, casting small shadows over the MiG-15s and MiG-17s neatly lined up in their hangars.
The silence was shattered moments later by the thunderous roar of RAF Canberra bombers, their engines cutting through the sky like harbingers of destruction.
Onboard the lead aircraft, Flight Lieutenant James Cartwright tightened his grip on the controls, his voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
"Visual on target," Cartwright reported over the radio.
His gaze locked on the airfield below, its runways and hangars vulnerable under the wide desert sky.
"Steady… steady…" came the calm voice of his squadron leader. "Payload release in three… two… one… mark!"
Cartwright flipped the release switch, and a cascade of bombs tumbled out, their descent swift and precise.
Below, the first explosion ripped through the main runway, a plume of smoke and fire erupting into the sky.
