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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Jwt708, post: 2421498, member: 32619&quot;]We can&#039;t be letting this thread get dusty...</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway I got around to photographing my Libya collection tonight. I also have a &quot;companion&quot; piece that goes with these but it&#039;s hanging in the stairwell of my hangar. Maybe I&#039;ll remember to take my camera in to work tomorrow and take a picture of a picture.</p><p><br /></p><p>On with the tokens!</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]501841[/ATTACH]</p><p>LY40a, brass, 19mm. Cunningham must have had a typo because he put this one at 98mm! I may reshoot this one, the reverse looks a little out of focus.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]501842[/ATTACH]</p><p>LY40b, brass, 21mm.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]501843[/ATTACH]</p><p>LY40c, brass, 23mm. Cunningham had the size at 22mm.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]501844[/ATTACH]</p><p><i>LY71</i>, brass, 18mm. This token is unlisted, however is is similar to the LY70 series except all the other ones are known with a reverse. Also very likely this one pre-dates the Air Force.</p><p><br /></p><p>Wheelus Air Base was once the largest overseas U.S. military installation and at it&#039;s height had over 15,000 people living there. It was originally built by the Italians in 1923 and during WWII the Germans flew from there. The Brits took it from Germany and the U.S. began flying bombing missions from there. In 1945 the Brits turned the base over to the U.S. and it was renamed Wheelus Army Air Field after a downed aviator. By the end of the 1960s Wheelus was no longer relevant as a bomber base because intercontinental ballistic missiles were able to achieve the same nuclear deterrence. In fact the base largely served as a fighter training base during this time. It was agreed that the U.S. would withdraw and this happened on 11 June 1970, after Qaddafi took over. From then the Soviets moved in and operated from the base for a while. Interestingly in 1986 Wheelus was one of the targets of Operation El Dorado Canyon, which was President Reagan&#039;s response to the Berlin disco bombing.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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