Do any fellow DXers possess QSL cards from the BFBS broadcasts on shortwave during Operation Granby (the British phase of the Gulf War, 1990-1991) or the Iraq War in 2003? If you possess additional details regarding these broadcasts, kindly share them.

Now, onto the intriguing puzzle: where was the transmitter site for the BFBS broadcast during the Gulf War in 1991? My aim is to determine if other DXers caught these transmissions and secured QSL cards. Concurrently, I’m scouring the internet for pertinent information.

During that period, BFBS broadcasts were widely noted and documented by DXers. There was considerable speculation regarding the transmitter’s location, with potential sites including Moosbrunn, Austria; the BBC East Mediterranean Shortwave Relay Station (BEMRS) in Zygi, Cyprus (east of Limassol); Julich, Germany, or even some Merlin Broadcast Ltd. facility.

Fortunately, a crucial clue emerged from the verie signer’s statement on the QSL card, indicating the “site” as Akrotiri, Cyprus. This revelation essentially discounts the BEMRS in Zygi, as Akrotiri lies to the west and south of Limassol, while Zygi is positioned to the east of Limassol.

This map below clearly shows the location of Zygi/Zyyi, where the BBC Shortwave East Mediterranean Relay Site is located and Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, where I believe the BFBS shortwave transmitter was located. Note that City Limassol is in between the two locations.

The QSL letter received by DXer Andree Bollin below sheds more light on the transmitter site that BFBS have used during Operation Granby (Gulf war 1990/1). The verification signer M. E. Townley of BFBS Cyprus revealed some interesting history about BFBS’s broadcasts which were transmitted on Shortwave. More importantly, Townley stated that “the transmitter is located  adjacent to the Akrotiri salt lake in the south of Cyprus and uses a specially designed USB drive into a 10Kw transmitter.  The aerial is a Log periodic array which is directional toward the Gulf. “

https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Akrotiri/Media
https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Cyprus/Media