In 1968, thanks to the relatively recent invention of
broadcast television, the world was horrified by images of young Biafran
children starving en masse during the Nigerian civil war. The international
call to action was overwhelming. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson told the State
Department, “Get those…babies off my TV set.” As the largest non-combatant airlift
in history, the Biafran operation is estimated to have saved over one million
lives. What most of the world does not know is that Israeli pilots and ground
crews played a critical role in this historic airlift.
Prevented by the Nigerian army from officially providing
aid, the International Red Cross began a covert mission to save the people of
Biafra called Operation Relief Action Nigeria. Shortly thereafter, the Red
Cross realized that their DC-6 and DC-7 airplanes did not have the capacity to
deliver the necessary amount of food and medicine. The Red Cross unofficially
obtained five Boeing C-97s from the U.S., the largest plane in the United
States Air Force.
With the exception of the U.S., Israel was the only country
with the pilots, ground crews, and experience to fly and land the giant C-97
Stratofreighters. In 1968, Israeli pilot Arnon Barak was summoned to his
manager’s office at Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). There he was told, “There
is a massive genocide in Biafra. We were called up by Balair, the Swiss airline
that asked IAI to help their maintenance crew to take over the ‘big monster,’
the C-97 Stratofreighter. The Red Cross is supplying food and medicine to the
besieged people in Biafra.”
In February 1969, IAI crews began preparing planes for
the operation, with flights beginning in March. According to Barak, the first
Biafra-bound cargo flight to Africa was considered “a key flight to decide
‘go-no go’ for the whole fleet of C-97 aircraft. Unfortunately, engine failure
occurred during flight and the aircraft was forced to land in the Sahara Desert
at Niamey airport in Niger, Africa. A second aircraft was flown with a spare
engine to rescue the first aircraft and we were the four technicians on board.
It was the most horrendous time I can remember. A few of us contracted malaria
and the work was done only at night due to the hot weather.” The crew did not
give up and the first flight eventually succeeded.
Only one dirt road in Biafra was long enough to handle the
C-97s. It was in a town called Uli, and the makeshift runway was codenamed
“Airstrip Annabelle.” The Nigerian army had smart weapons, tanks, and Mig 29s
and Israeli pilots had to fly and land the C-97s at night under enemy fire.
Each flight brought 16 tons of food, with the international
airlift effort turning Uli into the second busiest airport in Africa after
Johannesburg. Historian Mark Curtis reported that an average of 250 metric tons
of food was delivered each night to the estimated 1.5 to 2 million people that
depended on relief supplies.
Remembering the participants that made the Biafran airlift a
success, Barak commented, “All of us can be proud of what we did for the
starving people of Biafra, bringing [food and medical supplies] night after
night under ugly circumstances.”
Author: Eitan Press, staff writer for United with Israel
Date: Oct 13, 2013
Date: Oct 13, 2013
Post A Comment:
0 comments: