Biafran Airlift Pilots

[Nostalgair]

Have just been chatting with a pilot who was on the Biafra airlift 30 years ago - and still in the left-hand seat. Any other guys still flying out there who were landing on that crazy strip each night?

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Nostalgair

[TowerDog]

Well, I ain't one of them Biafra pilots, but knew a couple:
One Danish F/E I worked with in Kuwait 10 years ago did that Biafra mission.

Also a Norwegian captain I know did it.

For more info, e-mail me at [email protected]

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Men, this is no drill...

[The Guvnor]

One of the Biafran FR8K9s was the chairman of Air Atlanta Icelandic, Arngrimur Johansson. We spent a very interesting evening about 10 years ago when he told me some of his more hair-raising stories about it.

[CargoRat2]

There is a book by Tony Jonsson (an ex Cargolux chief pilot) that is worth reading - there are a couple of chapters on this subject; I think they were flying out of Sao Tome at the time. The title excapes me, even though I've read it. Have a search under T.E. Jonsson. He also wrote "Dancing in the Skies".
I know one of Tony's flight engineers from Biafra; I'll ask him if he would be interested in contacting you.
About as much as I can contribute. Drop me a mail if you wish.

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rgds Rat

[EGGW]

A very good Icelandic friend of mine who knows Arngrimur Johansson well, was actually shot down by a Mig 15 in the conflict, in a DC6a. Arngrimur was a mechanic at the time, and i'm not sure if he was around in the particular incident i mentioned. My friend got the dc6 down on the road, and jumped out of the DC6 with fuel pouring out of the tanks,and they all scarpered into the jungle. Next day they camoflagued the A/C and started some repairs. They ferried it out the next night on 3 engines to Sao Tome, and it never flew again, and was dumped in the ocean i believe as recorded in the book mentioned above.
The only reason a lot of the guys did it was the $$$$$£££. My buddy actually me the guys who tried to kill him at the launch of the book 2 years or so back. :)

[TwoDeadDogs]

Hi there
I own a Malmo MFI-9 Junior.I know that half a dozen of them served in that war,for the Biafrans,led by one Count(VON?)Rosen.Has anyone any gen/stories about the Malmos in the conflict?
regards
TDD

[DCDriver]

Yeah, Count Gustaf Von Rosen was a Swede who fitted underwing rockets (!!) to the Malmos and ferried a half-dozen or so to Biafra. I can't remember whether or not they saw action, though.

DCD

[TwoDeadDogs]

Hi there
The six Malmos were fitted with six-shot rocket pods and were in action against the NAF.There is a book out there about it all,from the aviators side,printed in Swedish or Dutch.Supposedly,they strafed the NAF MiGs on several occasions and got away with it.
regards
TDD

[Zoom]

My father and brother lived in Nigeria in the 60s and 70s, working in the marine business. One day my bro was driving a launch in a harbour (can't remember which port) with a Nigerian crewman, and a rocket-armed Malmo tipped in on them, they thought. The crewman leaped off the bridge onto the deck, breaking a leg in the process, while the Malmo carried on over the top of them and blasted an oil refinery.

Count von Rosen was known as 'Public Enemy Number One' by the Daily Times. His rebel air force hijacked some Nigerian Airways F-27 Friendships to use as bombers, the bombs usually being 44-gallon oil drums with a wick in the top which were pushed out of the door. They did occasional raids over Lagos without inflicting too much damage on anyone but themselves. On one occasion, one of my mum's ex-pat friends heard the whining of twin turboprops followed by an airborne explosion and a crashing sound from her lounge. On inspection she found a hole in the ceiling and a Biafran torso on her 3-piece suite.

But the Federal forces did have some air defences, viz a 20 or 30mm cannon on the bow of the NNS Nigeria, the frigate flagship. Flying over the city was prohibited for obvious reasons so when an aircraft appeared over Lagos harbour it was thought to be the enemy. It turned out to be an innocent light aircraft on a joyride from Kiri Kiri airfield but the gunner opened up anyway. He got rather over-excited and blazed away all around the harbour, missing the aircraft but strafing the Elder Dempster Lines flagship liner, the Aureol, on which passengers and friends were having farewell cocktails before setting sail. Apparently, the shells flew through the bar without hitting anyone or anything critical. The gunner, meanwhile, wouldn't let go of the trigger and had to be shot at his post to stop him doing any further harm.

[TowerDog]

I flew a MFI something many years ago.
Was that not the Saab Safari or something?
Mil trainer with about 260 HP?

Only got an hour or two in the thing, but remember wearing a parachute as we did some up-side down stuff.



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Men, this is no drill...

[Airways Ed]

Michael Draper's superb SHADOWS: Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967-70 is MUST reading for anyone interested in the subject.

Tons of photos, first-hand accounts, all the real gen.

While I'm on, I would welcome contact with any pilots who flew Caravelles in Africa, especially in 'non-scheduled operations'. (I'm working on a book on the Caravelle.)

Cheers

[thatwasclose]

Flew Caravelle6N in MEA if thats any help.

[411A]

Flew with a Captain years ago that flew Stratocruisers (C97), and was paid quite well at $14,000/month.