Memories of Cotonou
Not the first a/c to operate out of Cotonou somewhat overloaded... In 1967-68 about twelve DC6 operated out of there for the International Committee of the Red Cross on the night time relief flights (up to 3 round trips per night) to Uli Ihiala strip in Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. They would take off from 1730 so as to be crossing the coast back into Nigeria after dark. They were customarily about 4000 lbs overweight, and it was very fortunate the runway there points out to sea (more or less), because they used every inch of it and even a palm tree between it and the beach would have been too much for them. Polyglot aircrews but all maintained (excellently I believe) by Brits from Field Aircraft Services. Sometimes one would be followed by a French Navy Neptune carrying arms - they flew close up behind to use the DC6 radar shadow as cover. I was one of the first Europeans to get to Uli overland at the end of the war and saw the very moving little cemetery of some 20 air crew who had crashed there during the airlift (they were all from the Sao Tome lift). Sadly and needlessly the Nigerian Army soon bulldozed it away.