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Home , Dan Shomron, Idi Amin, Michel Bacos, Sayeret Matkal

The fate of the hostages rode with a C-130 descending out of the night sky with its lights off. By John T. Correll

ir France flight 139 woman and two Palestinian men—had Loss of radio contact and the change in originated in no difficulty boarding with concealed course alerted that the flight, with on Sunday morning, handguns and hand grenades. The aircraft, a large number of Israeli and Jewish pas- June 27, 1976, bound an Airbus 300, left Athens at 12:20 p.m. sengers, had been hijacked. The aircraft for with an intermediate stop in Seven minutes out of Athens, the diverted to Benghazi, , where it Athens. Airport security in Athens was German man forced his way onto refueled and took off again at 9:50 p.m. notoriouslyA lax. No one was on duty the flight deck while his companions One of the passengers, a woman, faked a at the metal detector, and the official took over the passenger cabins. They medical emergency and managed to talk checking carry-on luggage at the X-ray declared the hijacking to be on behalf her way off the airplane in Benghazi and machine was not watching the screen. of the Popular Front for the Liberation escape the hijackers. Four passengers from a connecting of Palestine and forced the pilot, Capt. The Airbus landed at Entebbe airport flight from Bahrain—a German man and Michel Bacos, to turn southward. in at 3:15 a.m. on Monday. On

62 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2010 Entebbe

board, in addition to the four hijack- new terminal and runway were built demands, broadcast over Ugandan ers, were 243 passengers and the Air in the early . Ugandan soldiers radio. Unless 53 terrorists—40 of France crew of 12. At least six more pointed their guns at the passengers. them held by Israel and the others by terrorists joined the operation, coming It was soon obvious that Ugandan , , France, and from the Popular Front’s forward loca- President Idi Amin was not only sup- Switzerland—were freed by 2 p.m. tion in Mogadishu, Somalia, bringing porting the Popular Front operation but (Israeli time) on Thursday, the hostages more lethal weapons, including AK-47 also was an active participant in it. A would be executed. assault rifles. terrorist relief team took over guard- Israel had faced the seizure of At midday on Monday, the hostages ing the hostages while the original hostages before, and its policy was were moved from the airplane to the hijackers rested. to do everything possible to free them dilapidated old airport terminal, which It was not until 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through direct action, rather than give had been used as a warehouse since a that the Popular Front announced its in to demand for release of terrorists.

AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2010 63 in the old terminal, where primitive The rescue teams had to pass conditions worsened as the plumbing the new terminal to reach the clogged and backed up. Idi Amin ar- old terminal, where the hos- tages were being held. rived by helicopter on Monday after- noon for the first of several visits. He told the hostages the crisis was Israel’s Staff map by Zaur Eylanbekov fault for not agreeing to demands of the hijackers. He insisted on being addressed as “His Excellency Doctor Idi Amin Dada.” Amin, who took power in a 1971 coup, gave the impression of being a strutting buffoon who decorated his uniform with medals and honors he awarded to himself, but he was deadly dangerous. Already, tens of thousands were dead in his purges and sweeps of repression. The Israelis, who con- ducted training for the Ugandan armed forces from 1963 to 1972, knew him well. He had fallen out with the Israelis and ejected them when they refused to help him attack and Kenya. The terrorists collected passports and other documents and separated the Jewish passengers from the non- Jews. On Wednesday afternoon, they released 47 hostages, mostly French. Captain Bacos declined release so long as any of his passengers were detained, and at his urging, the crew did likewise. That night, Israeli agents visited the freed hostages in France and gathered information about the situation in Entebbe. Another 101 hostages were released on Thursday morning, leaving only the 95 Israeli and Jewish passengers and the Air France crew in captivity.

Getting There The Israeli Defense Forces could attempt a rescue, but unless they could land and take the old terminal by surprise, the hijackers would kill Several times in the past, however, woman who jumped up in panic and the hostages. The rescue force could terrorists had gotten what they wanted. was shot and killed. very well be lost as well. In the hijacking of an El Al airliner in By contrast, the attempt by Israeli Prime Minister , who 1968, the Israelis traded 15 terrorists special forces in 1974 to free 88 hos- had been IDF chief of staff during the for the hostages. In another instance, tages, mostly children, held by Pal- Six Day War in 1967, was reluctant they gave up 50 terrorists for two estinian terrorists at a school in the to mount a military operation, as was Israelis taken off a TWA airliner at Israeli town of Ma’alot was a disaster. his chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Mordechai Damascus. All of the terrorists were killed, but Gur. The main advocate of a military Results from military action in so were 22 children, with another 56 response was the defense minister, hostage situations had varied. In 1972, wounded. Shimon Peres, who was not a military terrorists captured a Sabena airliner, When the terrorists announced their man, having risen instead through landed in Tel Aviv, and demanded the demands in Entebbe, the Israeli Cabinet civilian government ranks. Maj. Gen. release of 317 Fedayeen “freedom came under intense pressure from the Benny Peled, commander of the Is- fighters.” families of the hostages, who wanted raeli Air Force, agreed with Peres on Israeli soldiers disguised as mechan- Israel to agree right away with the military action. ics killed two hijackers and wounded exchange. As deliberations continued, the a third in a 90-second assault. All Meanwhile in Entebbe, the hostages armed forces explored several ideas, 101 hostages were freed except for a were crowded into a confined space including a parachute drop into Lake 64 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2010 Victoria, adjacent to Entebbe, with Yoni Netanyahu was 30 years old when he led troops coming ashore in rubber boats. the raid on Entebbe. He Whatever was decided, the Israeli air was the only member force could get them there. The C-130 of the rescue team Hercules, called Karnaf, or “Rhinoc- killed in the successful rescue of more than eros,” in Israeli service, could reach 100 hostages. Entebbe without difficulty. When Israel had maintained a large presence in Uganda, the IAF used C-130s for regular supply runs. The problem, in addition to achiev- ing surprise, was refueling. After landing, the C-130s would have only enough fuel remaining to fly another one-and-a-half hours. There was a chance that Kenya might allow them to refuel in on the way out, but more likely, the C-130s would have to rob fuel from the storage tanks at announced it would negotiate for the Shomron named Col. , the Entebbe. release of the hostages. The terrorists highly experienced former commander From their time in Uganda, the set a new deadline for 2 p.m. on Sunday. of the Unit, to lead the assault on the Israelis had some knowledge of the Later that evening, the IDF came up old terminal with Yoni serving under fuel system at the airport. Furthermore, with its plan, devised with substantial him, but on Friday evening Adam sent the old terminal had been built by an inputs from Peled and Shomron, to Barak to Kenya to seek permission for Israeli construction firm, which still land a combined force at Entebbe for post-mission landing and refueling, had the blueprints and gave them to a surprise attack at night. The insertion so Netanyahu was in clear command. the government. Additional informa- force was pared down to four C-130s. Yoni and his assault force of 29 tion came from the intelligence agency The plan was called Operation Thun- would be on the first C-130. They , which rented a light airplane derbolt. Maj. Gen. Yekutiel Adam, would be wearing Ugandan Army in Nairobi, and faking an in-flight chief of operations and number two uniforms, but they had to reach the emergency, circled the Entebbe airport man in the IDF, would be the overall old terminal quickly, before the opera- taking pictures. commander. Shomron was appointed tion was discovered. The C-130 could Brig. Gen. Dan Shomron, head of ground commander. not get too close without being seen infantry and paratroop command, said or heard, so they had a considerable the big question was whether the IAF Yoni and the Unit distance to go after deplaning. could insert his force without alarming The central role in the assault fell The C-130 could carry three ve- the terrorists. “From the moment that to the special forces unit of the Is- hicles, which suggested a motorcade we will be on the ground in Entebbe, raeli Army, Sayeret Matkal, known that looked like something it wasn’t. we can carry it out easily,” he said. as “the Unit.” Its commander was Lt. Idi Amin was known to travel in a black With no firm plan yet in hand by Col. Jonathan Netanyahu, 30, called Mercedes limousine, accompanied by Thursday afternoon, 90 minutes before “Yoni,” who had been in the position several escort vehicles. He had visited expiration of the ultimatum, Israel for a little more than a year. Initially, the hostages several times, and another visit was not implausible. The Unit decided to use a Mercedes and two Land Rovers to get from the C-130 to the terminal. The Mercedes they obtained, however, was white, believed to be the wrong color, and was hastily repainted black. Corbis photo by David Rubinger Unknown to the Israelis, Idi Amin was now using a white Mercedes in- stead of a black one. The Unit made fake license plates from cardboard and little flags to fly on the front of the car, as seen in pictures of Amin’s Mercedes. The IDF staged a dry run rehearsal of the landing Friday night at Ophir, on the southern tip of the . The IAF would use seven aircraft for the operation, two Boeing 707s and five C-130s. The 707s, with El Al A jubilant crowd lifts an unidentified member of the rescue team into the air during airline markings and civilian registra- the celebrations at the in Tel Aviv. tion numbers, would fly the standard AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2010 65 lights on and at about 40 mph, hoping

AP photo to look like a presidential motorcade. Just before they reached the old con- trol tower, a Ugandan Army sentry pointed his rifle at them and tried to stop them. The sentry knew, perhaps, that the black Mercedes was not Idi Amin’s car. They had to shoot their way through and immediately came under fire from the old control tower. They charged the last 30 feet on foot. The hostages were on the ground floor, guarded by seven terrorists and dozens of Ugandan soldiers. The ter- rorists were momentarily confused, uncertain why the Ugandans were shooting. In the rapid exchange of gunfire that ensued, four terrorists on the ground floor were killed, but one of L-r: Ben Zion Netanyahu, Yoni’s father, Defense Minister Shimon Peres, and Prime them hit Netanyahu in the chest with Minister Yitzhak Rabin, at Yoni Netanyahu’s funeral ceremony in Jerusalem in 1976. a burst from his AK-47. His wound was mortal, and he died as the Unit commercial route toward South . which had no radar that could track the doctor tried to revive him. The first 707 was the command and C-130s at night—at 20,000 feet, which The assault team spread out through control aircraft, with Adam and Peled used less fuel. Operation Thunderbolt the building, where they found and killed aboard. The second was configured as did not receive final authorization from three more terrorists. Two hostages were a field hospital. In their civilian guise, the full Israeli Cabinet until the C-130s also killed, one in the crossfire and the both could refuel at Nairobi. were over Ethiopia. The C-130s crossed other when he leapt up unexpectedly The C-130s staged out of Ophir, the western Kenya and reached Lake Victo- at the sight of Israeli forces. southernmost airfield in Israel, and ria about 10:30 p.m. They were now out Hercules Two was on the ground at topped off their tanks there for the 2,500- of radio range of the Arab countries, so 11:06 p.m. Hercules Three was close mile flight. Tight security slipped when Hercules One made first radio contact behind, landing with the emergency the pilot of an airplane belonging to with the Boeing 707 command aircraft. beacons when the runway lights went Arkia, Israel’s domestic airline, noticed out suddenly while the C-130 was the activity at Ophir and commented on Out of the Night on final approach. As paratroopers an open frequency, “Looks like there’s a Hercules One approached Entebbe secured the new terminal and control party going on down there.” Fortunately, from the south and lined up on the main tower, where resistance was light, the it led to no harm. runway, which ran along the western four armed jeeps, commanded by Maj. The first Karnaf was in the air at side of the airport. Flying without , raced down the diagonal 3:30 p.m. Saturday, followed at regular lights, the C-130 could not be seen runway. They took up a blocking posi- intervals by the others. The Cabinet from the ground. The crew could see tion in front of the military base and was still debating the issue and had the new terminal and control tower strafed the MiGs with their swivel- not reached a decision to approve the off to their right and beyond that, the mounted machine guns. Several of mission when the C-130s launched. lights of the old terminal, where the the MiGs exploded and all eight were There was some expectation among hostages were held. It was on a ramp destroyed. The jeeps also suppressed the assault force that the aircraft would off the old runway, which ran the width fire from the top of the control tower, be recalled. of the airport on a southeast-northwest raking it with bullets each time the Hercules One carried Yoni and his diagonal. A mile-and-a-half to the east, Ugandans put their heads up. 29 troopers, their Mercedes and two a military airstrip lay along the far side No additional Ugandan troops joined Land Rovers, ground commander of the airport, with five MiG-21s and the fight. Idi Amin and his senior offi- Shomron, and 52 paratroopers. The three MiG-17s parked nearby. cers did not know what was going on. next two aircraft each carried two Hercules One touched down unseen Possibly, it was a coup. Idi Amin took armed jeeps, and more soldiers and at 11:01 p.m., Israeli time—just after shelter and the others holed up until the paratroopers, and one also carried midnight in Uganda. The pilot cut situation was clear. Shomron’s command jeep. Hercules inboard engines to reduce noise and “No officers wanted to risk becom- Four was the hostage transport. It also taxied onto an access strip connecting ing involved with the wrong side,” said brought the medical team, a portable to the diagonal runway. Paratroopers Henry Kyemba, a minister in Amin’s fuel pump mounted on a pickup truck, hopped out to place emergency landing government. and a 10-man IAF refueling team. In beacons for use by the other C-130s Hercules Four taxied into position all, Shomron’s assault force numbered if the runway lights were turned off. near the old terminal to take the hostages about 170. The Mercedes and the Land Rovers, aboard. One was missing. On Friday, The C-130s flew the length of the carrying Yoni’s party, headed down 75-year-old Dora Bloch, choking on a at 200 feet to evade Saudi and the runway toward the old terminal, piece of meat, had been taken to a hospi- Egyptian radars, then crossed Ethiopia— about a mile away. They drove with tal in , 21 miles away, and she 66 AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2010 was still there. The other 104 scrambled for their failure to see the approaching operation. Rabin returned for another aboard the C-130, which would also C-130s. term as prime minister in 1992. He was carry the bodies of Netanyahu and the His thugs also dragged Dora Bloch assassinated in 1995, and was succeeded two dead hostages. out of her hospital bed and killed her. by Peres (who had earlier been prime The IAF technicians were preparing to The C-130s were met en route by Is- minister 1984-86). Peres was followed pump fuel from the airport tanks when raeli fighters and escorted to Tel Nof Air by —Yoni’s young- Peled sent word from the command and Base south of Tel Aviv. After debriefing, er brother—who was prime minister control aircraft that the C-130s could they went on to Ben Gurion Airport in from 1996 to 1999. refuel in Nairobi. Hercules Four was Tel Aviv, where a huge reception awaited. Adam, commander of the overall op- the first out. The raid went down in military lore eration, was killed in action in The last aircraft, Hercules Two, lifted and legend, and Operation Thunderbolt in 1982. The ground commander, Shom- off at 12:40 a.m., Israeli time, on Sunday was renamed Operation Jonathan in ron, subsequently became IDF chief of July 4—an hour and 39 minutes after honor of the fallen commander. Three staff. Barak, the former commander of the first C-130 had landed. movies were subsequently made about Sayeret Matkal and emissary to Kenya When they got to Nairobi, all con- the mission, and there have been numer- to arrange for landing and refueling, cerned tried to make the situation as ous articles and books, notable among was prime minister of Israel from 1999 unexceptional as possible. The IDF’s them Entebbe: The Jonathan Netanyahu to 2001. Mofaz, who commanded the “Entebbe Diary” said, “Without any Story in 2003 by Yoni’s brother, Iddo. contingent of armed jeeps at Entebbe, fuss, fuel tankers moved into position Uganda asked the United Nations went on to be IDF chief of staff and by the planes and began refueling, while Security Council to condemn Israel’s defense minister. the drivers presented the paperwork to action. The UN declined to pass a resolu- Benjamin Netanyahu is currently their pilots for signature, just as they tion condemning either Israel or Uganda, prime minister of Israel, Peres is presi- would to any commercial flight. No but Secretary-General dent, and Barak is defense minister. questions were asked, and no informa- of Austria felt compelled to say that Idi Amin continued as of tion volunteered.” the raid was “a serious violation of the Uganda until he was ousted in 1979. He One of the hostages, seriously national sovereignty of a United Nations fled to Libya and then to , wounded in Entebbe, was taken to a member state,” meaning Uganda. where he died in 2003. n Nairobi hospital, but did not recover For staying with the passengers and from surgery. The immediate fatalities urging other crew members to do like- John T. Correll was editor in chief of from the raid were three hostages, 20 wise instead of accepting release, Bacos Air Force Magazine for 18 years and is Ugandan soldiers, seven hijackers, and was reprimanded and suspended from now a frequent contributor editor. His Yoni Netanyahu. duty by Air France. most recent article, “Etchberger, Medal Idi Amin added to that by having four History was not quite finished with of Honor,” appeared in the November flight controllers executed summarily some of the principals in the Entebbe issue. AIR FORCE Magazine / December 2010 67