Looks like the whole world has forgotten that the Nigerian killed close to a million of their secessionist Biafrans, a Christian minority some 32 years ago.
OK, the Biafrans had all the oil wells. But their marketplaces were napalmed by Mig 15, usually. Hmm, well... flown by Egyptian pilots...
As it happened, the top military command was pure German. Steiner was general of all forces, and Hertz (a late friend of mine) as general of the air force: a few C47, I DC4, 6 P 51D.
No country helped the Christians, including the US and Israel. Only Portugal helped, allowing flights, without flight plans, into Biaffra.
Hertz died with ten other people when their DC3 unwillingly "landed" in three meters on snow on the top of a flat Atlas mountain during a night flight on Xmas 1970. The wreck was found in July by some shepherd. They had survived for about two months.
That sad story never made the news. I learned it from some Moroccan FAA official who said Hertz was among the passengers, and the story was confirmed by people living in Oukaimeden, the only Atlas ski resort.
The war was lost anyway, and Steiner was killed somehow, somewhere a couple of years later. |
