Bombing for Biafra

Biafran Babies

With an initial Biafra-Nigeria infantry ratio of 30,000: 100,000, the war was a hopeless mismatch. Even when Biafran troops ballooned to over 70,000, the new nation had no serious air power. Nigeria had imported MiG-17s, Ilyushins Il-28s, L-29 Delfins, DC-3s, and helicopters,. Biafra had a well-known bomber—an unserviceable B-26 Marauder abandoned in Enugu. There were also two B-25 Mitchells. But, unlike Nigeria, Biafra had some indigenous airmen,* and at least one foreign friend with his wings hot: a popular Israeli or Jewish pilot known simply as "Johnny." Later, Biafra got another B-26, which was used briefly for night raids together with the B-25s and a converted DC-3. The B-26 and DC-3 crashed; the B-25s were lost on the ground when Nigerian soldiers moved in.

Nigeria attacked first. Enugu was the target. It was a lackluster attempt. Then came renegade Egyptian pilots licking their wounds from crushing defeats at the hands of Israeli pilots. They rained living hell on defenseless civilian targets. Awgu Market bombing was a crime against humanity. Nigeria used converted DC-3s to bomb airfields used for relief flights. Yet 5513 relief flights brought in 61,000 tons of foodstuffs. Nigeria never brought down any of the aircrafts. According to reports, the only relief plane shot down by a Nigerian fighter was a Red Cross flight which had its flight plan pre-approved by Nigeria! However, 11 aircrafts were destroyed and 21 pilots killed by attacks on the airfields.

Enter a Swedish nobleman and veteran pilot: Count Carl Gustaf von Rosen was one of the relief pilots in 1968. Probably frustrated by the harassment of relief pilots, he decided that air attacks must be stopped , if Biafrans are to receive relief aids. He took the idea of Minicon fighter-planes to General Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Early 1969, five MFI-9Bs were assembled in Gabon, painted in two green colors with Volkswagen car paint. They were given simple sights and two pods for six 68 mm anti-armor rockets and an extra fuel tank in the fuselage. The mosquito-like planes were nicknamed "Biafran Babies." At first, the squadron had three Biafran and three Swedish pilots.

Biafran Babies normally attacked with 4 or 5 aircrafts at a time. The squadron stayed together on approaching the target, "with a separation of 50 m or less"; larger separation would have lead to the loss of visual contact. The pilots maintained radio silence except during the actual attack, when information had to be shared. They ensured that a chosen target was destroyed before taking on any impromptu targets. Anti-armor rockets were primary targets, and they attacked only military and strategic targets. Their avoidance of anti-aircraft rockets was legendary. They attacked at dawn or dusk to further minimize anti-aircraft attacks.

They planned attacks very meticulously. Only one attack occurred every second day. Later on, attacks with 1 or 2 aircraft were made with less planning against smaller targets and front-line troops. At most, three attacks per day were performed. To avoid striking own troops, metal sheets were placed on the ground near own troops. Signal flares from the ground were also used for various purposes. More than five minutes were never spent over a target.