Operation Thunderbolt

It happened thirty-one years ago. America was preparing to celebrate its Bicentennial. People were travelling on summer vacation.

The story started on June 27, an Airbus A300, flying as Air France Flight 139, left Athens for Paris carrying 248 passengers and 12 crew members. Among the passengers were two Arabs, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations, and two Germans, members of the German Revolutionary Cells. Just after take off, the four terrorists took control of the plane and redirected it first to Benghazi and then to Entebbe in Uganda. Once in Uganda, the terrorists were joined by three more.

In addition to the reinforcements, they were welcomed by the Idi Amin. Amin's forces would provide security around the airport for the terrorists.

The terrorists demanded the release of 40 Arab prisoners from Israeli jails as well as 13 other terrorists held in other country's jails. If the prisoners were not released by July 1, then they would begin killing the passengers. The terrorists released all non-Jewish, non Israelis passengers. Although this meant that the crew could have left, Flight 139's pilot, Captain Michael Bacos, and his flight crew and a French nun remained behind to attempt to care for their remaining passengers. In all, there were about 109 hostages remaining at Entebbe Airport.
Although the Government of Israel began negotiations, it did so to buy time for rescue mission. On July 3, the plan put forward by Brigadier General Dan Shomron. The plan called for an assault on the airport by four C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and the Sareyet Matkal under the command of Colonel Yoni Netanyahu. The planners had managed to locate the original blue prints of the airport which were turned into an accurate model on which the assault team practiced. To maintain the element of surprise, the raiding force would bring along a Mercedes that was an exact copy of the one used by Idi Amin.

On the night of July 3/July 4, the mission was put into action. Taking advantage of the terrorists belief that Israel would not initiate a mission on the Sabbath, the raiders launched from Israeli airfields at just after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 3. In addition to the four Hercules, there were two 707's to provide an aerial command center and an aerial hospital as well as F-4 Phantoms escort the transport aircraft.

Arriving at Entebbe Airport at just after 11 p.m., the Israeli commandos quickly deployed. Using the Mercedes to confuse the sentries, 29 commandos assaulted the airport terminal where the hostages were being held. Other detachments provided security for and refuled the Hercules aircraft while others set about destroying the Ugandan MIG aircraft which were housed at the airport.

The speed of the assault was so fast, that hostages and terrorists alike were confused. Despite yelling to the hostages in English and Hebrew to stay down, three of the passengers were fatally wounded by friendly fire. Three minutes after the first Hercules touched down, Israeli commandos has killed four of the terrorists. A few minutes later, the last four terrorists were hunted down and killed. During the assault Within 30 minutes the hostages were secured and being loaded onto the transport aircraft. Despite Ugandan troops firing on them, the IAF Hercules had all taken off by 23:59, 58 minutes after the first aircraft touched down.

The Sareyet Matkal commandos managed to liberate 106 hostages (the three fatalities at the airport plus Dora Bloch who had been moved to a hospital earlier in the day). They had killed
the terrorists. All of this was accomplished in exchange for one IDF fatality: Yoni Netanyahu.



In their infinite wisdom, Captain Bacos' employers, Air France, suspended him from flying and reprimanded him for staying with the hostages.