Somali Air Force
Somali Air Force | |
---|---|
Ciidamada Cirka Soomaaliyeed/القوات الجوية الصومالية | |
Founded | 1960 |
Country | Somalia |
Part of | Somali Armed Forces |
Garrison/HQ | Afsione, Mogadishu |
Motto(s) | Somali: Isku Tiirsada "Lean Together" |
Ensign | |
Engagements | |
Commanders | |
Fin Flash | |
Flag of the Air Force |
The Somali Air Force (SAF;
History
Following an agreement signed between the Somali and Italian governments in 1962, Somali airmen began training in Italy with the assistance of Italian technical staff and pilots.[4] At the time, fifty Somali cadets also started training in the Soviet Union as jet pilots, later joined by over two hundred of the nation's elite NCOs and officers for general military training.[5] Most of the newly trained personnel then returned to Somalia.
The Corpo Aeronautico della Somalia was established in the 1950s, and was first equipped with a small number of Western aircraft, including two
On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of
Asli Hassan Abade was the first female pilot in the Somali Air Force. She received training on single-propellor aircraft, and later earned a scholarship to study at the United States Air Force Academy.
In July 1975, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates, the Somali Air Force had three Il-28 bombers (confirmed in 2015 by author Tom Cooper), two fighter-ground attack squadrons with two MiG MiG-15s and a total of 23 MiG-17s and MiG-19s; a fighter squadron with 24 MiG-21s; a transport squadron with three Antonov An-2s and three An-24/26s; a helicopter squadron with Mil Mi-2s, Mi-4s and Mi-8s; other survivors of the early SAF years reportedly included three C-47s, one C-45, and six Italian Piaggio P.148s.[9]
Ogaden War (1977–1978)
The roles of the Air Force in the late 1970s included aerial warfare and air defence.[10][11][page needed]
In July 1977, the Ogaden War broke out after Barre's government sought to incorporate the predominantly Somali-inhabited Ogaden region in Ethiopia into a pan-Somali Greater Somalia.[11] The Somali Armed Forces invaded the Ogaden and were initially successful, capturing most of the territory. But the tide turned with the Soviet Union's sudden shift of support to Ethiopia, soon followed by nearly the entire Eastern Bloc. The Soviets halted their supplies to Barre's regime and increased distribution of aid, weapons, and training to Ethiopia's newly-communist Derg regime. They also brought approximately 15,000 Cuban troops to assist the Ethiopian military. By 1978, the Somali troops had been pushed out of the Ogaden.
Before the war, Somalia had acquired four Ilyushin Il-28 bombers. Flown by MiG-17 pilots, the aircraft could have played a decisive role in the conflict. Although only three of the Il-28s remained in service by the time war broke out,[12] they supported the initial invasion. But the planes were rendered fairly ineffective because they were used to fly high-altitude bombing missions. Once the Ethiopian Air Force began to contest the skies, the Il-28s were withdrawn from combat, remaining at their airfields until Ethiopian air strikes destroyed them. None of the Il-28s survived the war.
Status in 1980-1981
According to Nelson et al. in 1980, out of approximately twenty-one Somali combat aircraft, less than half a dozen — MiG-17s and MiG-21s — were reportedly kept operational by
The
On 28 October 1985, a Somali MiG-21 crashed.[15]
Civil war and Issaq genocide
By 1987-88, the Somali armed forces were fragmenting, as were wider state structures, and multiple insurgencies were growing, leading the country into the Somali Civil War.[16]
In response to Somali National Movement (predominantly Issaq clan) attacks on the cities of Hargeisa and Burao, Barre responded by ordering indiscriminate "shelling and aerial bombardment of the major cities in the northwest and the systematic destruction of Isaaq dwellings, settlements and water points".[17] To end what he saw as the "Isaaq problem", Barre's regime specifically targeted civilian members of the clan,[18] especially in Hargeisa and Burao.[19][20] Atrocities his forces committed against the Isaaqs included aerial strafing of fleeing refugees before they could reach the Ethiopian border.[21] Genocide scholar Adam Jones said the following of Barre's campaign against the Isaaq:
In two months, from May to July 1988, between 50,000 and 100,000 people were massacred by the regime's forces. By then, any surviving urban Isaaks – that is to say, hundreds of thousands of members of the main northern clan community – had fled across the border into Ethiopia. They were pursued along the way by British-made fighter-bombers piloted by mercenary South African and ex-Rhodesian pilots, paid $2,000 per sortie.[22]
Despite the government's continued refusal to grant foreigner access to the north to report on the situation,[23] The New York Times reported that Isaaq refugees had been strafed:
Western diplomats here said they believed that the fighting in Somalia... was continuing unabated. More than 10,000 people were killed in the first month after the conflict began in late May, according to reports reaching diplomats here. The Somali Government has bombed towns and strafed fleeing residents and used artillery indiscriminately, according to the officials.[24]
Dissolution
Metz et al. 1993 wrote that in 1990, "the SAF was organized into three fighter ground-attack squadrons equipped with J-6 and Hawker Hunter aircraft; three fighter squadrons equipped with MiG-21MF and MiG-17 aircraft; a counterinsurgency squadron equipped with SF-260W aircraft; a transport squadron equipped with An-2, An-24, An-26, BN-2, C-212, and G-222 aircraft; and a helicopter squadron equipped with Mi-4, Mi-8, and Agusta-Bell aircraft;" it was also equipped with a number of training aircraft.[25] The IISS Military Balance for 1990-91 estimated that the Somali Air Force had 2,500 personnel and a total of 56 combat aircraft, listing four Hunters, 10 MiG-17s, 22 J-6s, eight MiG-21MFs, six SF-260Ws, and a single Hawker Hunter FR.76 reconnaissance aircraft (p. 117).
By the time President Barre fled Mogadishu for his home region of Gedo in late January 1991, the country's air force had effectively ceased to exist amid the Somali Civil War. In 1993, eight MiG-21s (six MiG-21MFs and two MiG-21UMs), three MiG-15UTIs, one SF-260W and an unknown number of MiG-17 wrecks were seen at Mogadishu airport.[26][27] Three Hawker Hunters (serial numbers 704, 705 and 711) were seen at Baidoa Airport by Australian forces during the UNOSOM II intervention, but later removed.[28]
Relaunch in the 2010s
During the decades since the
On 1 July 2015,
The Somali air force is not currently operational and has no aircraft. It is composed of approximately 170 personnel: 40-50 officers, ranging from second lieutenant to colonel, and 120-130 non-commissioned officers and airmen. Turkey is delivering residential training to a group of young Somali air force personnel and intends to support further development of Somali aviation capabilities. The potential cumulative ten-year cost of redeveloping a Somali air arm is $50 million.[31]
On 6 March 2020, Somali Brigadier General Sheikh Ali met with Pakistani Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan in Islamabad to discuss cooperation efforts and bilateral ties between the Somali Air Force and Pakistani Air Force.[32][33]
Former equipment
Somali Air Force servicemen wore green flight suits with
The following table uses Nelson et al.'s 1981 Somali Air Force's aircraft estimates:
Aircraft | Type | Country of Manufacture | Inventory | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Combat aircraft
| ||||
MiG-17/F "Fresco" | Fighter-bomber | Soviet Union | 54(MiG-17×27、MiG-17F×27)[36] | |
MiG-21MF "Fishbed J" | Interceptor | 33[15] or 29 | ||
F-6C | Fighter | China | 30 | |
Aermacchi SF.260 W
|
Light attack
|
Italy | 6 | |
Hawker Hunter FGA.76 | Attack / reconnaissance | United Kingdom | 9 | |
Transport aircraft | ||||
Antonov An-2 "Colt" | Transport | Soviet Union | 3 | |
An-24/-26 | Transport | |||
Douglas C-47 Skytrain | Transport | United States | ||
C-45 | Light transport | 1 | ||
Aeritalia G.222 | Transport | Italy | 4 | |
Helicopters | ||||
Mil Mi-4 "Hound" | Utility | Soviet Union | 4 | |
Mil Mi-8 "Hip" | Utility | 8 | ||
AB-204 | Utility | United States / Italy | 1 | |
AB-212 | 4 | |||
Trainers
| ||||
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI "Fagot" | Jet trainer | Soviet Union | 4 | 3 |
MiG-21US Mongol B | Jet trainer | 20 | ||
Yakovlev Yak-11 "Moose" | Trainer | Soviet Union | ||
Piaggio P.148 | Primary trainer | Italy | 6 | |
SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 | Training, observation, and light attack aircraft |
The SAF purchased two Piaggio P.166-DL3 utility aircraft and two P.166-DL3/MAR maritime patrol aircraft in 1980.[37]
An Air Defence Command - seemingly a fourth service - was formed by the late 1980s. In 1987, according to U.S. DIA records, it was 3,500 strong, headquartered in Mogadishu, with seven AA gun/SAM brigades and one radar brigade.[38] Eight years later, the Somali Air Defence Force operated most of the surface-to-air missiles. As of 1 June 1989, the IISS estimated that Somali surface-to-air defence equipment included 40
Ranks of the Somali Air Force
- Officers
Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Somali Air Force[40] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lieutenant general Sareeye Guud |
Major general Sareeye Gaas |
Brigadier General Sareeye Guuto |
Colonel Gashaanle Sare |
Lieutenant colonel Gashaanle Dhexe |
Major Gashaanle |
Captain Dhamme |
First Lieutenant Laba Xídígle |
Second Lieutenant Xídígle |
- Enlisted
Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Somali Air Force[40] |
No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Warrant Officer Musharax Sarkaal |
Warrant Officer Class 1 Sadex Xarígle |
Warrant Officer Class 2 Laba Xarígle |
Warrant Officer Class 3 Xarígle |
Sergeant Sadex Alífle |
Corporal Laba Alífle |
Lance Corporal Alífle |
Aircraftman Dable |
See also
Notes
- ^ Luigi Pestalozza, The Somalian Revolution, (Éditions Afrique Asie Amérique latine: 1974), p.27.
- ^ The Soviet Union in the Horn of Africa: the diplomacy of intervention and Disengagement by Robert G Patman - p. 184
- ^ a b "Somalia Reopens Air Force Headquarter". Goobjoog News. 1 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
- ^ Italy. Centro di documentazione, Italy. Servizio delle informazioni, Italy; documents and notes, Volume 14, (Centro di documentazione: 1965), p.460.
- ^ John Gordon Stewart Drysdale, The Somali dispute, (Pall Mall Press: 1964)
- ^ Cooper 2015, p. 13.
- ^ a b Cooper 2015, p. 14.
- ^ Mohamed Haji Ingiriis (2017) Who Assassinated the Somali President in October 1969? The Cold War, the Clan Connection, or the Coup d’État, African Security, 10:2, 131-154, DOI: 10.1080/19392206.2017.1305861
- ^ IISS, The Military Balance 1975-76, IISS, London, 1975, p.43.
- ^ "The Awaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia (1977-1978): Somalia attacks". DIFESA online. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ a b Cooper 2015.
- ^ Cooper 2015, p. 31.
- ^ Nelson 1982, p. 249.
- ^ Metz 1993, p. 213.
- ^ a b "Mikojan MiG-21 Użytkownicy cz. 2". samolotypolskie.pl. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Robinson 2016, p. 241.
- ISBN 978-1-317-00466-0.
- ^ Reinl, James. "Investigating genocide in Somaliland". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-59033-265-8.
- ^ Geldenhuys, p.131
- ISBN 978-0-936508-30-6.
- ISBN 978-1-84277-190-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8229-7031-6.
- )
- ^ Metz 1993, p. 205.
- ^ "Wrecked aircraft at the airbase formerly used by the Somalian Aeronautical Corps and now by the Unified Task Force in Somalia". awm.gov.au. The Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "The remains of six irreparable Somali Air Force Mig fighter aircraft on the edge of the airport ..." awm.gov.au. The Australian War Memorial. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "Hawker Hunter squadron left in the dessert. - Aviation - HMVF - Historic Military Vehicles Forum". HMVF. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ AMISOM (30 October 2012). "AMISOM offers IHL training to senior officials of the Somali National Forces". African Union Mission in Somalia. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ "Somali air force cadets in Turkey". Somalia Newsroom. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ "Somalia Security and Justice Public Expenditure Review" (PDF). World Bank. 31 January 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Somali Air Force commander visits Air Headquarters". Dailytimes.com.pk. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ "Pakistan offers support to Somalia for military training". Somali National News Agency. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.44/tbo.ded.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/taliyaha-ciidanka-cirka-somalia.png?time=1584553927 [bare URL image file]
- ^ https://www.caasimada.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/WhatsApp-Image-2020-03-04-at-6.44.46-AM.jpeg [bare URL image file]
- ^ "Jan J. Safarik: Air Aces Home Page". Aces.safarikovi.org. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- ^ Nicolli 2012, p. 89.
- ^ "Defense Intelligence Agency > FOIA > FOIA Electronic Reading Room > FOIA Reading Room: Africa". www.dia.mil.
- ^ IISS Military Balance 1989–90, Brassey's for the IISS, 1989, 113.
- ^ a b Ehrenreich, Frederick (1982). "National Security". In Nelson, Harold N. (ed.). Somalia: a country study (PDF). Area Handbook (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 257. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
References
- Cooper, Tom (19 April 2015). Wings over Ogaden: The Ethiopian-Somali War (1978-1979). Africa @ War. Solihull: Helion. ISBN 978-1909982383.
- Metz, Helen (1993). Somalia: A Country Study (PDF) (Fourth ed.). Library of Congress. Retrieved 12 July 2019. Research complete May 1992.
- Nelson, Harold (1982). Somalia: A Country Study (PDF) (Third ed.). Washington DC.: Foreign Area Studies, American University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2012. Research complete October 1981.
- Robinson, Colin D. (2016). "Revisiting the rise and fall of the Somali Armed Forces, 1960–2012". Defense & Security Analysis. 32 (3): 237–252. S2CID 156874430.
- World Aircraft Information Files Brightstar publishing London File 338 sheet 4
- WorldAirForces.com, Historical Somali Aircraft
External links
- Court Chick & Albert Grandolini, with Tom Cooper & Sander Peeters, Somalia, 1980-1996, Air Combat Information Group, September 2, 2003.
- "/k/ Planes — /k/ Planes Episode 94: Cripple Fight!". Kplanes.tumblr.com. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
- Somali Hunters
- Image of Somali Hunter
- Derelict Somali MiG, 1993
- ASN Aircraft accident Blackburn Beverley C.1 XL151 Aden - Beechcraft missing report 1960
- Siad's Fears: Replacement of Somali Air Force Commander change of air force chief, 1975