An unusual commitment of the Indian Air Force in the early 1960s was to support the United Nations in the Congo in Central Africa. Following the secession of Katanga, masterminded by commercial interests in Belgium, the UN had appealed for both ground troops and combat aircraft to restore law and order and peace. Six Canberra B (I) 58s of No. 5 Squadron (Tuskers) of the IAF, were thereafter deployed from their home base in Agra to the heart of Africa. Operating from Leopoldville and Kamina, the Canberras were to systematically obliterate the mercenary air force, destroy Katangan targets and generally provide UN ground forces with effective air support.
Prior to the induction of Indian Air Force Canberras, a task team of IAF officers headed by Air Vice Marshal Erlic W. Pinto, then AOC-in-C Operational Command (in picture above), was sent to the strife-ravaged country to assess the prevailing situation, check on availability of operational airfields for operations, navigation aids and general infrastructure. The team included then Group Captain Hassan Shamshi and Squadron Leader (later Air Marshal) SC Lal while the Army had several senior officers including Brigadier (later Lt Gen) Sartaj Singh.
The geo-political crisis
In 1959, Belgium had declared its intent to grant independence to its colony in Africa, Belgium Congo, this being regarded as a hasty response of a minor European country wanting to disassociate itself from the growing post-colonial world. The Congo was soon afflicted with political and tribal violence. The post-independence political vacuum attracted private capitalists, who greedily sought to carve out their financial fiefs.
A day after their independence on 30 June 1960, troops of the newly formed National Congolese Army (ANC-Armee Nationale Congolaise) mutinied in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa), capital of the new nation, against continued appointment of Belgians in political positions. To protect their interests in southern Congo, the Belgians then reinforced forces still deployed in the country. This military element was called Force Publique (FP) which also had a small air element of two Sikorsky S-55 and three Aerospatiale Alouette Il helicopters, a De Havilland Heron and ten De Havilland Doves, based at Leopoldville International Airport and at Kamina. In addition, the Belgian Air Force (FAB-Force Aerienne Belge) operated 16 North American T-6G Harvards and four Fouga CM 170 Magisters from their Flying School at Kamina. The FAB’s No.15 Wing in the Congo also had flights equipped with Douglas C-47 Dakotas, C-54 (DC-6) Skymasters, as well as some Fairchild C-119F Packet tactical transport aircraft.
In July 1960, under Tshombe’s leadership, Katanga dramatically seceded from the Congo and declared itself an independent state, charging President Lumumba with treason by selling out the country to the Soviets, even as he appointed himself as ‘President’. Another development led to creation of the ‘Autonomous Mining State of South Kasai’, with Bakwanga as its capital.
Such utter chaos in post-independence Congo called for palliative measures to be provided by the UNO and Lumumba requested the world organisation “to intervene”. Thus the ONUC (Force de l’ Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo) was formed with 3500 ground troops from Tunisia, Morocco, Ghana, Ethiopia, Ireland and Sweden, whose expeditious deployment frustrated any possible Soviet intervention. However, because of Lumumba’s appeal to the Soviet Union for aid against Belgium, Nikita Khrushchev issued a “hands off” warning to the West, vowing resolute measures to curb any ‘aggression’. In fact, Khrushchev had simply taken advantage of the chaos to establish a Soviet presence in Central Africa. His protégé, Lumumba, soon employed nine Soviet-crewed Ilyushin Il-14 transport aircraft to ferry loyal ANC troops to the secessionist areas.
The UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold appointed Conor Cruise O’Brien as his special representative in the Congo. However, Dag Hammrskjold was not fated to see his directions fulfilled. He was enroute to negotiate a ceasefire between the ‘non-combatant’ UN troops and Katangese forces of Moise Tshombe on 18 September 1960 when his Douglas DC-6 airliner (Swedish registered SE–BDY) crashed near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Hammarskjold and 15 others perished in the crash which cause has never been officially determined but there were rumours that a Katangese Fouga-Magister flown by a mercenary pilot had actually shot it down.
Remains of the Swedish DC-6 in which was travelling UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold
The FAB had, meanwhile flown a number of Fouga Magister jet trainers back to Belgium, yet the Force Aerienne Kantanguise (FAK) continued with a nucleus of five Doves, eight T-6s, a Heron, an Alouette II, a Piper L-18C and a single S-55 helicopter.
Incapacitated Belgian Fouga Magister at Kamina
The Soviet ‘presence’ was short lived and the UN soon occupied - and closed - Congolese airports to all except UN flights. At this stage, Mobutu seized control on 14 September 1960, expelled all Czech and Soviet Army ‘advisors’ and closed their embassies in Leopoldville. ANC troops loyal to Mobutu captured Lumumba and imprisoned him but Lumumba’s supporters threatened in retaliation to decapitate Europeans in Stanleyville unless he was freed. Antoine Gizenga, Lumumba’s closest associate, proclaimed a new, pro-communist government in Stanleyville on 13 December 1960, again backed by the Soviet Union.
In January 1961, ANC units loyal to Lumumba invaded northern Katanga to support rebellion of Baluba tribesmen against Tshombe’s secessionist regime. Lumumba was flown to Bakwanga (where his aircraft could not land) and then continued to Elisabethville where he was shot dead on arrival.
The murder of Lumumba was announced only on 12 February 1961, causing revulsion internationally. Belgian embassies were attacked in many countries and Belgian property confiscated. At this juncture, the Governments of Egypt, Soviet Union, Ghana and Yugoslavia “recognized” the Lumumba government. The world was very concerned. In February 1961, Gizenga’s troops controlled three out of the country’s six provinces and he engineered expulsion of Europeans and other foreigners. Gizenga soon agreed to join a central cabinet under Cyrille Adoula and to participate in a parliament with ‘Lumumbists’ holding key posts. But the conflict worsened. The armed forces had remained under the UN, including the ANC (some 7500 troops) Gizengas Kivu and Orientale (some 7000 troops), the Kasai Balubas (3000 troops) and the Katangese gendarmerie (5000 strong, including 500 white mercenaries).
Katangan troops along with mercenaries fighting UN forces
Tshombe quickly reinforced his military capabilities. His ‘air arm’ was called KAT (also known as ‘Avikat’), based at Luano airfield and consisted of nine French-origin Fouga CM.170 Magisters and five German-origin Dornier Do 28As. The Fouga Magisters were armed and in addition to machine guns, could fire 68mm unguided rockets and drop 50 kg bombs and these played havoc with constant attacks on opposing forces including those of the United Nations.
The ‘UN Air Force’
Various aircraft types of the United Nations peacekeeping Air Forces at Kamina Airbase including F-86 Sabres from the Philippines, Iran, and Ethiopia along with J-29s from Sweden. Also in the picture are S-55 helicopters and a lone C-47 Dakota.
The arrival of IAF Canberra bombers in the Congo came at a time when the country was a virtual cauldron of conflict, diverse forces ferociously trying to dominate the balkanised region. The main objective was to neutralise the Katangese Air Force (KAT), which was to be destroyed at the soonest by the unified UN Air Force under command of Air Commodore Morrison of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The ‘UN Air Force’ in the Congo consisted of Ethiopian Air Force F-86F Sabres, augmented by those from the Philippines and Iran plus three Swedish Air Force Saab J-29B Tunnan fighters and two S-29C reconnaissance fighters plus a squadron of 16 Italian AF C-119s and a combined UN Dakota Squadron, commanded by an IAF Wing Commander with aircrew drawn from different Air Forces. The UN’s air assets were based at Kamina and were given a massive boost on 9 October 1961, when six Canberra B (I). Mk 58s of the IAF arrived, under command of Wg Cdr AK Suares. IAF ground support personnel had been transported from Agra in four USAF C-124 Globemasters.
Indian troops arrive in the Congo, marching past UN C-119 and C-47 transport aircraft.
Sometime earlier, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was quick to respond to the UN’s appeal for help, and had immediately released Major General Inderjit Rikhye for the command appointment. In August 1960, Dag Hammarskjold, the UN's secretary-general, made a personal plea for the secondment of Rajeshwar Dayal to head the entire UN operation. Following the loan of these and other key personnel, a later request for assistance by armed troops and military aircraft was received by the Government of India and help was again immediately granted. An Indian Army Brigade Group proceeded to the Congo and requests made to the Indian Air Force for ground support aircraft were agreed to.
Indian troops with their vehicles on arrival in the Congo.
Initially, the Hunter fighter ground attack aircraft was considered for the task but choice was changed to the Canberra interdictor-bomber, despite the fact that the UN had decreed that no bombs would be carried or dropped. This decision was made for three main reasons: firstly, the Canberra was formidably armed with four 20-mm cannon in a ventral pack; second, it had long endurance and great operational range, and third, a navigator and airborne navigation aids such as the 'Green Satin' were considered essential for the task in view of the poor weather and virtual absence of ground aids.
Canberra B(I) Mk.58 interdictor bomber of No.5 squadron IAF, in UN colours, prior to take off from Air Force Station Agra
No.5 Squadron (Tuskers) equipped with the Canberra B (I) Mk.58 interdictor bomber was to provide six aircraft, aircrew and ground support personnel. Led by the CO, Wg Cdr AIK Suares, the initial four Canberras left their base at Agra on 17 October 1961 for the Congo, flying by way of Jamnagar, Aden and Nairobi; four USAF C-124 Globemasters transported the 150 NCOs and airmen of the ground party, plus support equipment. Amongst the aircrew were two of the IAF's finest bomber pilots, Flt Lts 'Pete' Gautam and Charanjit Singh whose actions in future major wars in the sub-continent were to become legendry.
On arrival at Leopoldville, Wg Cdr Suares reported to the United Nations Air Commander, Air Commodore Morrison (seconded from the Royal Canadian Air Force), who had by this time an odd assortment of aircraft under his command, including, among others, those F-86 Sabre fighters from the Ethiopian Air Force and Saab J-29s of the Swedish Air Force. Then there was this squadron of sixteen Fairchild C-119 Packet transports of the Italian Air Force, plus a combined UN Dakota squadron crewed by members of various air forces, including those of Argentina and Brazil, being commanded by Wg Cdr GB Singh of the Indian Air Force.
Indian Air Force personnel with Canberra of No.5 Squadron at Leopoldville in the Congo.
Accommodation was provided for the Canberra party some miles away at Limite and little time was lost in settling into this new environment and, most important, getting to know the area from the air. The intensive flying programme covered low-level sorties at 500 ft (153 m) and often lower, formation flying, night flying and in general 'showing the flag' for making a presence felt. The Indian Independent Brigade Group had, earlier in August, launched Operation Rumpunch to take into UN custody the many foreign mercenaries serving with the Katanga Gendarmerie. This was followed, in September, by the attempt to seize Katangese airfields and communication networks, but primarily for the protection of refugees.
Image of Katangan Air Force Air Fouga Magister, (image by Robert Craig Johnson)
Towards the end of November came news of a massive build-up by the Katangese Army in Kolwezi, 130 miles (209 km) NW of Elizabethville, then held by a battalion of the Indian Brigade. Indian Army personnel were being ambushed, and air strikes were being made by a lone Fouga Magister thought to be flown by a French mercenary named Jacques Delen. This aircraft was being used to fly over Kamina, and to bomb hangars and the transport aircraft which regularly flew in from Leopoldville on supply missions. These aircraft, incidentally, came from a remarkable airline called the Seven Seas Company, with aircrews made up of Americans, Swedes and Britons. Their main task was to fly in full fuel drums abroad Curtiss C-46 Commandos.
Image of Indian Air Force Canberra B(I) 58 (image by Robert Craig Johnson)
By early December, the United Nations Air Commander had finally been ordered to take action and the Canberra crews from No.5 Squadron were summoned for briefing. Within hours, six Canberras took off, in three waves of two aircraft each, led by Wg Cdr Suares. The first pair were to attack and destroy the airfield at Kolwezi while the second and third waves were each given a series of grid map references for areas where Katangese troop concentrations and convoys had been reported.
It was a formidable task, since the targets were over 800 miles (1,290 km) distant and the route to the target was blanketed in cloud. The plan of action was to find a lake which lay to the west of Kolwezi and then map-read over the final leg to the airfield, using the 'Green Satin' airborne navigation aid. The moment of truth came as Wg Cdr Suares dived, keeping a wary eye on his altimeter, to break cloud just 400 ft (122 m) above the surface to the lake : a quick check of lakeside features and he turned in to the airfield – and what a target !
A light transport aircraft had just taken off and rapidly disappeared into the clouds hanging low above the runway. Two large transport aircraft were refuelling by the control tower and, parked behind the main runway, were some six or seven light transport and communications aircraft. Well off to one side in a jungle of clearing was the dreaded Fouga Magister which had 'terrorised' Elizabethville and Kamina.
Remains of the DC-4
As Suares later recalled, I took out all the light aircraft with my 20-mm cannon on the first low level pass attack whilst Flt Lt Gautam, flying the second Canberra, destroyed the Fouga Magister. We made a rapid turn and, on the second pass, I concentrated on the heavy transports and control tower. During the second run in I saw that we had stirred up a hornet's nest of activity. Katangese soldiers were running about everywhere, and scores of muzzle flashes told me that we were flying through a curtain of bullets. On the third and last pass I saw that all the parked aircraft and the control tower were ablaze, so we both hammered away at the stacked fuel barrels, the adjacent hangars and the buildings.
The Canberras then set course for Kamina airfield, which was to be their new base. On arrival they learned that the raid had been an outstanding success. The other Canberras had all homed in on the lake, found their targets and dealt with them to great effect. After rapid refuelling and re-arming, the Canberras returned to the fray, knowing that they enjoyed complete air superiority, all the Katangese aircraft at Kolwezi and Jadotville having now been destroyed.
Wg Cdr Suares led his Canberras back to Kolwezi for their second strike. On my first pass I flew low over the bulk petrol stores without firing, and was relieved to see people scurrying out of the way before I turned around for a second pass, firing a one-second burst. Since our cannon shells were loaded alternately with high explosive and incendiary heads, only one hit was needed to 'whoosh' off the entire line of storage tanks. On the third pass I concentrated on anything that had survived the previous attacks. As before, we were flying through an angry hail of small arms fire and as I pulled up I heard an ominous bang as my aircraft was hit in the nose area. My navigator, Flt Lt MM Takle was struck in the upper thigh. I pulled up through cloud and set course for Kamina, set the controls to automatic and climbed down and forward to render first aid. He was in great pain, and I had to apply a tourniquet above the gaping would before returning to the controls. On landing he was rushed to the UN hospital and subsequently received the award of the Vir Chakra (VrC).
Other Canberras sustained anti-aircraft fire hits as well, but thanks to the excellent ground technicians, none were grounded for more than an overnight. For the next week, the Indian Canberras made numerous armed reconnaissance sorties. The war was hotting up, and on 9 December Wg Cdr Suares was summoned to Elizabethville for briefing. Again, I hitched a lift in a transport aircraft into the middle of the battlefield area, where I met Brig KAS Raja, operational commander of the Indian Brigade. He was in the thick of the battle and there were shells howling over our heads as he pointed out on the map the areas he wanted neutralised, and then took me forward to point out the exact targets on the ground return to base, I briefed Sqn Ldr PPS Madan, Flt Lt Dushyant Singh, Flt Lt SC Singh and Flt Lt Peter Gautam for the operation.
IAF Canberras at Kamina
The Canberras once more carried out an immaculate raid, with Flt Lt Charanjit Singh, despite heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire, "posting his cannon shells straight into the post office" with devastating effect. This building housed the main communication Centre for the Katanga capital and its destruction was to have far-reaching effects. The other aircraft in the raid strafed road convoys, ammunition dumps and various strong points, much to the subsequent delight of Brig Raja. The transmitter was destroyed and with it, Katanga's communication with their European mentors was snapped.
Katangan and foreign mercenaries scatter during aerial attack at Elizabethville
Over the next days, IAF Canberras continued to fly operational sorties around Elizabethville, often in direct contact with Forward Observation Officers who guided them on to their various targets, which were expertly camouflaged, often almost invisible from the air. The Katangan troops and foreign mercenaries fell back and Gorkha units followed up their attacks with other infantry troops from the Indian Brigade. The fire support given by the Canberra squadron was rated a major factor in the battle for Elizabethville.
The following weeks, into January 1962, found the IAF Canberras flying a heavy programme of armed reconnaissance sorties, looking for targets of opportunity and striking at convoys wending their way along the enemy lines of communication. The weather was, as ever, unpredictable, from a few hundred feet clouds building up rapidly into a solid wall towering to some 40,000 ft, vicious electrical storms were encountered and visibility in the driving rain was appalling.
The combat pressures gradually died down from hereon but operational photographic reconnaissance missions still had to be flown, and visual confirmation on the state of vital targets such as bridges, troop movements and concentrations reported back to commanders of the land battle.
The main air actions took place from late November 1961 until early January 1962; soon after Wg Cdr (later Air Commodore) Suares handed over command to Wg Cdr (later Air Marshal) S Jena, to return to Agra and resume command of the main component of No.5 Squadron. He was later to receive a bar to the VrC he already had from a previous campaign. The Vayu Sena medal was won by Flt Lt P Gautam and five officers and NCOs of the ground party in the action in which the Indian Canberras provided the UN with its only long-range air support force.
These rare images taken in the Congo over 57 years are courtesy Air Marshal SC Lal (retd).