With Ethiopia in disarray following a period of severe internal unrest
and the spread of insurgencies in Eritrea and Tigray, Ethiopia and its
armed forces should have offered little opposition to well-equipped
Somali armed forces which were unleashed to capture Ogaden, in July
1977. However, excellently trained pilots of the Ethiopian Air Force
took full advantage of their US-made equipment, primarily their few
brand-new Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter-bombers, to take the fight to
their opponents, win air superiority over the battlefield, and thus have
their hands free to interdict the Somali supply links to stop the
invasion cold.
This air victory practically sealed the fate of the Somali juggernaut in
Ogaden, especially so once Ethiopia convinced Cuba and the Soviet Bloc
to support her instead of Somalia. In a fit of pique, Somalia forced all
Soviet advisers to leave the country. Already bitter over similar
experiences in Egypt in 1972, Moscow's revenge was designed as a clear
message: nobody was to treat her in such fashion again. The USSR
subsequently launched an air bridge to Ethiopia, unique and
unprecedented in its extension and importance, delivering huge
quantities of armament and equipment necessary for the Ethiopians to
reconquer Ogaden, and beyond. In turn Somalia asked the USA for help and
thus occurred an unprecedented switch of Cold War alliances.
This volume details the history and training of both Ethiopian and
Somali air forces, their equipment and training, tactics used and kills
claimed, against the backdrop of the flow of the Ogaden war. It explains
in detail, supported by over 100 contemporary and exclusive photographs,
maps and color profiles, how the Ethiopian Air Force won the decisive
victory in the air by expertly deploying the F-5Es - unequaled in
maneuverability, small size and powerful armament - to practically
destroy the Somali Air Force and its MiG-17s and MiG-21s.
