Aviation News – June 2018

O

peration Thunderbolt on July

4, 1976 still stands as one of

the most ambitious hostage

rescues the world has ever

seen. The previous week, on June 27, an Air

France Airbus A300 had been hijacked by

Palestinian terrorists on a service between

Tel Aviv and Paris.

The airliner eventually ended up in

Uganda where the hijackers were welcomed

by the country’s then president Idi Amin.

Some non-Israeli hostages were released

but around 100 people remained, including

the airliner’s crew.

Israel launched a courageous long-

distance rescue using its special forces

and air force C-130s. While guns blazed

on the ground at Entebbe International

Airport, Boeing 707s and  ight crews of the

120th Squadron were also involved in the

operation.

One Boeing contained medical facilities

and landed at Jomo Kenyatta International

Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, waiting for any

casualties to arrive. The second  ew the

skies of Uganda, carrying the commander of

the operation, General Yekutiel Adam, and

the Israeli Air Force (IAF) commander, Major

General Benny Peled. It was a forward

command post. The mission was regarded

as a success, although four hostages were

killed. All the hijackers died.

IAF SERVICE

In 1971 when Israel Aircraft Industries (later

Israel Aerospace Industries, IAI) decided

to expand its Bedek Aviation division,

which concentrated on maintenance and

conversions. Thirteen 707-124s were

purchased from TWA’s surplus inventory, all

with substantial  ight hours. By October 1973,

Bedek had renovated and sold seven, while

the others were in various stages of renewal.

On October 6, 1973, when the Yom

Kippur War erupted, the IAF was in

desperate need of large transport aircraft

to take armed troops and equipment to and

from the Sinai Peninsula.

Two of the renovated former TWA aircraft

were taken on loan from IAI; (sub-model

131) and Continental (sub-model 124),

equipped with the JT3C engines. These two

were tail numbered 009 and 006, and served

with the 120th Sqn, also known as The

BOEING 707

ISRAEL’S DESERT GIANT

54 Aviation News incorporating Jets June 2018

CLASSIC JETLINERS SPECIAL

O

peration Thunderbolt on July Airport, Boeing 707s and  ight crews of the to expand its Bedek Aviation division,

ISRAEL’S DESERT GIANT

Israel’s raid at Uganda’s Entebbe airport in the summer of 1976 to free

hostages saw Boeing 707s involved in the operation, as Noam Menashe

explains during this review of the type in Israeli service.

54-57_jetliners_707DC.mfDC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 54 04/05/2018 11:35