Idi Amin Dada was a Ugandan soldier and dictator. He was born in 1925 at Koboko and died in 2003. A sergeant in the British colonial army in Uganda before staging a military coup in 1971 and taking control of the country from the then left-wing leader, Obote. Western governments welcomed Amin's coup as it removed a potential communist from the country. However, Idi Amin's first action was to execute all the military thought to be loyal to Obote.
In order to maintain power - which he did through the public execution of any opposition - Idi Amin required military support. This he at first obtained from Israel, but Israel withdrew after becoming aware of Idi Amin's atrocities. Idi Amin then courted the Arab world, and became an active supporter of the Palestinian terrorists, sending a telegram of support for them following the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Olympics and inviting an Israeli passenger jet, hijacked by Palestinian terrorists to land at Entebbeairport. His brutal rule which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people ended after his failed invasion of neighbouring Tanzania resulted in Tanzania invading Uganda and capturing Kampala, the Ugandan capital in 1979. Idi Amin escaped to exile in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca where he died. Research Idi Amin
James Carney was an American Air Force sergeant, who as a linguist and communications specialist served at Tempelhof airport in West Berlin. He spied for the German Democratic Republic under the code name 'Kid', informing the GDR of how the US communications system in Germany was able to pinpoint dozens of vulnerable WarsawPact targets within minutes of the outbreak of war. In 1984 he fled to the GDR after his lover died in mysterious circumstances, and in 1990, following a long period of depression and anxiety, he returned to the USA in the company of the CIA where he was sentenced to thirty-eight years in prison. Research James Carney
Rudolf Hametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer and choreographer. He was born in 1938 and died in 1993. A soloist with the KirovBallet, he defected to the West during a visit to Paris in 1961. Mainly associated with the Royal Ballet (London) and as Margot Fonteyn's principal partner, he was one of the most brilliant dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. Nureyev danced in such roles as Prince Siegfried in SwanLake and Armand in Marguerite and Armand, which was created especially for Fonteyn and Nureyev. He also danced and acted in films and on television and choreographed several ballets. It was due to his enormous impact on the ballet world that the male dancer's role was elevated to the equivalent of the ballerina's. Nureyev was a Tatar. He was born near LakeBaikal, on a train journey, and grew up in Ufa in extreme poverty. A love of folk dancing and the sight of professional dancers at the town's small opera house led to lessons with Anna Udeltsova, who had been a member of the Diaghilev Ballet. At the age of 17 he entered the famous
Vaganova Institute (also known as the KirovBallet School) in St Petersburg in the class of Aleksandr Pushkin, a brilliant teacher. Just three years later he joined the KirovBallet as a soloist, dancing with Natalya Dudinskaya, its top prima ballerina, for his first engagement. In 1961 the KirovBallet was in Paris on its first important tour of the West. Nureyev was highly praised but his socializing with French friends incurred the displeasure of the Soviet officials, who told him he had to return. Sensing that he would never again be allowed to leave the Soviet Union, he slipped his escort at Le Bourget Airport and sought political asylum - and a new career. In Nov 1961 he made his London debut at a gala in aid of the Royal Academy of Dancing with Poeme Tragique, a short solo composed for him by FrederickAshton, the director of the Royal Ballet, and this led to an invitation to partner Margot Fonteyn, the academy's president, in Giselle at Covent Garden. Thus began the legendary partnership and a new lease of
artistic life for Fonteyn, who was 19 years his senior. As well as dancing in the classics of the 19th century, he created many roles in modern works, most notably with Fonteyn in Ashton's Marguerite and Armand, first performed at Covent Garden 1963. He choreographed and staged ballets for nearly all the major companies, reviving works from the Russian repertoire like The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Raymonda. In 1983 he was appointed director of the Ballet at the Opera in Paris, revitalized it, and gave much encouragement to young dancers. He appeared many times on television and in films, including the feature I Am a Dancer, shown first in 1972. Research Rudolph Nureyev
In November 1977 the Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta - Delta Force -, the USA's specialist anti-terrorist and hostage rescue unit came into being. The driving force behind Delta Force was Colonel Charles Beckwith, a Special Forces officer who had been extremely impressed by Britain's SAS during an exchange tour in the early 1960s. For several years he badgered the Pentagon into setting up a similar unit in the US Army. Selection for the new unit was very much SAS style, with hard physical, mental and psychological challenges weeding out nine out of 10 applicants. Once selected, the successful candidate is sent on a five month 'Operators' course, where he is introduced to the many and varied skills; than an anti-terrorist commando is expected to master. These include assault tactics, hostage management, communications, observation using the latest high-tech equipment, climbing, small boat work and parachuting.
Since the majority of Delta Force candidates are from Special Forces or Ranger units they already possess many of these skills, but even so they learn a lot before moving to their operational troop. Delta Force is organised into operational squadrons, each squadron is broken down further into troops. Marksmanship is a prime requirement in Delta Force and Force members train up to four hours a day, five days a week. Such intensive training leads to very high shooting standards: Delta snipers are expected to make nine first-round hits out of 10 at 1,000 yards, and score every time at 600 yards. Like other elite counter-terrorist units, Delta Force has built its own 'House of Horrors' which simulates various kinds of combat situations, from hostage taking to aircraft hijacks. Hijacks are a favourite terrorist activity, so Delta Force has practised assaults on airliners, and regularly runs training exercises at New York's KennedyAirport and at other large international gateways. Delta receives terrorist intelligence from US Government organisations such as the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the FBI, and from contacts with other anti-terrorist units around the world. Its members also make exchanges with the British SAS, Germany's GSG-9, the French GIGN and other similar units.
Delta Force was set up in less than a year, becoming operational in the middle of 1978. Just over a year later, the Force was alerted to a possible rescue mission as the US Embassy in Teheran was seized and the embassy staff held hostage. This was far from the mission they had trained for: penetrate hundreds of miles into hostile territory, making an assault in the middle of a major city and then getting clear with 100 or more freed hostages.
Months of intensive training went into 'Operation Eagle Claw' as the rescue mission was called, planned for the 25th of April. It was to involve Delta Force, Special Forces units from Germany, US Marine Corps helicopter Pilots, US Navy helicopters and ships and US Air Force air support. The mission was a disaster, although through no real fault Of the men who took part. Command and control of the many disparate parts of the rescue operation were shambolic. The big MH-53 helicopters could not cope with the desert sand, and there were not enough of them. After three had broken down the mission had to be aborted. To add to the whole affair, a collision at the 'Desert One' airstrip deep inside Iran killed eight men and destroyed a C-130 and a helicopter. Research Delta Force
The De Havilland DH 121 Trident (later Hawker Siddeley Trident) was a British three-engined jet airliner of the early 1960's. The DH 121 was a cantilever, low-wing monoplane powered by three Rolls-Royce RB163 by-pass turbojet engines providing a maximum cruising speed of 975 kmh and a maximum range of 2900 km. The DH 121 carried up to 97 passengers, depending upon configuration, with economy class seats six-abreast.
An improved model, the Trident 1E, first flown in 1964, was powered by Rolls-Royce RB.163-25 Mk 511-5 Spey turbofans and an increased passenger capacity of 115. The Trident 1E was further refined into the Trident 2E in 1965 powered by Rolls-RoyceSpey RB.163-25 Mk 512W turbofan engines and with increased fuel capacity enabling it to fly non-stop over BEA's then longest routes between London and the Middle East, and increased passenger accommodation for 115 passengers.
In June 1965, a Trident 1 belonging to BEA made the first automatic touch-down on a commercial airline service at London Airport.
A high-capacity short-haul version, the Trident 3 was also produced with the capacity for 146 passengers intended for routes up to 1870 km. This was later developed into the Trident 3B with improved engines providing an increased range of 2280 km. Research De Havilland DH 121
In air traffic control, stacking is the arrangement of aircraft traffic in busy flight lanes, especially while waiting to land at an airport. The aircraft are arranged with a minimum vertical separation for safety of 1000 feet below 29000 feet and 2000 feet above 29000 feet. Research Stacking
An air waybill (air consignment note) is a document made out by a consignor of goods by air freight to facilitate swift delivery of the goods to the consignee. It gives the name of the consignor and the loading airport, the consignee and the airport of destination, a description of the goods, the value of the goods, and the marks, number, and dimensions of the packages. Research Air Waybill
A bonded warehouse is a warehouse, usually close to a sea port or airport, in which goods that attract customs duty or excise are stored after being imported, pending payment of the duty or the re-export of the goods. The owners of the warehouse are held responsible for ensuring that the goods remain in bond until the duty is paid; they may only be released in the presence of a customs officer. Research Bonded Warehouse
Abbreviations
Research Idi Amin
