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Ogaden War (Ethiopian-Somalia Conflict) 1977-1978 


                                             VICTORIES                     GROUND
NAME                             CONFIRMED  UNCONFIRMED  DAMAGED    DESTROYED  DAMAGED      AIRFORCE      COMMENTS

Teferra, Lagesse                     7 [4+3]     -          -           -         -         9 FIS
Hunde, Bacha                         4 [1+3]     -          -           1 [0+1]   -         9 FIS
Kidanu, Afework                      4 [1+3]     -          -           -         -         9 FIS
Petros, Bezabih                      3 [2+1]     -          -           -         -         9 FIS
Tsadik, Ashenafi Gebre               2           -          -           -         -         9 FIS
Mengistu Kassaye                     1           -          -           -         -         9 FIS
wingman of Bacha Hunde               -           -          -           1 [0+1]   1         9 FIS

unknowns (4x)                        -           -          -           3+        -         9 FIS         1 An-26, 1+ Il-28, 1+ MiG-21
Comments
  • Ethiopian pilots have shot down 13 MiGs-17 and 12 MiGs-21 from 20th July until 1st September 1977. All aircraft were hit by Sidewinders (AIM-9).
  • The "Aces" were the following:
    * Berhanu W.
    * Legesse T.
    * Ashenafi G/T.
    * Batcha H.
    * Bezabih P.
    * Mengistu K.
    * Afework K.
  • Ethiopian Losses:
    * F-5E : Afework K. brought down near Hargeisa. Died in captivity.
    * F-5E : Batcha H. rescued by Helicopter.
    * F-5E : Legesse T. released in prisoner exchange in 1986 or 1987.
    * C-47 : Crash landed after being hit from the ground. All survived and were released through prisoner exchange in 1986 or 1987.
    * Canberra : Hit and was able to limb back but another mechanical trouble brought it down deep inside Ethiopian territory.
  • It is not very well-known, that none of Ethiopia's F-5A had air-to-air capabilities. Contrary to many reports, Ethiopian F-5As didn't have radars therefore didn't have any air-to-air capability and were only used for close air support. The tactics used by Ethiopian Air Force was to dispatch F-5As for attack missions. The planes climb to 30,000 feet to be seen by Somali radar. SAC (Somali Air Corps) mainly operated either from Hargeisa (main operational base) and Baidoa for the Southern part. As soon as the F-5As are seen by Somali radar, SAC dispatches MIGs for interception. As soon as the MIGs take off, Ethiopia's American supplied radar, which was superior to what the Somali's had, at Karamara detects the MIGs and F-5E take off from Dire Dawa for interception. The F-5E flew with their radars on with low output led by ground controllers until they got closer at which time they fully lit their radar. All aircraft were hit by Sidewinders (AIM-9).
  • EtAF - Ethiopian Air Force

F-5A, EtAF
F-5A, Ethiopian Air Force. © Cooper, Tom: Ogaden War, 1977-1978

F-5E, EtAF
F-5E, Ethiopian Air Force. © Cooper, Tom: Ogaden War, 1977-1978

MiG-17, Somalia Air Force

Hargheisa, Somalia, 1977: Somalia acquired a total of 54 MiG-17s and MiG-17Fs in 1967 directly from the USSR. At least a squadron of SAC MiG-17s was based at Hargheisa, from where they also participated in the Ogaden War, against Ethiopia, in 1977 and 1978, when most were flown by Pakistani mercenaries, and at least one known to have been shot down by Israeli mercenaries flying F-5As for Ethiopian air force. This example, CC-129, survived the Ogaden War and later fighting against different oppositional groups inside Somalia, but was then disassembled at Mogadishu, and used as spares source. © Cooper, Tom: African MiGs - Part 2 [*]

MiG-21MF, Somalia Air Force

In the hands of Somali pilots the MiG-21MF proved no match for far better trained and more experienced Ethiopian and Israeli pilots. In fact, very early after the initial Somali attacks and invasion of Ogaden the EtAF F-5s were operating offensivelly into the Somali airspace, flying "training sorties" even over the Hargheisa AB. It was during these "training sorties" that the Israeli pilots scored five confirmed kills against SAC MiG-21s, thus winning the air superiority battle of this war. © Cooper, Tom: Ogaden War, 1977-1978 [*]

MiG-21MF, Somalia Air Force
A wreck of one of Somali MiG-21MFs shot down during the fighting in July 1977. © Cooper, Tom: Ogaden War, 1977-1978

[*] There were no Israeli's on Ethiopia's side and no Pakistani's on Somali side. Israel never operated the F-5 and Pakistani's were never involved within Somali Air Force during the war, prior or after.

Victories of the Fighter Pilots - Ogaden War (Ethiopian-Somalia Conflict) 1977-1978  PDF
Much information kindly provided by Neil A. and Marek Broma
Sources & Literature
  1. Researcher Neil A.
  2. Researcher Marek Broma.
  3. Researcher Tomáš Polák.

  4. Бабич, Владимир - Морозов, Владислав: С «чужими» против «своих», История Авиации, № 25.
  5. Бабич, Владимир - Морозов, Владислав: С «чужими» против «своих», История Авиации, № 28.
  6. Brzkovský, Marek: Zapomenutý válečník studené války, Northrop F-5, in Válka revue Speciál, Letadla studené války 1945-1991, 25. duben 2024.
  7. Brzkovský, Marek: Stíhací esa proudového věku, Sériové sestřely, in Válka revue Speciál, Letadla studené války 1945-1991, 25. duben 2024.
  8. Cooper, Tom: Wings over Ogaden: The Ethiopian–Somali War, 1978–1979, Africa@War, Book 18, Helion and Company, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-1909982383
  9. Ильин, Владимир: ВВС Кубы, Военная авиация стран Латинской Америки, in Авиация и Космонавтика, No. 2, 2015.
  10. Котлобовский, Александр В.: МиГ-21 в локальных конфликтах, Серия: Архив 500+, АрхивПрессm 1997.
  11. Котлобовский, Александр В.: Оправдавший предназначение, Авиация и Время, № 6, 2007.
  12. Котлобовский, Александр В. - Хаустов, Андрей: Крылатый бестселлер, Истребитель Northrop F-5, Авиация и Время, № 6 (180), 2020.
  13. Máče, Jan: Válka o Ogaden, 1. část, in Modelář, No. 5, 2018.
  14. Máče, Jan: Válka o Ogaden, 2. část, in Modelář, No. 6, 2018.
  15. Michl, Jan: Ogadenská válka, in Military revue, No. 10, 2023.
  16. Морозов, Владислав: Над песками Огадена, Эпизоды эфиопско-сомалийской войны на Африканском Роге 1977–1978 гг., in Авиация и Космонавтика, No. 3, 2015.

  17. Baugher, Joseph F.: Freedom Fighter in Service with Ethiopia, http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/f5_16.html. [Online, accessed 24-02-2020]
  18. Cooper, Tom: Which is Better, the F-5E Tiger II or the MiG-21?, A forgotten African war answered the question, War Is Boring, https://medium.com/war-is-boring/which-is-better-the-f-5e-tiger-ii-or-the-mig-21-e92e5c5a1ef3. [Online, accessed 24-02-2020]
  19. Ethiopian Air Force, Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Air_Force. [Online, accessed 24-02-2020]
  20. Imperial Ethiopian Air Force / Ye Ithopya Ayer Hail / Ethiopian Air Force, The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast Page, https://www.the-northrop-f-5-enthusiast-page.info/AirForces/EthiopiaAF.html. [Online, accessed 24-02-2020]
  21. Rahel, Samuel: Ethiopian Air Force hero General Legesse Teferra dies in Washington, DC, Ethiosports, https://www.ethiosports.com/2016/10/06/ethiopian-air-force-hero-general-tefera-legesse-teferra-dies-in-washington-dc/. [Online, accessed 24-02-2020]

  22. ACIG Team: Different African Air-to-Air Victories, A list of confirmed, claimed, and probable air-to-air victories scored by various African pilots and air forces since 1945 , http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_192.shtml, http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=47. [out of order]
  23. Cooper, Tom: Ogaden War, 1977-1978, http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_188.shtml, http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=140&Itemid=47. [out of order]
  24. Cooper, Tom: African MiGs - Part 2, http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_196.shtml, http://s188567700.online.de/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86&Itemid=47. [out of order]

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Copyright © Jan Josef ŠAFAŘÍK
Generated: Tue Aug 6 09:12:44 AM CEST 2024

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