Biafran Armed Forces

Last updated
Biafran Armed Forces
Flag of Biafra.svg
MottoThe People's Army
Founded1967
Disbanded1970
Service branches HalfSun.png Biafran Army
Biafran Navy
Roundel of Biafra (1967-1970).svg
Biafran Air Force
Headquarters Enugu
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu
Chief of General Staff Philip Effiong
Personnel
Available for
military service		150,000, age 15–49
Active personnel100,000
Reserve personnel50,000
Industry
Domestic suppliers Biafra Research and Production(RAP)
Foreign suppliersFlag of Israel.svg  Israel
Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
Related articles
History Nigerian Civil War
Ranks Military ranks of Biafra

The Biafran Armed Forces (BAF) were the military of the Republic of Biafra, which existed from 1967 until 1970. [1]

Contents

History

Disabled Biafran war veterans in 2017. Disabled Biafran war veterans.jpg
Disabled Biafran war veterans in 2017.

At the beginning of the Nigerian Civil War, Biafra had 3,000 soldiers. This number grew as the war progressed, ultimately reaching 30,000. [2] No official support for the Biafran Army came from any other nation, although arms were clandestinely acquired.

Some Europeans served the Biafran cause: German-born Rolf Steiner was a lieutenant colonel assigned to the 4th Commando Brigade, and Welshman Taffy Williams served as a major throughout the conflict. [3] A special guerrilla unit, the Biafran Organization of Freedom Fighters, was established: designed to emulate the Viet Cong, they targeted Nigerian supply lines, forcing them to shift resources to internal security efforts. [4]

Legacy

In course of the insurgency in Southeastern Nigeria of 2021, a separatist group known as "Biafran National Guard" (BNG) organized the "Biafran Supreme Military Council of Administration". The latter posed as high command of the restored Biafran Armed Forces, including the "Biafran Army, Biafran Navy, Biafran Air-Force and Biafran Detective Force". [5]

Branches

Army

At the peak of Biafran military power, the Biafran Army was made of 5 divisions; numbered 11th, 12th, 13th (later renumbered 15th), 14th and 101st. It also had 2 separate brigades, the S Brigade, a Pretorian guard for General Ojukwu, [6] and the 4th Commando Brigade (trained and commanded by mercenaries). [7] It was commanded by Brigadier Hillary Njoku [8] and later Major General Alexander Madiebo. [9]

Air force

Roundel of the Biafran Air Force Roundel of Biafra (1967-1970).svg
Roundel of the Biafran Air Force

The Biafrans set up a small, yet effective air force. Biafran Air Force commanders were Chude Sokey and later Godwin Ezeilo Ezeilo, [10] who had trained with the Royal Canadian Air Force. [11] Its early inventory included two B-25 Mitchells, two B-26 Invaders, (one piloted by Polish World War II ace Jan Zumbach, known also as John Brown), [12] a converted DC-3 and one Dove. In 1968, Swedish pilot Carl Gustaf von Rosen suggested the MiniCOIN project to General Ojukwu.

By early 1969, Biafra had assembled five MFI-9Bs in Gabon, calling them "Biafra Babies". They were coloured green, were able to carry six 68 mm anti-armour rockets under each wing using simple sights. The five planes were flown by three Swedish pilots and three Biafran pilots. In September 1969, Biafra acquired four ex-Armee de l'Air North American T-6Gs, which were flown to Biafra the following month, with another T-6 lost on the ferry flight. These aircraft flew missions until January 1970 manned by Portuguese ex-military pilots. [11]

During the war, Biafra tried to acquire jets. Two Fouga Magisters and several Gloster Meteors were bought but never arrived in Biafra, being abandoned on foreign African airbases. [13]

AircraftOriginNumberNotes
MFI-9B "Biafra Babies" Sweden5 [13]
Douglas B-26 Invader USA2 [14] Provided by Pierre Laureys [15] [16]
North American B-25 Mitchell USA2 [17]
de Havilland Dove UK2 [18]
Fokker F27 Friendship Netherlands1 [17] Ex Nigerian Airways and used as an Improvised Bomber.
Douglas DC-3 USA1 [17] Improvised Bomber.
North American T-6 Texan USA4-6 [13] [11] ex-Armee de l'Air. [11]

Biafra had a small improvised navy, but it never gained the success of the air force. It was headquartered in Kidney Island, Port Harcourt, and was commanded by Winifred Anuku. The Biafran Navy was made up of captured craft, converted tugs, and armored civilian vessels armed with machine guns, or captured 6-pounder guns. It mainly operated in the Niger Delta and along the Niger River. [14]

Ships in service
ShipOrigincommissionedFatenotes
BNS Vigilance ex-NNS Ibadan30 May 1967Sunk on 10 September 1967 [19] Ford-class seaward defence boat
NSS Bonny ex-HMS Gifford1968Preserved at the National Nigerian War Museum Ford-class seaward defence boat
Ikwerreex-Nigerian port authority tugboat [20] 1967 [21] Armed with a 105mm howitzer [20]
PC101ex-Nigerian port authority cutter [22] 1968Lost in July 1968 [21] Armed with 6-pounder and Bofors gun [23]
PC202Nigerian tugboat [22] 1968Lost in July 1968 [21] Armed with a 105mm howitzer [24]
PC203Nigerian tugboat [22] 1968Sunk in September 1968 [21]
PC204Nigerian civilian craft1969 [21]

Weapons and equipment used by Army and militias

Rocket launchers
TypeOriginnotes
Pancerovka P-27Czech-made [25]
Type 56 RPG Chinese-made [26]
SARPAC French-madeSome from 1968 [25]
Ogbunigwe Launcher Biafra Research and Production [27]
Mortars
TypeOriginnotes
2-in mortar ex-Nigerian Army [25]
Ordnance ML 3 inch mortar
L-N 81mm mortar Spanish-madeAt least 6 [25]
MO-120 AM-50 French-made [25]
Guns
TypeOriginnotes
Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Never used in combat (unable to fire) [28]
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon Hispano-Suiza (Spain) [28]
M18/49 105mm howitzer (upgraded 10.5 cm leFH 18/40)Czech-made
Ordnance QF 6-pounder ex-Nigerian Army
Bofors 40 mm gun
OTO Melara Mod 56
Armoured vehicles
TypeOriginNumbernotes
AML-60 ex-Nigerian ArmyAt least 1 [28]
AML-90 At least 1
Ferret armoured car At least 1
Alvis Saladin At least 2
Alvis Saracen 1
Universal Carrier French traderA small number
Red Devils Biafra4Many designs [28]
Armoured Scorpion BazookaBiafra1Only one design made
Biafra Armoured CarBiafra1Only one design made

Ranks

See also

Related Research Articles

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Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, predominantly inhabited by the Igbo ethnic group. Biafra was established on 30 May 1967 by Igbo military officer and Eastern Region governor C. Odumegwu Ojukwu under his presidency, following a series of ethnic tensions and military coups after Nigerian independence in 1960 that culminated in the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom. The Nigerian military proceeded to attempt to reclaim the territory of Biafra, resulting in the start of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia while receiving de facto recognition and covert military support from France, Portugal, Israel, South Africa and Rhodesia. After nearly three years of war, during which around two million Biafran civilians died, President Ojukwu fled to Ivory Coast in exile as the Nigerian military was approaching the capital of Biafra. Philip Effiong became the second president of Biafra, and he oversaw the surrender of Biafran forces to Nigeria.

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References

  1. ↑ Jowett 2016.
  2. ↑ "Operation Biafra Babies". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  3. ↑ "The Last Adventurer" by Steiner, Rolf (Boston:, Little, Brown 1978)
  4. ↑ Jowett 2016, p. 16.
  5. ↑ John Owen Nwachukwu (24 May 2021). "We are taking over Biafran territories starting from Anambra on May 30 – BNG claims". Daily Post. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  6. ↑ Jowett 2016, p. 13.
  7. ↑ Jowett 2016, p. 15.
  8. ↑ Baxter, Peter (2015). Biafra : the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970. Helion and Company. p. 23. ISBN   978-1909982369.
  9. ↑ Iliffe, John (2011). Obasanjo, Nigeria and the World. Boydell & Brewer. p. 108. ISBN   978-1847010278.
  10. ↑ Okpe, August (2009). The last flight : a pilot remembers the Air Force and the Biafran air attacks. Aeromax. ISBN   9789789004140.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Air Enthusiast No. 65 September–October 1996 pp 40–47 article by Vidal, Joao M. Texans in Biafra T-6Gs in use in the Nigerian Civil War
  12. ↑ Michael Robson. "The Douglas A/B-26 Invader - Biafran Invaders". Vectaris.net. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 Jowett 2016, p. 19.
  14. 1 2 Jowett 2016, p. 17.
  15. ↑ Dan Hagedorn; Leif Hellström (1994). Foreign Invaders: The Douglas Invader in Foreign Military and US Clandestine Service. Midland Pub. p. 108. ISBN   978-1-85780-013-5.
  16. ↑ Griffin, Christopher (2014). "French military policy in the Nigerian Civil War, 1967–1970". Small Wars & Insurgencies. 26 (1): 119. doi:10.1080/09592318.2014.959766. ISSN   0959-2318. S2CID   143967690.
  17. 1 2 3 Jowett 2016, p. 18.
  18. ↑ "All-Time Aircraft Used Listing | Biafran Air Force".
  19. ↑ Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. p. 219. ISBN   978-1-86176-281-8.
  20. 1 2 Odu 2009, p. 111.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "Biafra Navy, 1967-70". www.marinavasca.eu. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  22. 1 2 3 Odu 2009, p. 154.
  23. ↑ Odu 2009, p. 153.
  24. ↑ Odu 2009, pp. 158, 166–167.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Jowett 2016, p. 23.
  26. ↑ Chinese-made weapons may have come from Zambia or Tanzania ( Jowett 2016 , p. 23)
  27. ↑ Jowett 2016, p. 33.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Jowett 2016, p. 24.

Bibliography

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