Biafran War - How it affected Bristows Nigeria.

The following article was put together using extracts from Michael Draper's book "Shadows" which describes fully the aviation aspects of the Nigerian Civil War.
My thanks go to Mike for giving his permission to use the material.

Mike acknowledges a few Bristow personnel who provided information for the book :- Jim Wilde, Tony Mabelis, 'Jock' MacCaskel and Ian Mcleod.

Bristow operations and Biafran secession.

The build up to the Nigerian Civil War as with so many wars stretched back over many years and covered many aspects which I could not possibly cover in this article but it came as no surprise when, in the early hours of Tuesday, May 30,
1967, the Eastern state of Nigeria declared that it was to become the independent State of Biafra with immediate effect.

At the time of secession Bristows had eleven helicopters committed to oil support work, all technically based at Port Harcourt. These involved two Westland Whirlwind Srs.3, four Hiller 360 UH12Es and five Westland Widgeons, all of which were semi-permanently allocated to the three oil companies Shell-BP, AMOSEAS and Mobil.

Shell had, in fact, ceased its operations from Port Harcourt during late April 1967 and moved to Ughelli in the Mid-West. Accordingly, Bristows had also deployed the two Hiller UH-12Es, 5N-ABY and 5N-AGE to Ughelli, although both were technically based at Port Harcourt for routine maintenance etc. The two Widgeons, 5N-ABV and 5N-ABW, both of which were allocated to Shell-BP were being held in reserve and were therefore kept, out of use, at PH.

In many respects the declaration of secession did little, at first, to hamper Bristows' operation. The company continued to ferry supplies to and from the offshore rigs albeit these flights were now being made under the watchful eyes of the Federal Nigerian Navy as it began to police a blockade of Eastern ports. But on no occasion did the Nigerian Navy attempt to interfere with Bristows activities in supporting the oil rigs. In fact the only restriction placed upon the company came from the Biafrans. That involved a ban flying across the border into the neighbouring Mid-West Region. The reason being for this ban was more from a fear of helicopters being able to fly Nigerian "spies" back into Biafra unnoticed, than for any other reason.

Bristows, however, did take some precautionary measures. Within a week of secession the company decided to evacuate employees' wives and families, together with some of the oil companys' families. The Biafran Army did allow these flights to take place but still insisted that none should cross the border into Federal Nigeria. Bristows argued their case and questioned the ban while at the same time helicopters had been allowed to cross the border in order to support oil operations at Ughelli. These flights certainly meant crossing the state border.
The Biafrans relented and allowed evacuation flights to head for Ughelli. Because of their larger capacity Bristows used their two Whirlwinds (5N-AGI and 5N-AGK) for these evacuation flights, the first of which was made by 5N-AGK, on 8th June, 1967. Then, amidst a growing nervousness within the Biafran Army, clearance for the cross border flights was refused and all further flights flew only to the eastern banks of the river Niger. From there evacuees were taken across to Federal territory by boat and completed their journeys to Lagos aboard helicopters based on the Federal side. In consideration of the shorter flight time to the border, and the fact that the mood swings of the local Biafran Army commander were becoming increasingly erratic, Bristows supplemented the Whirlwinds with two of the Widgeons.

In spite of the increasingly delicate political and military situation existing during this period, Shell still found time to recognise the effort put in by Bristow Helicopters in evacuating non-essential personnel to the border by hosting a small dinner during the evening of 14th June. All air and ground crews attended. Even better news followed the next morning when one of Bristow's pilots, flying a Whirlwind to the border, succeeded in quietly collecting the first mail to reach Port Harcourt since the country declared independence. Under considerable secrecy groundcrews delivered the mail around the base throughout the day.

The main discussion topic at the Shell-Bristow dinner had been to question how long the helicopters could continue to be operated with any degree of normality before they, and the pilots, would have to be evacuated. Having just witnessed the expulsion of Aero Contractors, Bristows took a decision, by the end of the evening, to fly out at the earliest opportunity, all those personnel not directly involved in flying operations. There were obvious difficulties, especially as the Biafran Army had become increasingly nervous over any movements at the airport, but some personnel were flown out under the cover of normal flights. The most obvious sign of Biafran nerves becoming dangerously stretched had occurred earlier in the day and had involved the Bristow Helicopters' Riley Dove (5N-AGF), which normally operated for Shell, out of Port Harcourt.

For some time rumours had persisted that a seaborne assault by Federal troops against the island of Bonny was imminent. Indeed, some local reports even talked of a build-up of Nigerian ships just outside the proposed landing area. Of course, the Biafrans had no real way of confirming such reports until the morning of 14th June 1967 when the first act of aggressive interference took place. The Biafran Army ordered a Bristows' pilot to take a group of officers aboard the Riley Dove and undertake a coastal reconnaissance sortie.

The flight headed east to Calabar and then turned back to cover the entire coastal area, over Bonny oil terminal and further west over Brass and the Niger delta. Bristows' pilot was then ordered to fly northwards along the river Niger to a point beyond Onitsha. The pilot had had little alternative but to make the flight as had the group of very nervous soldiers on board, some of whom were clearly making their first flights in an aeroplane. None of those aboard saw any sign of an impending invasion although, back at Port Harcourt, the pilot did comment quietly to colleagues that the oil terminal at Bonny was unusually congested with ships awaiting clearance.

The fighting starts: Bristow Helicopters evacuate.

The first shots of the Nigerian Civil War were fired just after 05:00 hours on 6th July, 1967; they were not, as the Biafrans had expected, fired from the sea but in the rugged and hilly terrain of the north, at a point near Okaja. Despite the outbreak of fighting along Biafra's northern border, and the likelihood that it could eventually develop into a full scale civil war, Bristows continued to fly in support of Mobil from Port Harcourt (and to a lesser degree in support of Shell), albeit flying was now on a much reduced scale. The Biafrans continued to believe that an assault would be launched from the south and saw the Nigerian "police action" in the north as simply a diversionary measure. On 8th July, and as if to underline this fear, the Biafran Army marched into Bristow's offices and produced a government order declaring that all normal flying duties were to cease. Furthermore, and from immediate effect according to the same declaration, all helicopters and crews were to be placed at the Army's disposal for the purpose of reconnaissance flights. The crews did attempt to put up some resistance and argued that British subjects working within Biafra were not to be molested or hindered in carrying out their normal duties in accordance with a previous order. But the nerve of the Army commander for Port Harcourt had finally cracked to such a degree that he had now begun to turn a deaf ear to orders from above. The situation facing Bristow Helicopters did not recommend a prolonged dialogue and so, and in fear for their own safety, Bristow's personnel began immediate preparations for their own evacuation.

Even at this late stage, Bristows still had some six helicopters at Port Harcourt, plus two Hiller 360s (5N-ABY and 5N-AGE) that had been detached to the Shell-BP field at Ughelli, in the Mid-West State, although these were considered to be well out of the danger area. Since the stoppage in oil production the need for this number of helicopters had reduced and several of those based at Port Harcourt (including Widgeon 5N-ABW and Whirlwind 5N-AGI) had already been flown out to the safety of the offshore rigs before the Biafran Army could ground them. The Hiller 360 5N-ABZ (which had sustained damage at a storage tanker offshore from Escravos on 26th May, but had been speedily repaired at Port Harcourt during the early days of Biafran independence) had also been flown out of Biafra , to the offshore Rig 52. In the meantime Bristows curtly refused to undertake any more support flights on behalf of the Biafran Army and for ten days the Biafrans stopped the company from making any further flights.

Eventually, on 18th July, Bristows received the final order to move all remaining personnel out to four offshore rigs: Rig 52 (AMOSEAS), Rig 59 (Mobil), the Sedco Rig (Shell), and the large Oceanmaster rig (Mobil), for safety. Three helicopters were allowed, by the Biafran Army, to shuttle the last seventy oilmen out of Port Harcourt; among the last flights involved Hiller 5N-AGB to the Mobil Rig 59, while Widgeon G-APTE made for the nearer Oceanmaster rig. The final departure from Biafra was made by the Whirlwind 5N-AGK, flown by Mike Ratcliffe, and which also made for the Oceanmaster.

Unfortunately three of the Widgeons (5N-ABV, 5N-AGA and 5N-AGL, all of which were fitted with standard undercarriage, ie non-flotation gear) had to be left behind at Port Harcourt, together with Riley Dove 5N-AGF. Although a handful of Bristows' personnel did remain at PH for several more weeks until they too were evacuated, by road to the Nigerian border, there was really no scope for retrieving the abandoned equipment. The Biafran Air Force had become considerably larger as a result.

After Bristow Helicopters had evacuated the Port Harcourt area, the company set about re-establishing its Nigerian oil support network. AMOSEAS, which had been one of five companies exploring the Eastern Region , stopped all operations during July 1967. This allowed the Bristow Whirlwind 5N-AGI, which had been ferried to one of the offshore rigs and later flown to Lagos with a number of evacuees, to be flown on to Cotonou to await a decision on its future.(In fact it was flown back to UK, arriving at Gatwick 17/10/67 before completing the journey to Redhill).

The ex-AMOSEAS Hiller UH-12E 5N-ABZ, together with the Mobil Hiller 5N-AGB, was flown from the temporary base aboard Rig 52 to Santa Isabel Airport on Fernando Poo where a new maintenance base was set up by Bristows and for continued support operations for those rigs offshore between the island and the Nigerian coast. Shortly afterwards it was decided to replace the Hillers with Whirlwinds and so the two redundant Hillers were flown back to Rig 52 for a "lazy" ferry back to Lagos, the rig being towed back to the capital for maintenance. The Hillers were then prepared for air-freighting back to Redhill, UK.

The Abandoned Ones!

Of the three former Bristow Helicopters' Widgeons, two were most definitely flown by the Biafran Air Force, the exception being 5N-ABV which is known to have suffered "on ground" damage at Port Harcourt, the incident occurring shortly after its acquisition when a Biafran Air Force pilot tried to get the helicopter airborne. A second Widgeon, 5N-AGL, was used by Biafran forces for a while and flown to the Udi helicopter base but was later wrecked during a heavy landing near Uli airstrip during early 1968. A post war examination of the wreckage suggested that the pilot had clearly lost control, probably as a result of inexperience with the sophisticated nature of the helicopter's gear interchange between the main and tail rotors. This explanation was supported by the fact that when Bristows' personnel later inspected the damaged main rotor blades they still retained earth deposits on the leading edge of the blade tips.

Widgeon 5N-AGA had a more dramatic end after it was captured intact when the Federal Nigerian Army 1st Division overran Biafra's base at Udi during January 1968. The Widgeon had been abandoned by fleeing Biafrans but surprisingly it was still in flying condition. It had clearly been used by the Biafran Air Force although no attempt had been made to remove the standard Bristow colour scheme or the registration marks. After a brief hover flight test flight it was ferried, by the South African mercenary Ares Klootwyk, from Udi to Enugu on 2nd February and then from Enugu to Makurdi, via Oturkpo on the following day. Four days later, on 7th February 1968, the same pilot ferried 5N-AGA from Makurdi to Benin and on to Lagos/Ikeja. At that stage, and firmly denying that it had any connections with a former Bristow Helicopters' Widgeon, the Nigerian Air Force impressed the helicopter into service with a fresh repaint. By 14th February 5N-AGA had been transposed into NAF510 and operated for a while with the Nigerain Air Force until..............

Apart from the helicopters impounded at Port Harcourt the Biafrans did gain access to two Hiller 360s, both of which were operated by Bristows on behalf of Shell-BP from Ughelli in the Mid-West region - in an area initially thought to be quite safe. During the early hours of 9th August 1967 the Biafran Army had launched a dramatic attack across the river Niger and into the Mid-West region.
The assault, in brigade strength, made astonishing progress in its advance so much so that by dusk on the same day almost the entire region had been captured, including the southern parts of Sapele and Warri and the oil complex at Ughelli.

Such was the speed of the Biafran attack that workers at Ughelli simply fled in sheer panic. Bristow's two Hiller 360s (5N-ABY and 5N-AGE) were on the Ughelli helipad at the time of the attack; there was simply not the time available to fly them out to safety. An attempt to disable them was made, even as Biafran soldiers began to enter the outer parts of the complex, when a local mechanic, Lambert Abali, ran out to the helipad and "with the aid of a spanner, put 5N-AGE out of action". Within two hours of Abali's action both Hillers were in the hands of advancing Biafran soldiers.

Curiously neither of the two Ughelli-based helicopters were ever used by the Biafran Air Force and when the Biafrans were later forced out of the region, both Hillers remained exactly as they had been abandoned.

For the remainder of the war Bristows continued to provide the oil companies with helicopter support from bases outside the area of conflict. A new base was established, during July 1967, at Santa Isabel airport, on the island of Fernando Poo, for operations in support of Mobil while logistical support for Shell was later re-established from Ughelli.

After Biafran forces had been pushed out of the Mid-West region, Shell was able to re-start its operations there and a new support contract was signed with Bristow Helicopters on 15th December 1967. With renewed access to the area Bristows were able to inspect the two Hillers (5N-ABY and 5N-AGE) that had been abandoned some four months earlier. Their serviceability state was obviously suspect especially as neither had been inhibited, such was the speed of the Biafran advance. In fact 5N-AGE was found to be still in flyable condition but the other Hiller was in clear need of repair and maintenance. In order to resume operations with minimum of delay the ex AMOSEAS Hiller (5N-ABZ), which was still at Lagos awaiting shipment to the UK (but not yet crated), was flown to Ughelli in December 1967 to replace the damaged 5N-ABY.

Shortly afterwards the other Hiller at Lagos (5N-AGB), and which had been crated, was unpacked and flown to Ughelli to supplement the other two helicopters. All three helicopters operated from Ughelli until February 1968 when the first Jet Ranger (G-AVSW/5N-AHM) arrived in Nigeria to replace Hiller 5N-ABZ. A second Jet Ranger (G-AWFV/5N-AHN) arrived at Ughelli shortly afterwards to replace Hiller 5N-AGE. Apart from a very brief period during the summer of 1968, when the Jet Rangers were temporarily grounded with engine suppressor problems, the Hillers were crated and finally returned to the UK.

When Bristows established its new base at Santa Isabel there was no need for those helicopters transferred there to be registered in Nigeria. The Whirlwind 3 5N-AGK was therefore restored to the British registry, as G-ASOU. The use of British registrations, rather than Nigerian, was also seen as avoiding any diplomatic disadvantage with the rather unpredictable Spanish Equatorial Guinea authorities. Subsequently, during August 1967, a second Whirlwind 3, G-AOCZ, was sent out from the UK. Both Whirlwinds operated from Santa Isabel in float-undercarriage configuration.

End.

The result of many years of research, Shadows describes fully for the first time the aviation aspects of the Nigerian Civil War. Biafra's motley mix of antiquated and modern aircraft was acquired through various dubious and clandestine channels. Despite being landlocked for most of the war Biafra held out, its only link to the outside world being an air bridge to a converted bush airstrip deep in the Biafran heartland. The strip supported an amazing airlift of arms and food - the largest civilian relief airlift in history - which, for almost 18 months kept a nation alive. The book tracks the aircraft and men that took part and is a story that waited 30 years to be told.

The full title of the book is : Shadows - Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967-1970 and is published by Hikoki Publications.
The book is available from Midland Counties Publications. Tel: 01455 254 450; Fax 01455 233 737 or e-mail midlandbooks@compuserve.com

And..................

I have recently ( 25/2/02 ) received an e-mail from the Book's author Mike Draper which follows:-

Dave,
After the Biafran film on Channel 4 on Saturday night Tony Maybelis sent me a note to say how much he had enjoyed it and also copied your article to me. It is his picture of the Riley Dove. As you can imagine my book is not the final word on Bristows' operation in Nigeria/Biafra and I would be most interested to hear from any former personnel who were flying down there, especially after secession had taken place. For example, who was flying Bristows' Riley Dove during that period?

I was also interested to see in the article on Paull a mention of Wilf Shepperd. He was at Fernando Poo when I was down there in '68. In fact he and his wife very kindly put me up for a night after I came out of Biafra on a Red Cross flight. There was a bar at Santa Isabel airfield on Fernando Poo and there was also the Fisherman's Club as well as various other less inviting places. I would imagine that when the temporary base was established some years later the crews were not so keen to leave the airfield. The island, under its new name of Malabo, became a very dangerous place under the new dictatorship. The island gained its independence in '68 but the Spanish maintained control of the airport for some time afterwards, as I say in my book. But, back in '68 local lad Jonah made a very fine cup of tea and supplied us with many refreshing cups during my stay on the island.

If you ever do come across any of these chaps please pass on my regards and tell me that I would very much like to make contact again.

Best regards,
Mike

End