The Air Force that African nationalist Robert Mugabe inherited when he took over as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, was a potent force of dedicated airmen and well-maintained aircraft which had justifiably earned an enviable reputation in military aviation circles around the world. Aptly dubbed The Pocket Air Force, it was manned by airmen who were a good blend of youth and experience, and the seven years of war had honed it to a fine edge. Following the British-sponsored elections of 1980, the form of government changed overnight from the capitalism of Rhodesia to the Socialism/Marxism of Zimbabwe. Large numbers of skilled airmen emigrated, but those who remained believed in the reconciliation preached by Mugabe, despite the ranting's of some of the hot-heads in his Cabinet. After all, it was their country too and they were determined to make the Air Force viable and effective and one of the most sophisticated in black Africa. However, as time went on, the lack of meaningful communication between the new government and the leaders of the Air Force renewed the mistrust which had been created during the war years. Suspicions deepened and the leadership element of the Air Force found itself more and more cut off from government intentions and direction. Then came disaster. A group of saboteurs slipped silently into Thornhill, the midlands Air Force Base, and systematically attacked thirteen strike planes, including four brand-new prestigious Hawk jet fighter/ground-attack bombers, the finest in their class. By the time the devastating explosions and rues had died down, half the country's air defence deterrent lay crippled, twisted and in ashes. Now, the long-simmering tensions were about to boil over. What happened next was destined to destroy the Air Force as an efficient, operational, fighting service. Suspicion immediately and illogically fell on the white airmen, and eighteen were indiscriminately rounded up and imprisoned, including many who had helped fight the flames of destruction and pull planes to safety. Eventually, all but seven (including three high-ranking officers, each destined to become Commander one day) were released and it is the bizarre, torrid experiences of these men that ultimately captured world headlines and caused an international outcry. The airmen soon found themselves deprived of food and sleep, leg ironed, handcuffed, with some stumbling barefoot through the African bush with hoods over their heads, looking the very epitome of desperadoes in filthy, smelly, loose-fitting clothes; with lank, greasy hair, wild beards and dark rings under their frightened, bloodshot eyes. Repeatedly denied access to their lawyers, they were then systematically tortured and traumatized into making false, incriminating statements that told a common story: six of the scapegoats "confessing" to playing a part in what they claimed was a treasonous South African-orchestrated sabotage plot. Their torturers' attempts to short-circuit the legal system included giving them electric shock treatment and beatings, aided by psychological torture of the worst kind: isolation, disorientation, helplessness and death threats. "It was as if someone had taken a syringe and sucked out my soul," recalled one victim, pilot Neville Weir. It would take them a year in prison before the airmen could prove their innocence. It was then - in what was to become Zimbabwe's most celebrated court case - that the airmen, the new state of Zimbabwe and its system of justice went on trial. The airmen's acquittal was followed by their immediate re-detention, which sent shock waves throughout the Western world and had British Premier Margaret Thatcher and American President Ronald Reagan calling for an explanation. They were eventually released and expelled from the country that they had called home; their promising careers in tatters, their futures uncertain. Now the airmen - initially blackmailed into silence by the Zimbabwean government - tell the true, torrid tale behind all the headlines. They detail the deceit, deception and despair; the brutality and bravery; the horror and the hell that continues to cost them dearly and which caused Zimbabwe such serious loss of face and credibility. It is a story that will shock you - but not nearly as much as it did the airmen.

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Hardback, 1st Edition, used but in very good condition.

 

 

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