BOOK REVIEW: OPERATION THUNDERBOLT:

FLIGHT 139 AND THE RAID ON ENTEBBE AIRPORT,

THE MOST AUDACIOUS HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION
IN HISTORY

CONTENTS

Sr No Contents Page No

1. Introduction 2

2. About the author 2

3. Physical attributes 2-3

4. Analysis 3-4

5. Critical analysis 5

6. Recommendation 5
1.INTRODUCTON In “Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139 and the Raid
on Entebbe Airport, the Most Audacious Hostage Rescue Mission in
History,’’ British military historian Saul David provides a dramatic hour-by-
hour account of eight days in the summer of 1976, capped by a successful,
surprise attack in Uganda by the Israeli Defense Forces. This is a minute-
by-minute narrative of that week by a scrupulous and thorough historian.
David tells this story in a classic countdown structure, from the moment the
passengers boarded the flight to the moment they arrived back in Israel. It
is a brilliant, breathless account that reads like the plot of an action movie,
switching between events in different parts of the world as the drama
unfolds.
2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Saul David is a historian and broadcaster and is currently Professor

of Military History at the University of Buckingham. His many critically-
acclaimed books include Zulu, Victoria’s Wars and 100 Days to victory. He
has presented and appeared in history programmes for all the major TV
channels.
3. PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

a. Name of the book:

Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139….. Mission in History.

b. Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks.

c. No of pages: 464 pages.

d. The quality of paper used is very good along with the binding of it.
e. The size of the book is medium and an attractive cover attracts the
attention of readers.

f. The use of cardboard binding helps in keeping the book longer

without damaging it.

4. ANALYSIS

1. On June 27, 1976, an Air France plane took off from Ben-Gurion
International Airport in Lod, Israel; heading for Paris with a stopover in
Athens, carrying 246 passengers of Israeli, French and various other
nationalities was hijacked a few minutes after taking off.

2. Security in Athens was lax, four hijackers (Two German and two Arab
terrorists) boarded the Airbus carrying large black bags that held guns and
hand grenades, took the plane first to Libya's Benghazi, where one woman
passenger managed to get free then flown to Entebbe Airport, Uganda
where the murderous despot, President Idi Amin, welcomed them with
open arms.

3. Soon after landing at Entebbe Airport, the hijackers’ leader, Wilfred

Bose announced that their objective was the release of dozens of
Palestinian prisoners held in France, Germany, Israel, and Africa.

4. A day later, the terrorists issued an ultimatum — unless these

demands were met by the afternoon of July 1, they would begin killing the
hostages.

5. Back in Jerusalem, a debate soon broke out between Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres.

6. The pressure on the Israeli government to give in to their demands

was immense, not least from the families of the hostages. The Israeli
government kept the families in the dark about its true intentions, and for
good reason. While the negotiations were taking place, it had dispatched a
Special Forces unit to Uganda.

7. In a daring night-time operation on 3 July 1976, four Hercules

transport planes carrying 190 Israeli commandos, led by Yoni Netanyahu,
stormed Entebbe Airport unloaded a series of vehicles, and sped towards
the airport buildings. In just 51 minutes they had evaded the cordon of
Ugandan guards, broken into the terminal and killed all the terrorists..

8. They managed to save all but four of the hostages: three were caught
in the crossfire, and one elderly woman, who had been taken to a Ugandan
hospital, was later murdered by Idi Amin in revenge for his embarrassment.

9. The only Israeli military casualty was the operation's commander,

Yoni Netanyahu, brother of the future Israeli prime minister. Before they left
Entebbe, the Israelis destroyed 11 Ugandan military aircraft on the ground.

10. This, it turns out, was a favour to the Kenyan government, which
regarded the Ugandan air force as a threat to its own security. The
Kenyans had secretly allowed the Israelis to stop off in Nairobi to refuel.

11. Operation Thunderbolt marked a major turning point in the west’s

War on Terror. Within a few years, German left-wing radicals had mostly
disappeared, and Palestinians had all but given up trying to hijack
European, Israeli, or American planes as bargaining chips.
5. CRITCAL ANALYSIS

1. There is a lot of dialogue, which is always suspicious in a history

book, but David has researched this well: he interviewed 20 of the
participants and has made good use of recently declassified documents
from archives in Germany, Israel, the United States and the UK.

2. The method of presentation is very good and easy for the reader to
understand.

3. David’s exploration of the operation generates a high level of drama

and tension for the reader, even though the outcome is known. This is the
achievement of a masterly, first-rate historian.

6. RECOMMENDATION

1. David's book is not the first on the Entebbe Raid but this is a
comprehensive retelling, with many facts never known and the
ramifications that went on for years and resulted in quite a bit of collateral
damage.
2. He has a knack for making the reader feel he is right there, sharing
the feelings of everyone from the hapless passengers to the brave,
disciplined commandos and the agonized government leader’s back home
who had to take the leap of faith and courage to authorize a mission they
knew could so easily go awry.

3. It is apt reading for young officers in these days of continuing terror.