In 1977, Lufthansa flight 181 was hijacked by terrorists and flown to Mogadishu, Somalia. There, members of the German special missions group, GSG 9, assisted by two SAS advisors, stormed the plane, killing three of the terrorists and wounding the fourth, while avoiding any major harm to the hostages. This book details the backgrounds of both GSG 9 and the hijackers and offers a detailed analysis of the planning and execution of the mission, codenamed Operation Feuerzauber (Fire Magic) one of the most audacious special forces operations of modern times.
Author Biography
Chris McNab has published more than 30 titles on history, military history, weapon systems and survival, including two titles for Osprey - Tools of Violence (2008) and Deadly Force (2009) - and other works such as Twentieth-Century Small Arms (2001), The Encyclopedia of Combat Techniques (2002), Fallschirmjager - German Paratroopers of World War II (2000) and Weapons of War: AK47 (2001). Chris was a contributor to Hugh McManner's book Ultimate Special Forces (2003) and has written for The Times on the war in Afghanistan. Chris is also an experienced freelance copy-editor for Osprey, having worked on many of its series and general titles.
Howard Gerrard studied at the Wallasey School of Art and has been a freelance designer and illustrator for over 20 years. He has worked for a number of publishers and is an associate member of the Guild of Aviation Artists. He has won both the Society of British Aerospace Companies Award and the Wilkinson Sword Trophy and has illustrated a number of books for Osprey. Born in Malaya in 1949, Alan Gilliland studied photography/film and architecture, and has worked as a photojournalist and cartoonist. He also spent 18 years as the graphics editor of The Daily Telegraph, winning 19 awards in that time, including numerous UK Press Awards. He now writes, illustrates and publishes fiction (www.ravensquill.com), as well as illustrating for a variety of publishers (including Osprey, the Penguin Group, Brown Reference Group, Ivy Group and Aurum), architects and developers, such as John McAslan (Olympic Energy Centre) and Kit Martin (Prince Charles' Phoenix Trust advisor on historic buildings). www.alangilliland.com
