Operation Hajji Baba
Encyclopedia
Operation Hajji Baba was a humanitarian airlift operation performed by the United States Air Force
between 25
and 29 August 1952. The mission of the operation was to airlift Hajj
pilgrim
s stranded in Beirut
,
Lebanon
to Jeddah
, Saudi Arabia
before the closing of the gates to Mecca
. The name for the
operation was derived from the title of the book The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan, written by James Justinian Morier
in 1824.
pilgrims making the annual Hajj to the Muslim holy city of Mecca became stranded in Beirut, Lebanon when they arrived to find their flights to Saudi Arabia had been grossly overbooked. Saeb Salam
, a member of the Parliament of Lebanon
and future prime minister, saw the potential for a minor humanitarian crisis in the making. Most of the stranded travelers were poor and had spent their life savings on what was basically a once in a lifetime chance to make the holy pilgrimage
to Mecca. Furthermore, the vast majority of the pilgrims did not speak the local language. These two issues combined into a very real possibility that they would not be able to find nor afford adequate food, water and accommodations.
Salam quickly formed an idea to have the pilgrims airlifted out of Beirut and into Saudi Arabia. However, with all
of the airlines serving Beirut overbooked, he had to look elsewhere. He settled on the US Air Force and, putting
aside the fact that the US had supported Israel during the Mideast War of 1948, Salaam reached out to the US
ambassador in Beirut, Harold B. Minor, on 21 August for help. Minor quickly realized the positive diplomatic
benefits this assistance could have and he promptly forwarded the request to his superiors.
and on 23 August 1952, the alert
orders for the operation were sent to two airlift wings, the 1602nd Air Transport Wing at Wiesbaden Air Base,
West Germany
and the 1603rd Air Transport Wing at Wheelus Air Base
, Libya
. The 1602nd tasked the 86th
Air Transport Squadron and 1629th Support Squadron at Rhein-Main Air Base
, West Germany to take part in the
operation while the 1603rd tasked the 41st Air Transport Squadron. Brigadier General Wentworth Goss, commanding
general of the 1602nd, was appointed as commanding officer for this task force.
Goss assembled a team of 209 personnel, 80 officers and 129 enlisted members, to operate and maintain the 12 Douglas
C-54 Skymaster
aircraft that would be ferrying the pilgrims. Except for a small team of two officers and two
airmen in Jeddah, the entire team would be based out of the Beirut airport.
Goss' plan called for each C-54 to carry 50 passengers plus double crew from Beirut to Jeddah on a route that would
take them over Damascus
, Syria
, Amman
, Jordan
and a point on the Red Sea
just north of Jeddah.
This circuitous route was required because Israel
would not grant overflight permission due to the nature of the
operation. Flying time would be about five hours.
Once the passengers were off loaded in Jeddah, the ground crew would quickly service the plane and it would begin
its return trip to Beirut within 45 minutes of landing. This short turn-around time was due partly to the lack of
need for refueling; each C-54 would carry enough fuel (2,700 gallons) to make the round trip. Once the aircraft
returned to Beirut, it would be fully inspected and refueled then returned to service all within 90 minutes of
landing. If the aircraft was found to be unserviceable, it would be pulled from the flight schedule for repair and a spare aircraft would substitute.
By 25 August, Goss had his team and aircraft in place. At 0700 that morning, the operation officially began.
issue was caused by the failure of local authorities to properly process the pilgrims for the American (versus
commercial airline) aircraft. A new process was rapidly created with the help of the three major airlines serving
the Beirut airport. Because these airlines already had all of the initial paperwork completed, they were able to
coordinate the release of the passengers in blocks of 50 thus speeding up the security and passport processing and
allowing boarding to continue normally.
Once this initial problem was solved, operations flowed smoothly. That is until the team realized they would have
to transport more than the amount of passengers they were originally told. Original estimates put the airlift
requirements at about 1,500 passengers. That number was almost half of what the actual passenger load really was.
This had the potential of negating any effect the mission may have since, given the resources and time available,
there was no way the operation could transport all of the stranded pilgrims before Saudi Arabia closed the gates to
Mecca on 27 August. Goss immediately voiced his concern to his superiors and the US State Department made an impassioned plea to the Saudi government to keep the gates open for one extra day. Not only did the Saudi
government heed the request, they went beyond it by keeping the gates open for two extra days.
The last flight of the operation left Beirut at 0522 on 29 August 1952. When it completed its transit and landed in
Jeddah, Operation Hajji Baba ended. During the four days of the operation, the C-54s had transported 3,763
passengers in the course of 75 round-trips covering over 117,000 miles. No aircraft or crew were lost during the
operation.
were able to implement a reliable and efficient airlift in an amazingly short amount of time. The operation exceeded its intended mission by
transporting nearly twice the number of passengers than originally planned for and did so without injury or loss of
equipment.
Even though the very anti-Western Ayatollah Seyyed Abol-Ghasem Kashani, a high profile
member of the Iranian Parliament, used his flight on one of the C-54s as an opportunity to publicly voice his
opposition to Western involvement in the Middle East, reaction within the Islamic media was generally favorable with
even the most hard-line press outlets giving some kind words to the effort.
In the US, Life magazine published a four-page pictorial featuring photos taken during the operation. The State Department produced a special booklet entitled Pilgrim Journey along with a documentary film, each recording different aspects of the operation.
Beyond the initial publicity and news coverage of the event, Operation Hajji Baba has faded into the history books and remains only a minor footnote in the history of the humanitarian operations conducted by the US Air Force.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
between 25
and 29 August 1952. The mission of the operation was to airlift Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrim
Pilgrim
A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system...
s stranded in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
to Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
before the closing of the gates to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. The name for the
operation was derived from the title of the book The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan, written by James Justinian Morier
James Justinian Morier
James Justinian Morier was a British diplomat and author noted for his novels about Qajar dynasty Iran, most famously for the Hajji Baba series.-Early life:...
in 1824.
Background
Several thousand MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
pilgrims making the annual Hajj to the Muslim holy city of Mecca became stranded in Beirut, Lebanon when they arrived to find their flights to Saudi Arabia had been grossly overbooked. Saeb Salam
Saeb Salam
Saeb Salam was a Lebanese politician, who served as Prime Minister four times between 1952 and 1973.Salam was the son of Salim Salam, the scion of a prominent Sunni Muslim family who was a prominent politician both under Ottoman rule and then during the French Mandate...
, a member of the Parliament of Lebanon
Parliament of Lebanon
The Parliament of Lebanon is the national parliament of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year terms in multi-member constituencies, apportioned among Lebanon's diverse Christian and Muslim denominations. Lebanon has universal adult suffrage...
and future prime minister, saw the potential for a minor humanitarian crisis in the making. Most of the stranded travelers were poor and had spent their life savings on what was basically a once in a lifetime chance to make the holy pilgrimage
to Mecca. Furthermore, the vast majority of the pilgrims did not speak the local language. These two issues combined into a very real possibility that they would not be able to find nor afford adequate food, water and accommodations.
Salam quickly formed an idea to have the pilgrims airlifted out of Beirut and into Saudi Arabia. However, with all
of the airlines serving Beirut overbooked, he had to look elsewhere. He settled on the US Air Force and, putting
aside the fact that the US had supported Israel during the Mideast War of 1948, Salaam reached out to the US
ambassador in Beirut, Harold B. Minor, on 21 August for help. Minor quickly realized the positive diplomatic
benefits this assistance could have and he promptly forwarded the request to his superiors.
Prelude
The request was eventually approved by then Secretary of Defense Robert A. LovettRobert A. Lovett
Robert Abercrombie Lovett was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from 1951 to 1953 and in this capacity, directed the Korean War. Promoted to the position from deputy secretary of defense Domhoff described Lovett as a "Cold War...
and on 23 August 1952, the alert
orders for the operation were sent to two airlift wings, the 1602nd Air Transport Wing at Wiesbaden Air Base,
West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and the 1603rd Air Transport Wing at Wheelus Air Base
Wheelus Air Base
-See also:*List of airports in Libya-External links:*****...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. The 1602nd tasked the 86th
Air Transport Squadron and 1629th Support Squadron at Rhein-Main Air Base
Rhein-Main Air Base
Rhein-Main Air Base was a U.S. Air Force / NATO military airbase near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It occupied the south side of Frankfurt International Airport. Its airport codes are discontinued....
, West Germany to take part in the
operation while the 1603rd tasked the 41st Air Transport Squadron. Brigadier General Wentworth Goss, commanding
general of the 1602nd, was appointed as commanding officer for this task force.
C-54 Skymaster
C-54 Skymaster
The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
aircraft that would be ferrying the pilgrims. Except for a small team of two officers and two
airmen in Jeddah, the entire team would be based out of the Beirut airport.
Goss' plan called for each C-54 to carry 50 passengers plus double crew from Beirut to Jeddah on a route that would
take them over Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and a point on the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
just north of Jeddah.
This circuitous route was required because Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
would not grant overflight permission due to the nature of the
operation. Flying time would be about five hours.
Once the passengers were off loaded in Jeddah, the ground crew would quickly service the plane and it would begin
its return trip to Beirut within 45 minutes of landing. This short turn-around time was due partly to the lack of
need for refueling; each C-54 would carry enough fuel (2,700 gallons) to make the round trip. Once the aircraft
returned to Beirut, it would be fully inspected and refueled then returned to service all within 90 minutes of
landing. If the aircraft was found to be unserviceable, it would be pulled from the flight schedule for repair and a spare aircraft would substitute.
By 25 August, Goss had his team and aircraft in place. At 0700 that morning, the operation officially began.
Operation
The first load of 50 passengers were delayed when a passport and security problem temporarily halted boarding. Thisissue was caused by the failure of local authorities to properly process the pilgrims for the American (versus
commercial airline) aircraft. A new process was rapidly created with the help of the three major airlines serving
the Beirut airport. Because these airlines already had all of the initial paperwork completed, they were able to
coordinate the release of the passengers in blocks of 50 thus speeding up the security and passport processing and
allowing boarding to continue normally.
Once this initial problem was solved, operations flowed smoothly. That is until the team realized they would have
to transport more than the amount of passengers they were originally told. Original estimates put the airlift
requirements at about 1,500 passengers. That number was almost half of what the actual passenger load really was.
This had the potential of negating any effect the mission may have since, given the resources and time available,
there was no way the operation could transport all of the stranded pilgrims before Saudi Arabia closed the gates to
Mecca on 27 August. Goss immediately voiced his concern to his superiors and the US State Department made an impassioned plea to the Saudi government to keep the gates open for one extra day. Not only did the Saudi
government heed the request, they went beyond it by keeping the gates open for two extra days.
The last flight of the operation left Beirut at 0522 on 29 August 1952. When it completed its transit and landed in
Jeddah, Operation Hajji Baba ended. During the four days of the operation, the C-54s had transported 3,763
passengers in the course of 75 round-trips covering over 117,000 miles. No aircraft or crew were lost during the
operation.
Aftermath
Operation Hajji Baba was a complete success in all respects. Having learned valuable lessons during the Berlin Airlift three years prior, the US Air Force and its Military Air Transport ServiceMilitary Air Transport Service
The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...
were able to implement a reliable and efficient airlift in an amazingly short amount of time. The operation exceeded its intended mission by
transporting nearly twice the number of passengers than originally planned for and did so without injury or loss of
equipment.
Even though the very anti-Western Ayatollah Seyyed Abol-Ghasem Kashani, a high profile
member of the Iranian Parliament, used his flight on one of the C-54s as an opportunity to publicly voice his
opposition to Western involvement in the Middle East, reaction within the Islamic media was generally favorable with
even the most hard-line press outlets giving some kind words to the effort.
In the US, Life magazine published a four-page pictorial featuring photos taken during the operation. The State Department produced a special booklet entitled Pilgrim Journey along with a documentary film, each recording different aspects of the operation.
Beyond the initial publicity and news coverage of the event, Operation Hajji Baba has faded into the history books and remains only a minor footnote in the history of the humanitarian operations conducted by the US Air Force.