This fascinating book looks at a crime virtually unknown in the United States: the murder of over 100 men, women, and children when terrorists shot down two Rhodesian Air turboprops serving a resort area in Africa. Most of the survivors of the first crash were gunned down in cold blood by ZIPRA guerrilas.
The weapon employed by the terrorists was a Soviet SA-7 man-portable missile. A so-called "revenge" weapon (the primitive seeker could only lock on to an aircraft's exhaust) the "Grail" was more than effective enough to shoot down an airliner, fully-fueled and and heavily weighted, on takeoff. Certainly shooting down an airplane loaded with people on vacation is less dangerous than attacking military aircraft, just as murdering missionaries is safer than trying to fight armed soldiers.
Pringle tells the story of many of the victims, putting a human face on this tragedy. As a pilot, he is also uses his flying experience to explain exactly why the events happened as they did. And finally, Pringle does a good job of explaining the significance of the the air disaster in the last stages of the long bush war fought by Rhodesia.
Murder in the Zambezi brings to light not just the cold-blooded murder of civilians but also the muted or non-existent response by the United States and European countries, all of which should have been concerned by the use of man-portable SAMs against civilian airliners. Illustrated by black-and-white photos and maps. It also lists the names of the aircrew and passengers killed in this crime.
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