A Flight to Freedom, or Treason? The 1948 Hijacking of a Greek Plane

The archetypal hijacking successful Greece occurred during the Civil War. Public Domain

On September 12, 1948, amidst the turmoil of the Greek Civil War, the country’s first-ever craft hijacking unfolded. Six pro-communist students, seeking transition to Yugoslavia, diverted a level connected a regular formation from Athens to Thessaloniki, everlastingly marking this day successful Greek aviation history.

Alexandros Koufoudakis, 21, Dimitrios Koufoudakis, 23, Achilleas Ketimlidis, 19, Antonis Voyazos, 18, Giorgos Kelas, 17, and Spiros Helmiadis, 18, were connected the tally and accused by the constabulary of sabotage.

They boarded a civilian TAE midday formation from Athens to Thessaloniki to marque their escape.

Hijacking arsenic the craft was flying implicit Evia, Greece

A fewer minutes aft instrumentality disconnected and portion the level was flying implicit bluish Evia, 4 of the six young men entered the formation deck, held the aviator Athanassios Igoumenakis astatine knife-point, and ordered him to alert towards Yugoslavia.

Pilot A. Igoumenakis (center) successful beforehand of the hijacked level aft the ordeal. Public Domain

The co-pilot and the vigor relation were injured by the hijackers. The level landed adjacent Skopje successful today’s North Macedonia. The six hijackers disembarked and fled.

They were yet tried successful absentia by the Extraordinary Military Tribunal of Thessaloniki and sentenced to death. Two of them, Spiros Helmiades and Achilleas Ketimlidis, illegally returned to Greece and were killed successful the battles of the Civil War. The remaining 4 lived successful Eastern European countries for galore years.

The civilian warfare successful Greece

The Greek Civil War took spot betwixt 1943 and 1949. It was chiefly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and the United States, and won successful the end.

The losing absorption was governed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and its subject branch, the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), arsenic good arsenic the People’s Republic of the Provisional Democratic Government. The rebels were supported by Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.

The warfare began arsenic a struggle betwixt the communist-dominated left-wing absorption organization, the EAM-ELAS, and loosely allied anti-communist absorption forces. It aboriginal escalated into a large civilian warfare betwixt the authorities and the communists.

It resulted from a highly polarized conflict betwixt near and close ideologies that started erstwhile each broadside targeted the powerfulness vacuum resulting from the extremity of Axis concern (1941–1944) during World War II.

The conflict was the archetypal proxy warfare of the Cold War and represents the archetypal illustration of postwar engagement connected the portion of the Allies successful the interior affairs of a overseas country, an implementation of George F. Kennan’s containment argumentation successful his Long Telegram.

Greece successful the extremity was funded by the United States (through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan) and joined NATO (1952), portion the insurgents were demoralized by the bitter divided betwixt the Soviet Union’s Joseph Stalin, who wanted to extremity the war, and Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito, who wanted it to continue.

The warring resulted successful the decision of the DSE by the Hellenic Army.