Assault on

In October 1977 the German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, asked the British Government to help mount a joint rescue mission for a hijacked Lufthansa flight.

The hijack lasted six days, during which the plane was flown from its departure airport in Aden, where the pilot was murdered, to Mogadishu.

Barry Davies was one of the two SAS men seconded to the German GSG9 squad to help trace the plane in the Middle East.

Diplomatic efforts and the Pope's offer to take the place of the hostages all failed to end the crisis, and the showdown came when the remaining hostages were freed and three of the four terrorists shot dead.

This is Davies's account of the background work and planning that went into the operation.