Operation Niki

Operation Niki
	Part of Turkish Invasion of Cyprus
	; A Hellenic Air Force Noratlas on a training mission in Ellinikon International Airport, Athens, 1979
Date	21/22 July 1974
Location	Nicosia airport, Cyprus
Result	Turkish victory Operation failure; Cypriot friendly fire downed 2 aircraft;
Belligerents
Greece ; Cyprus	Turkey
Units involved
Hellenic Air Force 354th Sqdn. "Pegasus"; 115 Combat Wing; Cypriot National Guard Cypriot anti-aircraft 195 MEA/AP battalion;	Turkish Air Force Royal Air Force
Strength
20 Noratlas and 10 C-47 aircraft	unknown
Casualties and losses
Aircraft crew + 33 Commandos Killed in action, 10 Commandos heavily Wounded in action and destruction of three aircraft.	none

Operation Niki (Greek: Επιχείρηση Νίκη), named after the goddess Nike, was a clandestine airlift operation during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that was carried out on 21/22 July 1974, with the aim of transporting a battalion of Greek commandos from Souda, Crete to Nicosia, Cyprus. Upon their arrival, the aircraft were engaged in friendly fire, which resulted in the loss of 33 men and the destruction of three aircraft.^[1]^[2]^[3]

^ Γεώργιος Δ. Μήτσαινας. Ελληνικά Φτερά Στην Κύπρο, Ταξιδευτής, 2004. ISBN 9606301826
^ Γιάννης Φασουλάς, Γιάννης Σκάλκος. Νίκη στη νεκρή ζώνη, Αγαθός Λόγος, 2011. ISBN 9609974953
^ Operation "Niki" 1974: A suicide mission to Cyprus, Michael Solanakis, archived here.

[Mitsenas-1] Γεώργιος Δ. Μήτσαινας. Ελληνικά Φτερά Στην Κύπρο, Ταξιδευτής, 2004. ISBN 9606301826

[Fasoulas-2] Γιάννης Φασουλάς, Γιάννης Σκάλκος. Νίκη στη νεκρή ζώνη, Αγαθός Λόγος, 2011. ISBN 9609974953

[Solanakis-3] Operation "Niki" 1974: A suicide mission to Cyprus, Michael Solanakis, archived here.

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