29 MARCH 2014 WRITTEN BY CONTRIBUTOR
Colonel John C. Robinson: Father of Ethiopian Airlines
By Andrew Laurence
There are many people who may
claim to be the “Father of Ethiopian Airlines” but
few would compare to the courageous and heroic deeds of the African American
aviation pioneer Colonel John Charles Robinson, not to be confused with the
other African American pilot in Ethiopia named Hubert Julian the “Black Eagle.”
Recruited by Emperor Haileselassie I to lead his Royal Air Force in 1934
against an imminent fascist attack by Benito Mussolini, Col. Robinson,
nick-named the “Brown Condor” stood up when the entire world failed to take
action. He valiantly flew dangerous missions to transport men, supplies and the
Emperor himself in the face of fierce resistance from Italian fighter pilots.
Invited back to Ethiopia after Italy was ousted, Robinson brought pilots and
technicians from the US to help reorganize aviation in Ethiopia and train the
pilots that would serve in the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force and future
commercial airlines. He also later established the successful American
Institute school for elementary and secondary students in Addis Ababa. Not only
was John Robinson an Ethiopian war hero but he is also considered the “Father
of the Tuskegee Airmen” of WWII fame.
Although the earliest planes and pilots in Ethiopia in the
1920’s were from Europe, led by the Frenchman Andre Maillet, by the dawn of the
Italian invasion most had left never to return to Ethiopia. More publicly
lauded than Robinson, was the much advertised Swedish pilot Count Gustav von
Rosen, whose country supplied lots of money and resources to Ethiopia, though
he only served as a captain under Col. Robinson. Some people point to the
management services provided by Trans World Airlines (TWA) as the origin for
Ethiopian Airlines. Actually, it was Sultan Airways, Ltd. and later East
African Airlines that Robinson formed in 1946, by royal appointment of Prince
Makonnen Haileselassie, that became Ethiopian Airlines with the agreement of
TWA. One of Robinson’s early recruits, Major General Abera Woldemariam, would
become chief of the modern Imperial Ethiopian Air Force. It wasn’t until 1957
that the first Ethiopian commercial aircraft commander, Alemayehu Abebe, made
his solo flight as captain on DC-3/C-47 aircraft. Ethiopian Airlines would go
on to become one of the world’s most outstanding airlines held in high esteem
as the pride of Ethiopia. Thanks to two well researched books that have recently
come out Col. John Robinson’s place in Ethiopian and United States aviation
history will finally receive the proper historical recognition it deserves.
Born in Carabelle, Florida in 1903, and growing up in
racially segregated Gulfport Mississippi, the young John Robinson was intrigued
one day when he saw his first airplane flying along the gulf coast. Any desire
he had to ever be able to fly a plane would have been a fantasy at the time.
Even though aviation was in its infancy and certainly not available to African
Americans, John Robinson never gave up his dream of flying. After graduating
from Tuskegee Institute in Alabama with an automotive engineering degree, he
moved to Chicago and quickly set up an auto repair garage. Rejected from the
prestigious Curtiss-Wright Aeronautical School in Chicago because of his race,
he decided to pick up valuable information while working there as a part-time
janitor. In no time Robinson was able to build his own plane and was
immediately admitted to the school that in just two years made him an
instructor.
Not satisfied, Robinson established the first Black owned
and operated Department of Commerce accredited airfield, located just outside
Chicago. He would go on to create three aero clubs for blacks interested in
aviation and eventually a non-segregated aeronautical school, among whose
graduates where the first pilots of the Chinese Air Force. With all that was
going on in Chicago, Robinson traveled to Tuskegee Institute in hopes of
establishing an aviation program at his alma mater. His trip ignited a spark
that in just a few years Tuskegee was included in the US Army’s program to
train pilots for World War II. The famous Tuskegee Airmen would go on to
extraordinary success providing air escort for US bombing missions over
Germany, Italy and other Axis Powers. With all these activities, Robinson had
no idea how his life would turn upside down in the coming years.
It was Dr. Melaku Bayen, a relative of Emperor
Haileselassie, a Howard University graduate and the first medical doctor
trained in the US, who recruited John Robinson to head up an air force on
orders from the Emperor. There was a strategic effort by the Emperor to limit
the number of Europeans in key positions. It would be very difficult for John
Robinson to leave, forgo his teaching and business interests in Chicago, and
head off to Ethiopia on an improbable mission. Robinson had been reading much
about the threat of fascism in the world and more recently Italy’s plans for
Ethiopia. In a spirit of pan-Africanism, he accepted his assignment and after
settling his affairs in Chicago, embarked for Ethiopia. Although many thousands
of African Americans had signed up to fight for Ethiopia, only Robinson was
able to evade the sanction against Americans fighting against a non-enemy of
the US, by securing a business visa to sell airplanes.
Upon his arrival, and after accepting his commission from
the Emperor as colonel of the Royal Air Force, Robinson went about refurbishing
the few existing planes that he would need to use against the impending Italian
attack. His ability to build a plane from the ground up impressed the Ethiopian
recruits as they learned from him in all areas of aviation. In no time, Col.
Robinson was called on to carry instructions, manpower, supplies and even the
Emperor in hazardous conditions to front line commanders from Addis Ababa to
Adwa. He was eye-witness to the numerous horrendous gas bombings carried out by
the Italians on innocent civilians. Constantly chased by the Italian war planes,
he often managed to escape into the clouds where Italian pilots were afraid
they may run into one of the many tall mountains in Ethiopia. Robinson took
enemy fire often and was injured but was never shot down. When Italy’s
overwhelming modern forces took Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Robinson
continued his fight in the US spreading the word about the atrocities committed
by Italy against Ethiopia.
After Italy was expelled from Ethiopia in 1941 with the
assistance of British, African and Ethiopian troops, Col. Robinson returned to
Ethiopia. He brought along with him other African American technicians and
pilots recruited by then Ethiopian Minister of Finance Yima Deressa and set
about building the infrastructure for the future Imperial Air Force. At that
time Mischa Babitchev, the half Russian, half Ethiopian director of air
transport for the Ethiopian government who had served in Robinson’s air force
would serve as Ambassador to Russia. With Emperor Haileselassie’s appointment
and blessings, Robinson would replace his old friend as head of the Imperial
Ethiopian Air Force regaining his former commission and rank of colonel. He
proceeded to train some eighty pilots in the flight training school he opened
with Prince Makonnen, many of which would go on to take positions in the
civilian commercial sector. While most historical timelines for Ethiopian
Airlines begin in 1947, when US aircrew and technicians from TWA were hired to
operate and manage the new airline, it was Col. Robinson’s training and leadership
at East African Airlines that secured a solid foundation for the future of
aviation in Ethiopia.
So forgotten is the legacy of John Robinson that even after
spending a decade in Ethiopian aviation, and sadly dying in Ethiopia in a plane
accident on a mission to deliver blood, the grave where he is buried in Gullele
Cemetery can no longer be found, nor any monument or commemoration left in the
country. Emperor Haileselassie visited Robinson’s death bed and thanked him for
all he gave to Ethiopia. At his funeral, then lieutenant, and later, Director
General of the Civil Aviation Board and President of Ethiopia, His Excellence Girma Wolde-Giorgis gave
a very moving eulogy in front of Prince Makonnen, the US ambassador, numerous
pilots and other dignitaries, but today there is nothing. Why so little is ever
mentioned about Robinson I will leave to the conscience of the historians. I
humbly propose that a statue to Colonel John C. Robinson be commissioned and
placed in a conspicuous location at the Bole International Airport in Addis
Ababa. That is the very least one can do as a fitting tribute for this
Ethiopian war hero and African American aviation pioneer.
Ed.'s Note:
Primary Sources sources for this article include The Man Called Brown Condor – The Forgotten History of an African
American Fighter Pilot, Thomas E. Simmons, 2013 and Father of the Tuskegee Airmen, John C. Robinson, Phillip Thomas
Tucker, 2012. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect
the views of The Reporter.
