Plan
Finery would have involved a helicopter assault on Unguja, the main base of revolutionary power, by Royal Marines from the commando carrier HMS Bulwark. The plan circumvented the need to operate from Kenya, where secrecy could not be guaranteed and the government did not support intervention, but as Bulwark was required for operations in the Middle East it would take 14 days for Finery to be launched once it had been ordered. In order to provide a more immediate response plans were put in place for a smaller scale operation which could be launched within 24 hours should evacuation of remaining British citizens in Zanzibar be required. The merger of Zanzibar with Tanganyika to form Tanzania on the 23 April may have provided the catalyst for the Umma Party to attempt a coup and so from around this date Finery was supported by Operation Shed, an airlift of a battalion of troops, accompanied by scout cars, to seize Unguja's airfield and protect Karume's government. The expected coup did not occur and Finery was scrapped on 29 April 1964, although Operation Shed remained in place.
Read more about this topic: Operation Finery
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