Operation Parthenon - The Operation

The Operation

Operation Parthenon would have been a full scale assault on the revolutionary forces defending Zanzibar to prevent the Umma Party from cementing its control of the island. It would have involved forces far in excess of previous plans which concentrated on the evacuation of and protection of European citizens. The Operation would have involved the landing of British land forces by parachute and helicopter on the island of Unguja to secure the airport before repeating the process on Pemba. The operation plans required a maximum of two aircraft carriers, three destroyers, Owen, 13 helicopters and 21 transport or reconnaissance aircraft. The land forces would have been provided by the second battalion of the Scots Guards, 45 Commando of the Royal Marines and one company of the second battalion of the Parachute Regiment. If it was carried out Parthenon would have been the largest British airborne and amphibious operation since the Suez Crisis. The two carriers selected for the operation were HMS Centaur and HMS Victorious which were transferred to the region in readiness. With the revelation, around 20 February, that communist troops may have trained the Zanzibar revolutionaries the British planners decided that a different mix of forces was required for the task and Operation Parthenon was replaced by Operation Boris.