In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, European powers went on a binge of colonization, and began to carve up Africa into zones of influence. In 1912, an agreement between France and Spain divided Morocco into four zones–a French Morocco with Rabat as the capital, a Spanish Morocco with the capital at Tetouan, a Southern Protectorate administered as part of Spanish Sahara, and the international zone of Tangier. The French protectorate was placed under the rule of General Louis Lyautey. The sultan remained the titular head of the nation, but was little more than a figurehead.
During the Second World War, French Morocco remained officially loyal to the Vichy government, but after Allied landings on November 8, 1942 at the major cities of Morocco and Algeria, the Allies used Morocco as a base from which to drive German forces out of north Africa.
After the war was over, Sultan Sidi Mohammed established a party which demanded the departure of both France and Spain and the full independence of Morocco. Under the pressure of rebellion in Algeria and disorders in Morocco itself, the French were forced in March of 1956 to relinquish its rights in Morocco. In October of 1956, Tangier was assigned to Morocco by international agreement. Spain ceded the Southern Protectorate in 1958, but Spain still retained the northern towns of Ceuta and Melilla as well as a few islands off the Mediterranean coast.
Sidi Mohammed was crowned king as Mohammed V in 1957, and was succeeded in 1961 by his son Hassan II. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy. There is a bicameral parliament, and there is a royal-appointed prime minister.
Following its independence from France, the Kingdom of Morocco began to tilt towards the Soviet Union, and the Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Malakiya (Royal Moroccan Air Force) was equipped with MiG-17s and MiG-15UTIs from Russia. However, relations with the West improved during the late 1960s, and Morocco received F-5s during 1967, with an initial order for 18 F-5As and two F-5Bs being filled. Subsequently, the inventory reached 23 fighters and two trainers. Attrition was made up by a small number of ex-Iranian F-5s. Morocco operated both the F-5A and F-5B models from its base at Kenitra.
The Freedom Fighter got much of its combat experience at the hands of Moroccan crews. One of its first feats was participation in an unsuccessful coup against King Hassan II, who had declared a royal dictatorship in June of 1965 in which he assumed for himself both exectutive and legislative duties. On August 16, 1972, three F-5As attacked a Boeing 727 carrying King Hassan on a flight back from a visit to France. The King survived an emergency landing of the damaged 727 at Rabat. The airport was then strafed by one of the F-5s, and four F-5s attacked the Royal palace later that day. King Hassan survived these attempts on his life and continued to maintain relative order through a policy of suppression.
In 1974, Spain withdrew from its Spanish Sahara territory, which bordered Morocco to the south. In 1976, King Hassan lead the so-called “Green March” of over 300,000 unarmed Moroccans into the disputed region. In 1976, Spain ceded the area to both Morocco and Mauretania as Western Sahara. Both countries agreed to partition the territory, but the Algerian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguiet el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (known as Polisario) opposed this and fighting broke out in the spring of 1976. The Moroccan F-5s based at Kenitra bore the brunt of the aerial combat, flying numerous strikes against Polisario targets. Several F-5s were shot down by SA-7 shoulder-launched missiles. In order to make good the losses, Morocco subsequently acquired F-5Es, paid for by funds from Saudi Arabia.
Morocco took over Mauritania’s portion of Western Sahara in 1979, and continued to battle against the Polisario forces. Normalization of relations between Morocco and Algeria in 1988 cut off Algerian support for the Polisario rebels. In 1991, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire between the two sides, but Western Sahara’s status remains in question because of continued threats from Morocco. In the meantime, the promised referendum that would decide the territory’s permanent status has been delayed by controversies over who would be allowed to vote, and the region has been integrated administratively into Morocco. But tensions still remain.
Sources:
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F-5: Warplane for the World, Robbie Shaw, Motorbooks, 1990
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Northrop F-5/F-20, Jerry Scutts, Ian Allan Ltd, 1986.
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Northrop F-5, Jon Lake and Robert Hewson, World Airpower Journal, Vol
25, 1996.
- Lycos infoplease encyclopedia on Morocco.
