This book attempts to shed light on unknown roads and passages of the recent national disaster that unfolded in Cyprus 38 years ago, through the research on the mission of the 1st Raider Squadron from Crete to Cyprus. By examining the living testimonies and the history of the suicide mission of the "300" raiders from Maleme to Nicosia, in the dark July of 1974, with Noratlas aircraft, new important documents of the Cypriot tragedy come to light.

Unknown, until now, aspects of the daring airborne operation with the codename "NIKI" are highlighted. An operation assigned to the 1st Raider Squadron and carried out with the brave contribution of Greek pilots of the Hellenic Air Force, who flew from Souda, on the night of July 21st to 22nd, '74, to Nicosia, following their own aerial laws and rules.

The research answers critical questions, such as:

• What were the goals of the Greek Pentagon during those critical 24 hours?
• Why was the 1st Raider Squadron chosen to go to Cyprus instead of the 2nd RS from Thessaloniki, as planned?
• Who and why attacked the Greek aircraft resulting in the loss of 29 raiders and four airmen?
• What do Cypriot anti-aircraft operators reveal for the first time?
• Who is responsible for the downing?
• What do the testimonies of officers included in the Cyprus file, which are being revealed for the first time, disclose?
• How did the 1st Raider Squadron win the battle of Nicosia airport against the powerful Turkish armed forces that attempted to occupy it?
• What was the stance of the UN officials?
• How did the commander of the 1st RS, Colonel Georgios Papamaleteiou, and the Operations Officer, Colonel Vasilis Manouras, react when asked to surrender the airport?
• How much greater would the consequences have been for Cyprus if the airport had fallen into Turkish hands?
• Who and why ordered the 1st RS to protect the American embassy in Nicosia?
• What plans of "Attila 2" were thwarted by the battle on Kolokasidis hill?
• Why did Greece recognize the dead and wounded in the Cyprus battle as fighters of World War II?
• Where were the raiders who lost their lives in the plane crashes buried?

The protagonists, with whom we spoke, do not hesitate to answer, and indeed in a clear manner, the questions:

• Was there betrayal in Cyprus or not?
• What scenarios played out on the island during those critical days?

The research answers these and many other "whys," unfolding the story of a known-unknown "NIKI" in Cyprus in 1974.