Captain Andre Odendaal served in the South African Army during the Border War, beginning his national service with 31 Battalion before being selected for the elite 5 Reconnaissance Regiment (5 Recce), with notable experiences also including interactions with the...
Star pistols - most notably the Model B, Super B, and Model BM - served as standard sidearms for the South African military and police for decades. Manufactured by the now-defunct Spanish company Star Bonifacio Echeverria, these 1911-style, all-steel firearms are...
Served with Breytenbach in Biafra. Was one of the founder members of 1 Recce
The Olifant Mk1A is a South African main battle tank (MBT) that represents an extensive upgrade of the British Centurion tank. The development of the Olifant series began in the 1970s as South Africa sought to modernize its aging Centurion fleet to meet the demands of...
The "Wonga Coup" (2004): In March 2004, Du Toit was arrested in Equatorial Guinea alongside several other former 32 Battalion members. He was accused of leading an advance party for a failed coup d'état aimed at overthrowing President Teodoro Obiang.Black Beach...
A raw, darkly humorous memoir that follows one conscript’s chaotic journey through South Africa’s military machine during the border war. Drafted into the Defence Force in 1977 as a carefree seventeen-year-old, Jon Goetzsche’s tranquil schooldays were abruptly...
Known as the 'Flying Cheetahs', 2 (Transvaal) Squadron was formed at Waterkloof in January 1939 with the Hawker Hartbees. Redesignated as a fighter/bomber unit, the squadron spent the year training, but was renumbered as 12 Squadron in December 1939. The squadron was...
Jean-Michel Caffin is a former military officer and current business executive who served in the Rhodesian Security Forces and South African Special Forces
62 Mechanised Infantry Battalion Group was a unit of the South African Army (SADF); although it was classed as mechanized infantry, it was a combined arms force consisting of a Mechanised Infantry Battalion forming the core of the group, Main Battle Tank Squadron,...
On 30 September 1985 the Angolan and Cuban forces operating in Angola suffered a spate of helicopter losses that effected their ability to support their troops. For a long time they were not able to understand what had happened to their valuable helicopters and...
In Angola during January 1986, Cuban intelligence services received reports from near the city of Huambo that many local village women were using parachute material to wrap their infants onto their backs. Rebel leader Jonas Savimbi and his National Union for the Total...