The following account narrates the downing of a Cuban helicopter with 15 people on board, commanded by pilot Emilio González Rivas, on May 17, 1978, Negage, in a confrontation with the FNLA. Commanding a pair of Mi-8 helicopters, we arrived in the afternoon at the...
As was customary for all operations, Captain Tomás held a meeting with the Lieutenants to plan the details of this operation.The order came from Sector A Command in Vila Cabral, via B.Caç.2853 in Macaloge, on which we were operationally dependent. The operational...
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...
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...
I was taking some time off of work at a shipyard in San Francisco and I had planned a trip to South Africa & Rhodesia for a couple of years. I was in contact with Al J. Venter from SOF magazine and Al told me what to bring over to Africa to trade with the farmers...
In the dramatic power struggle for Angola in 1987, South African Air Force Mirage F1s tackled MiG-23s in the skies above south-western Africa. Lionel Reid recounts the story Angola 1987. The Soviet and Angolan MPLA forces decided on an ambitious plan: a large-scale...
The sharp end of the SA Air Force (SAAF) is currently honing its skills by way of a weapons camp at Air Force Base (AFB) Overberg in the Western Cape. The camp started in the final week of October, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Directorate Corporate...
In Sudan, anti-government forces shot down an Il-76 carrying a Russian crew with a Chinese-made FK-2000 air defense system. The aircraft may have been on a highly unusual mission. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which had previously operated with the support of...
The armourer Flight Sergeant didn't like it one bit - "Captain, our orders were to load your aircraft with 72 standard HE rockets. I cannot change that on your request!' He was quite correct of course. The type of weapon used in an air attack is determined after...
Our first operation, code-named First Blood, was to destroy a temporary base in Zambia belonging to SWAPO, the guerrilla group fighting for the independence of South West Africa [now Namibia]. The base was a small transit camp, situated less than ten kilometres over...
Uganda’s security forces have introduced a modern twist to their arsenal with the adoption of the Czech-made CZ Bren 2 assault rifle in 7.62x39mm calibre, as evidenced by recent appearances in the hands of Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce personnel. This move reflects...
In a previous November issue of the ‘Winged Chatter’ the official journal of the SAS C Squadron association of South Africa the President Grahame W. – former 2IC of the unit and recipient of one of only two Grand Cross of Valour ever awarded – presented his good...
Pfumo re Vanhu was formed in 1978 as a result of the internal political settlement and the establishment of Zimbabwe Rhodesia under the leadership of Bishop Abel Muzorewa. Several ZANLA (Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army) guerrillas of the Reverend Ndabaningi...
The United States has strengthened its military ties with Côte d’Ivoire by approving the transfer of 12 M36 PUMA armored vehicles to the Ivorian Army. Last May, the United States and the European Union (EU) pledged to support the country’s armed forces, with the EU by...
Armoured Warfare in Angola, 1987 A teenager in the mid-80s, fresh out of high school, is conscripted into the South African Defence Force where he goes through the hardships and humour of infantry training. Innocent youngsters from all over the country are moulded...