After completing his basic military training, Gagiano started his South African Air Force career as a student pilot on the AerMacchi MB-326M in July 1968 at Flying Training School Langebaanweg. After completing his "wings test", on 28 August 1969, he was transferred...
The Aérospatiale Alouette III was a pivotal and versatile light utility helicopter in the Rhodesian, South African, and Portuguese Air Forces during the various Southern African conflicts, particularly the Portuguese Colonial War and the Border War (or Bush War). It...
Derek William Andrews was born in Wyndham (WA) on 4 January 1950. He first served in the Citizens Military Forces (CMF) from 13 February 1968 to 18 November 1969 and then enlisted in the Australian Army on 24 November 1969. After basic training he was posted to the...
This is the Russian PMD-6 (ПMД-6), a High-Explosive-Blast (HE-Blast), rectangular, wooden, Anti-Personnel (AP), landmine that is designed to wound or kill by its HE-Blast effect also copied in China. The upper portion of the box overlaps the lower portion which...
This is the Russian F1(Ф1), a High-Explosive-Fragmentation (HE-Frag), defensive, striker-release (SR), hand-grenade, nicknamed the Limonka (lemon-like), used as an Anti-Personnel (AP) hand-grenade and also used as part of a booby-trap (BTP), it has been copied in many...
This is the American M26, a High-Explosive-Fragmentation (HE-Frag), Anti-Personnel (AP), delay (DLY) detonating, hand-grenade which has a notched fragmentation coil liner including the M26A1, A2 and A3 and is manufactured in various countries. Its distinct lemon shape...
This is the Yugoslavian TMA-3, a High-Explosive-Blast (HE-Blast), minimum-metal, Anti-Vehicle (AV), landmine made from cast explosive and covered in a coarse resin-reinforced fabric. On the top surface of the landmine, three threaded plastic fuze wells are set into...
This is the Russian TMD-44, a High-Explosive-Blast (HE-Blast), square-shaped, wooden-bodied, Anti-Vehicle (AV), landmine that is designed to damage or destroy a vehicle by its blast effect, similar in appearance to the Russian TMD-B of WWII and appears to be an...
This is the South-African No 2 (R1M1), a copy of the American M18A1 often called the SHRAPNEL MINE No 2, a High-Explosive-Fragmentation (HE-Frag), claymore shaped, plastic-bodied, directional, anti-personnel (AP), landmine that is designed to wound or kill by its...
The No 8 mine is a South African a High-Explosive-Blast (HE-Blast) circular bakelite bodied, Anti-Vehicle (AV) cased minimum metal anti-tank blast mine, which is designed to damage or destroy a vehicle by its HE-Blast effect with a conventional pressure fuzing.. The...
During Angola's long-running civil war, MiG-21s of the Cuban Air Force were frequently deployed to attack ground targets manned by rebel forces or engage South African Air Force Mirage F1s conducting cross-border strikes. Most MiG-21 losses over Angola were attributed...
The early MiG-23 variants had a number of design shortcomings, including airframe strength and reliability, engine performance, maneuverability and radar performance. A considerable redesign of the airframe was conducted, resulting in the MiG-23ML (L - Lyogkiy or...