|
Operation Reindeer
Operation Reindeer, which began on 4 May 1978, was South Africa's second major military operation in Angola, the first being Operation Savannah (Angola), Operation Savannah. The South African operation consisted of an assault by 2 South African Infantry Battalion on two South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) base complexes, Chetequera and Dombondola, near to the then-South West Africa/Angola border; an assault by the elite South African 32 Battalion, 32 Battalion on SWAPO's Omepepa-Namuidi-Henhombe base complex around 20 km east of Chetequera; and finally, the attack the operation is most known for — a controversial Battle of Cassinga, airborne assault by paratroopers on Cassinga, a refugee camp and SWAPO's regional headquarters, 260 km inside Angola. The operation ended on 10 May 1978. Background Prime Minister BJ Vorster, John Vorster met his defence advisers in December 1977. They discussed the need to take stronger measures against SWAPO, moving fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Border War
The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angola from 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990. It was fought between the South African Defence Force (SADF) and the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), an armed wing of the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO). The South African Border War was closely intertwined with the Angolan Civil War. Following several years of unsuccessful petitioning through the United Nations and the International Court of Justice for Namibian independence from South Africa, SWAPO formed the PLAN in 1962 with material assistance from the Soviet Union, China, and sympathetic African states such as Tanzania, Ghana, and Algeria. Fighting broke out between PLAN and the South African security forces in August 1966. Between 1975 and 1988, the SADF staged m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People's Liberation Army Of Namibia
The People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) was the military wing of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO). It fought against the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF) during the South African Border War. Throughout its history, PLAN had both irregular insurgent and semi-conventional units, as well as an extensive recruitment network in rural South West Africa (Namibia). During the war most of its domestic activities consisted of mine warfare and acts of sabotage. PLAN initially lacked any standing units, and the bulk of operations were carried out by political exiles who spent cyclical periods residing in refugee camps in neighbouring states before launching raids inside South West Africa itself. By the end of the war, PLAN had 32,000 militants under arms, including three battalions of semi-conventional troops equipped with heavy weapons. PLAN launched its largest and final offensive in late April and early May 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber. Among the performance requirements for the type was an outstanding high-altitude bombing capability and high speed. These were partly accomplished by making use of newly developed jet-propulsion technology. When the Canberra was introduced to service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the type's first operator, in May 1951, it became the service's first jet-powered bomber. In February 1951, a Canberra set another world record when it became the first jet aircraft to make a nonstop transatlantic flight. Throughout most of the 1950s, the Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other aircraft in the world, and in 1957, a Canberra established a Flight altitude record, world altitude record of . Due to its ability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratel IFV
The Ratel is a South African infantry fighting vehicle. It was the first wheeled infantry fighting vehicle to enter service worldwide and was built on a modified MAN Truck & Bus, MAN truck chassis. The Ratel was designed in response to a South African Army specification for a light armoured vehicle suited to the demands of rapid offensives, providing maximum firepower and strategic mobility to mechanised infantry units intended to operate across the vast distances of Southern Africa. Primarily envisaged in SADF doctrine as a vehicle that could deliver mechanised infantry and supporting fire to tanks in conventional warfare, it was also anticipated that the Ratel could form the centrepiece for semi-independent battlegroups where logistics or politics precluded the use of tanks. The Ratel was a simple, economical design which helped reduce the significant logistical commitment necessary to keep heavier combat vehicles operational in undeveloped regions. It was generally regarded as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratel 6X6 APC (9686194015)
The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed across Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only living species in both the genus ''Mellivora'' and the subfamily Mellivorinae. It has a fairly long body, with a distinctly thick-set and broad back, and remarkably loose skin, allowing the badger to turn and twist freely within it. The largest terrestrial mustelid in Africa, the honey badger measures long and weighs up to . Sexual dimorphism has been recorded in this species, with males being larger and heavier than females. There are two pairs of mammae, and an anal pouch which, unusual among mustelids, is eversible, a trait shared with hyenas and mongooses. The honey badger is a solitary animal that can be active at any time of day, depending on the location. It is primarily a carnivorous species and has few natural predators because of its thick skin, strength and ferocious defensive abiliti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deon Ferreira
Lieutenant General Deon Ferreira (died 2002) was a South African Army officer. He served as Chief of Joint Operations before his retirement. Early life He was born on New Years day 1946 in Graaff-Reinet, South Africa and matriculated from Graaf Reniet High School. He was the son of Alwyn Burger Ferreira and Hester Magdalena (Bosman) Ferreira Military career He served in the infantry corps and served as Personal Assistant to Gen Rudolph Hiemstra General Rudolph Christiaan Hiemstra (10 March 191226 July 2007) was a South African Air Force commander who served as Commandant General of the South African Defence Force. Military career Hiemstra joined the South African Air Force in 1931. H .... He was SO1 Operations during Ops Savannah and later with the rank of colonel commanded 32 Battalion from 19781982 in the Bush War. He commanded 20 Brigade and Natal Command. Before being appointed as CJ Ops and was the commander of Eastern Transvaal Command until 1997. Awards a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
32 Battalion (South Africa)
32 Battalion (sometimes nicknamed '' Buffalo Battalion'', ''Three-two battalion'' or for ''The Terrible Ones'') was an elite light infantry battalion of the South African Army founded in 1975, composed of black and white commissioned and enlisted personnel. It was disbanded on 26 March 1993. History Military refugees After the victory of the ''Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola'' (MPLA) in the Angolan War of Independence in 1975, many troops of its main rival, the ''Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola'' (National Liberation Front of Angola, FNLA), found refuge in the then South African-controlled South West Africa. Formation of Bravo Group From these troops, Colonel Jan Breytenbach together with Commandant Sybie van der Spuy formed a unit that was initially known as Bravo Group but later renamed 32 Battalion. Initially, Bravo Group consisted of two infantry companies, a mortar platoon, an anti-tank section and a machine gun platoon, but 32 B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
61 Mechanised Infantry Battalion Group
61 Mechanised Battalion Group was a Battlegroup (army), unit of the South African Infantry Corps; although it was classed as mechanized infantry, it was a combined arms force consisting of infantry, armour and artillery. History Combat Group Juliet General Constand Viljoen, Chief of the Army, formulated a plan in 1978 to introduce a mechanized combat group to Ovamboland in the then South West Africa, to conduct operations against SWAPO. Combat Group Juliet was then formed under the command of Commandant Frank Bestbier. Operation Reindeer The Battle Group first saw action in Operation Reindeer in early May 1978, launching an attack on SWAPO's Western Front headquarters and logistics base, at Chetequera, 15 km north of the South West African border, with a mechanized assault force. This attack formed part of Operation Reindeer during which paratroopers attacked a separate target at Cassinga, some 300 km into Angola. After Operation Reindeer it was decided to establish a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has the GRAU index (Russian armed forces index) 6G3. The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-armor weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon; it is manufactured in several variants by nine countries. It is popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. Widely produced, the most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D (десантник – ''desantnik'' – paratrooper) model, which can be broken into two parts for easier carrying; and the lighter Chinese Type 69 RPG. DIO of Iran manufactures RPG-7s with olive green handguards, H&K style pistol grips, and a commando variant. The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and deployed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovamboland
Ovamboland, also referred to as Owamboland, was a Bantustan and later a non-geographic ethnic-based second-tier authority, the Representative Authority of the Ovambos, in South West Africa (present-day Namibia). The apartheid government stated that the goal was for it to be a self-governing homeland for the Ovambo people. Practically, however, it was intended by the apartheid government as a reservation that forced them into cheap labour by limiting movement; Ovambo men were not allowed outside Ovamboland unless they signed as a contract labourer for 16 months, while women were not allowed out at all. The term originally referred to the parts of northern Namibia inhabited by the Ovambo ethnic group: namely, the area controlled by the traditional Ovambo kingdoms in pre-colonial and early colonial times, such as Ondonga, Ongandjera, and Oukwanyama. Its endonym is ''Ovambo ~ Owambo''. Background In the 1960s, South Africa, which was administering South West Africa under a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Breytenbach
Jan Dirk Breytenbach (14 July 1932 – 16 June 2024) was a South African Special Forces military officer and author of military books. He is best known as the first commander of 1 Reconnaissance Commando, South Africa's first special forces unit. In his long career, he served in the Suez Crisis, the Biafran War, the South African Border War, and the Angolan Civil War, and attained the rank of colonel before his retirement. He died on 16 June 2024, at the age of 91. Military career Breytenbach attended the Army Gymnasium in 1950, and was awarded the Sword of Peace in 1953 and joined the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm after serving in the Armoured Corps and saw service in the Suez Crisis in 1956. He rejoined the South African Defence Force in 1961 and soon after completed one of 1 Parachute Battalion's courses. Fritz Loots commissioned him to organise 1 Reconnaissance Commando in 1971. In 1975 Breytenbach led Operation Savannah, the SADF's covert intervention in the Ang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II and the Korean War. From 1966, the SAAF was involved in providing infantry support in the low-intensity South African Border War, Border War in Angola, South-West Africa and Rhodesia. As the war progressed, the intensity of air operations increased, until in the late 1980s when the SAAF were compelled to fly fighter missions against Angolan aircraft in order to maintain tactical air superiority. On conclusion of the Border War in 1990, aircraft numbers were severely reduced due to economic pressures as well as the cessation of hostilities with neighbouring states. History First World War After a visit to observe the 1912 military manoeuvres in Europe, Brig. Gen. Christian Frederick Beyers, C.F. Beyers (who was then Commandant-General of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
