Operations
The South African "Recces" were deployed to many local hot spots during the late 1970s and early 1980s, particularly Angola.
The main enemy then was South West Africa’s People Organization whose armed wing PLAN, was a guerrilla organization fighting for an independent Namibia.
One of the "Recces"' most effective operations came in 1982: Operation Mebos penetrated deep into Angola and destroyed the SWAPO Headquarters. In Operation Askari, in the winter of 1984, the "Recces" cut off almost all supply lines to and from the SWAPO in Angola. In 1985, a "Recce" team undertook the controversial Operation Cabinda, a failed attempt to sabotage Angolan oil installations run by Gulf Oil.
In early summer of 1985, another "Recce" team under the command of SADF Captain Andre Diedericks crossed into Angola’s Cuando Cubango province, and with UNITA's help, protection and escort was secretly deployed around Menongue area. The team had at their disposal the 9K31 “Strela-1” AA system manned and operated by the team members. Team’s mission was to carry out covert combat operations, code names "Catamaran 1," "Catamaran 2" and "Cerberus" with the goal to disrupt air traffic in Cuando Cubango province by shooting down air transports, combat aircraft and gunships using the AA system. On 11 June 1985, roughly 80 km from Menongue, the team shot down Angolan airplane, a light utility aircraft, Britten-Norman BN-2 “Islander”. The "Islander", en route from Menongue to Cuito Cuanavale with a crew of 2 and 5 passengers was also carrying 69 million kwanzas (Angola’s currency), several months of salary for FAPLA’s 16th Brigade’s personnel based in Cuito Cuanavale. When the "Islander" fell to the ground the money was stolen and the remains of the dead passengers had been pillaged by UNITA soldiers attached to protect the "Recce" team. On 25 November 1985, the same "Recce" team had also shot down an “Aeroflot” Antonov AN-12, cargo airplane. The AN-12 transport en-route from Cuito Cuanavale to Luanda carrying 8 crew members and 13 passengers crashed approximately 43 km south-east of Menongue. All people on board (twelve Soviet and nine Angolan nationals) died in the crash.
Read more about this topic: South African Special Forces Brigade
Famous quotes containing the word operations:
“It may seem strange that any road through such a wilderness should be passable, even in winter, when the snow is three or four feet deep, but at that season, wherever lumbering operations are actively carried on, teams are continually passing on the single track, and it becomes as smooth almost as a railway.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“You can’t have operations without screams. Pain and the knife—they’re inseparable.”
—Jean Scott Rogers. Robert Day. Mr. Blount (Frank Pettingell)
“There is a patent office at the seat of government of the universe, whose managers are as much interested in the dispersion of seeds as anybody at Washington can be, and their operations are infinitely more extensive and regular.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)