Military Despatches September 2017 Stranger than fiction Facts, figures and trivia about the Vietnam War Disabled? Not according to them They may have lost limbs, but it didn’t slow them down

Head-to-Head We look at small arms of the SA Bush War

Forged in Battle Military Helicopters that changed the face of war

The Siege of Jadotville A company of Irish troops face overwhelming odds in Africa

For the military enthusiast Military Despatches September 2017 What’s in this month’s edition

Feature Articles 6 Vietnam War - facts, figures & trivia Click on any video below to view A few facts, figures and trivia about the Vietnam War, the longest war fought by America. How much do you know about movie theme 12 Leave no man behind songs? Take our quiz After 39 years South African Paratroopers want to bring one of their fallen comrades back home. By and find out. Mike McWilliams. Page 6 14 Above and beyond the call of duty Hipe’s Wouter de The old South African It takes a certain mettle to go into battle. Especially Goede interviews former Defence Force used if you suffer from what some would call a disability. 28’s gang boss David a mixture of English, These five people, however, never saw themselves as Williams. Afrikaans, slang and disabled. techno-speak that few 18 TS Tiberon - 100 years on and still training outside the military The sea cadet training ship Tiberon in Durban cele- could hope to under- brates 100 years. By Lt Cdr Glenn von Zeil. stand. Some of the terms were humorous, some Head-to-Head Page 14 were clever, while others 22 Small arms of the SA Bush War were downright crude. We look at some of the small arms used by the various combatants in the South African Bush War. Part of Hipe’s “On the couch” series, this is an Famous Figures interview with one of 30 Erwin Rommel author Herman Charles One of the best generals of World War II, a man that Bosman’s most famous was respected by both friend and foe, the Desert Fox characters, Oom Schalk was a man to be reckoned with. Page 22 A taxi driver was shot Lourens. Hipe spent time in Hanover Park, an area Cover Photograph dead in an ongoing The editor took this photograph while returning from a war between rival taxi plagued with gang trip with the Minister of Defence to the South African organisations. violence, to view first- Navy training base at Saldanha Bay. hand how Project Ceasefire is dealing with the situation. Hipe TV brings you videos ranging from actuality to humour and every- thing in between. Interviews, mini-documentaries and much more. Check out Hipe TV and remember to like, comment, share and subscribe. 00 3 Forged in Battle 34 Military helicopters Each month “Forged in Battle” looks at weapons, equip- Page 34 ment or units that have been tried and tested on the bat- tlefield. This month we look at five helicopters that were game changers. Editor’s PUBLISHER Sitrep Battlefield Hipe Media 40 The Siege of Jadotville EDITOR A small company of Irish soldiers faced overwhelm- Matt Tennyson ing odds against battle-hardened troops deep in the heart of Africa. Page 40 CONTRIBUTORS Raymond Fletcher, Mike Mc- uring my time as a jour- the software that is used to cre- Williams, Ryan Murphy, Matt Quiz nalist and editor I’ve ate the magazines. Who do we belong to? seen a lot of magazines The software I use is no lon- O’Brien, Matt Tennyson, Glen 42 D von Zeil. We show some uniforms. You tell use which army come and go. ger available. This meant I had Statistics show that most to upgrade to the latest ver- they belong to. magazine only last for two is- sion which you can no longer Military Despatches is pub- sues. Someone gets a bright purchase outright. You have to lished on-line every month. idea to start a magazine and then pay for it monthly as it is cloud The articles used in Military Reviews discovers just how much work based. And you have to pay in Despatches are copyrighted 44 Game Review - Shogun 2 it actually involves. They’re US Dollars. and may not be used without Do you have what it takes to conquer Japan through Page 42 very motivated and excited for So three days before dead- prior permission from the edi- trade, diplomacy and battle and become the military the first issue. The enthusiasm line I had lost both magazines tor. leader - the Shogun. starts to wain by the second is- and had to start from scratch. The views stated in this mag- sue. And they forget about the I worked for 52 hours straight. azine do not necessary reflect 46 Movie Review - The Siege of Jadotville idea before there is a third issue. So once I’ve finished writing the views of Hipe!, the editor, Seeing as how we looked at the Siege of Jadotville in This is our third issue, so my editorial I will export both the staff, or Hipe Media. we’re ahead of the curve. Yet magazines into the necessary this issue, what better movie to preview. there almost wasn’t a third is- formats and get them uploaded Hipe! sue. Let me explain. to our website. P.O. Box 31216, Tokai, 7966 47 Book Review I work off two computers. On Then I’m going to have a few . Daniel Roxo - The Phantom of the Forest is a book one of them I do video editing glasses of Bushmills and I plan that anyone interested in military history should read. and animation work. The other on sleeping for the next two email Especially those with an interest in South African mil- computer is used to do the mag- days. itary history. azines and graphics for them. I On a happier note, thanks for [email protected] do two monthly magazines and all the e-mails I’ve received. once they are finished they are And thank you to those people The Lighter Side backed up and stored on an ex- that have started to send through ternal hard drive. articles for the magazine. 48 Food, glorious food On Monday 28 August the Next month I’ll tell you more It was Napoleon that said an army marches on its stom- computer that I do the maga- about the military social group ach. Yet often the food served in the military is some- zines on crashed. It didn’t just we are planning on starting. thing that is difficult to stomach. Page 47 crash, it died. It had given up Until next month. the ghost and gone to that big electronic warehouse in the sky. I was not able to recover any data from the machine. Not only that, but I had also lost all Matt 4 5 • An infamous photograph of • During the Vietnam War, Vietnam War - facts, figures and trivia what looks like an execution a US task force known as was used by the anti-war ‘Tiger Force’ routinely cut A few facts, figures and trivia about the Viernam War, the longest war ever fought by movement for propaganda of the ears of its victims the of America. purposes. They claimed that to make necklaces from it showed a South Vietnam- them. ese officer executing an in- • When Colonel “Chappie” he Vietnam War was of- Vietnam War Trivia Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Slinky nocent Vietnamese civilian. James was Vice Wing Com- ficially fought between • At the end of the Vietnam (which led to the Vietnam The shooter was actually mander under legendary ace TNorth and South Viet- War, the crewmen on the War), never happened. South Vietnamese Chief of Colonel Robin Olds during nam. It lasted for 19 years, five USS Midway • In 1967, protesters in USA were used in the Vietnam National Police, General the Vietnam War, they were months, four weeks and one pushed $10 million worth of requested a permit to levi- War as mobile radio anten- Nguyen Ngoc Loan. He was known as “BlackMan & day and took place from 1 No- helicopters into the sea so tate the Pentagon 300 feet nas. They would sling the executing Nguyen Van Lem, Robin.” vember 1955 to 30 April 1975. that a Cessna full of evacu- in the air, through songs and Slinky over branches and also known as Bay Lop, a • During the Vietnam war, Although the USA never de- ees could land on the deck. chants, to exorcise it of its extend the range of their ra- Vietcong intelligence of- Navy Seal teams One and clared war on North Vietnam, • Hugh Thomson, the man evil and end the Vietnam dios. ficer. The photo was taken Two amassed a combined some 2.7 million US troops who during the Vietnam War. Authorities agreed to • During the Vietnam War, in Saigon on 1 February, kill/death ratio of 200:1. served in Vietnam. War had landed a helicopter only 3 feet. the US military produced 1968 early in the Tet Offen- • The United States’ use of Besides the United States, in the line of fire to confront • During the Vietnam War, an recordings of ghostly voices sive. After the war General Agent Orange during the seven other countries sent and stop American troops estimated 125,000 Ameri- and eerie sounds to play to Nguyen Ngoc Loan moved Vietnam War resulted in troops to fight or serve on the who had by that point killed cans fled to to avoid the Vietcong, who believed to the United States where 400,000 people being killed side of South Vietnam. They close to 500 unarmed civil- the military draft. Around that if a body wasn’t bur- he opened a pizzeria in sub- or maimed, and 500,000 were South Korea, Thailand, ians in the My Lai Massa- half returned to the US when ied, the person’s soul would urban Virginia. birth defects. Australia, Philippines, New cre, was labeled a traitor by President Carter, in his first wander the Earth forever. It • A during • During the early 1960s, there Zealand, Khmer Republic and Congress and ordered not to day in office, granted them was known as “Operation the Vietnam War named was a ‘Secret War’, where the Kingdom of Laos. The Re- speak about the event. amnesty. Wandering Soul”. No one James Stockdale is said to the CIA recruited 50% of the public of China provided mili- • The Vietnam War is known • Congressional Medal of really knows what effect it have survived in such ar- Hmong population to fight tary support. as “the American War” or Honor Winner Peter Lemon had, if any. You can listen duous conditions that you for the US in the Vietnam The belligerents on the Kháng chiến chống Mỹ in was high on marijuana when to “Ghost Tape No. 10” by must renounce optimism for War. Afterwards, they were North’s side were North Viet- Vietnam. he single-handedly fought clicking here. The tape is stoicism. His optimistic fel- completely abandoned. nma, Vietcong, Khmer Rouge • In 2005, NSA documents off two waves of Viet- undeniably creepy, filled low captives all died. Hav- • Duct Tape was used during and Pather Lao. The USSR, were declassified that proved cong troops and dragged a with voices claiming to be ing a blindly optimistic view the Vietnam War to repair People’s Republic of China, that the second Gulf of wounded soldier to safety. from Hell, trapped there af- worsens your chances of helicopter rotor blades. North Korea and Cuba provid- Tonkin incident, which was • A popular children’s toy in ter dying senseless deaths, survival. This is called ‘The • A ‘liquid land mine’ was in- ed military support. used as a justification for the the United States, Slinkys looking for their children, Stockdale Paradox’. vented during the Vietnam and wanting desperately to Casualties & Loses go home. • There was a false belief dur- South North ing the war that the Viet- Country Dead Wounded Country Dead Wounded namese had a superstition South Vietnam 313,000 313,000 NVA / Vietcong 849,018 600,000+ with the Ace of Spades card, United States 58,318 58,318 China 1,100 4,200 considering it to be a symbol Kingdom of Laos 30,000 30,000 North Korea 14 Unknown of death and that they would flee at the sight of the Ace. South Korea 5,099 5,099 Therefore the U.S. Play- Australia 521 521 Approximately two million Vietnamese civil- ing Card Company shipped Thailand 351 351 ians were also killed during the war. crates of this card to Viet- New Zealand 37 37 nam, where they were scat- Republic of China 25 25 tered during raids in an ef- GAME OVER: South Vietnamese Chief of Police Nguyen Ngoc Philippines 9 9 fort to terrify the Vietcong. Loan executes Vietcong intelligence officer Nguyen Van Lem. 6 7 • War, which was poured on • During the Vietnam War, (Desmond Doss, a medic in the ground to form a mine, a US Prisoner of War was World War II, was the first). and best of all, it self-deac- forced to do a press confer- Bennett was killed in action tivated in four days, keeping ence saying that they were during the Vietnam War and kids safe from mines that treated well. He managed to posthumously received the had not been triggered. convey the truth by blink- Medal of Honor. • An Air Force Sergeant dur- ing “TORTURE” in Morse • Three chaplains received the ing the Vietnam War cre- code. medal, including Vincent ated an “underground” ra- • Superglue was used during R. Capodanno, who served dio station in the back of a the Vietnam War to slow with the Marine Corps and Vietnamese brothel where bleeding until soldiers could was known as the “Grunt he played hard rock, made get to a hospital. Padre. vulgar jokes and openly op- • During the Vietnam War, one • The Vietcong became ex- posed the war. The radio sta- unconventional technique perts at digging tunnels. The tion was operated on chan- used by the United States Cu Chi Tunnels (about 75 THE BIG LIE: A ceremony honours the arrival of bodies of nel 69. against the Vietcong was Roy Benavidez kilometres northwest of Sai- troops killed in Vietnam. Most of the coffins, however, were • Roy Benavidez, a US sol- replacing their ammunition not as intense as in World empty. gon) were a warren of tun- dier in the Vietnam War, with decoy explosive am- War II. Yet the average in- nels used the by Vietcong performed possibly the most munition, which destroyed fantryman in the South Pa- hours, died. “The Big Lie.” to attack targets around heroic six hours of battle any their weapons when fired. cific during World War II • The helicopter provided un- • In the ’60s, the C.I.A. paid Saigon. Built under forti- soldier ever has. When faced • US President Richard Nixon saw about 40 days of com- precedented mobility. With- Vietnamese spies with mer- fied villages, where peasants with over 1,000 NVA (North is suspected of sabotaging bat in four years. The aver- out the helicopter it would chandise from mail-order had been forcibly moved, Vietnamese Army) troops, the Peace Accords, ex- age infantryman in Vietnam have taken three times as Sears catalogs, since they Cu Chi was a 200 kilome- Roy P. Benavidez flew into tending the Vietnam War by saw about 240 days of com- many troops to secure the had little use for paper tre long network of passages a gunfight to save 12 Special five years to ensure his own bat in one year thanks to the 1.287 km border with Cam- money. with underground hospi- Forces soldiers with only a election. mobility of the helicopter. bodia and Laos. • The Medal of Honor was tals, meeting rooms, multi- knife. He was shot multiple • NVA General Võ Nguyên • One out of every 10 Ameri- • 30,000 American draft awarded 259 for acts of level sleeping quarters, trap times and believed dead, un- Giáp not only gave the cans who served in Viet- dodgers went to Canada dur- bravery during the Vietnam doors, smokeless kitchens, til he spat in the face of the American a torrid time in nam was a casualty. 58,148 ing the Vietnam War, while War. 173 were to the US air raid shelters, weapons medic trying to put him in a Vietnam. He also orches- were killed and 304,000 30,000 Canadians joined the Army, 15 to the US Navy, factories, strategy rooms and body bag. It took 13 years to trated successive defeats of wounded out of 2.7 million US military to fight in the 57 to the US Marine Corps even entire underground vil- get him the Medal of Hon- the Japanese and the French. who served. Although the Vietnam War. and 14 to the US Air Force. lages with theaters and mov- or. Even Death had a hard time percent that died is similar • On his second day in of- A Medal of Honor was also ie halls. In some places the finishing off Giáp – he lived to other wars, amputations fice, President Jimmy Carter awarded to the Vietnam Un- tunnels had three stories. to 102 years of age. or crippling wounds were pardoned all evaders of the known Soldier. • The majority of the men who 300 percent higher than in Vietnam War drafts. • The first Medal of Honor fought in Vietnam weren’t World War II. 75,000 Viet- • The former Prime Minister presentation for Vietnam drafted - they volunteered. nam veterans are severely of Vietnam moved to Or- was to Captain Roger Don- • In 1985 British pop singer disabled. ange County after the war, lon for actions on 6 July Paul Hardcastle had a hit • MEDEVAC helicopters where he opened and ran a 1964 as commanding offi- with a song titled 19. This, flew nearly 500,000 - mis liquor store. cer of the U.S. Army Spe- according to the song, was sions. Over 900,000 pa- • The U.S. government spent cial Forces Detachment de- the average age of US sol- tients were airlifted (nearly years holding fake arrival fending Camp Nam Dong diers fighting in the Vietnam half were American). The ceremonies honouring the against a Vietcong attack. War. The average age of US average time lapse between return of American soldiers • Thomas William Bennett soldiers killed in Vietnam wounding to hospitalization killed in WWII, Vietnam, (April 7, 1947 – February was actually 22. Still young, was less than one hour. As a and Korea to American 11, 1969) was a U.S. Army but not a teenager. result, less than one percent soil, but the planes were ac- medic and the second con- • The common belief is that of all Americans wounded, tually empty. The ceremo- scientious objector to re- Võ Nguyên Giáp the fighting in Vietnam was who survived the first 24 nies were known by staff as ceive the Medal of Honor Medal of Honor 8 9 • The Cu Chi tunnel system ing was accidental or dur- was so large and complex ing combat with the enemy. that roads signs were used The term fragging is now to help the Vietcong soldiers often used to encompass any navigate their way around means used to deliberately and avoid bamboo-stake and directly cause the death booby traps meant for the of military colleagues. The American and Australian high number of fragging in- soldiers that tried to ferret cidents in the latter years of them out. Favored traps in- the Vietnam War was symp- cluded punji stake pits with tomatic of the unpopularity hidden upward-pointing KITCHEN COMPLEX: One of the many kitchen complexes set in of the war with the American bamboo stakes, and bam- the Cu Chi Tunnels. public and the breakdown of boo sticks that released an discipline in the U.S. Armed extremely poisonous snake Forces. Documented and called the three step snake, ing enemy soldiers and to roads and trails extending suspected fragging incidents because its venom was toxic plant explosives to destroy from North Vietnam through totaled nearly nine hundred that a person collapsed three the tunnels. A tunnel rat was eastern Laos and Cambo- from 1969 to 1972. SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE: Punji sticks were not designed to kill equipped with only a stan- dia to South Vietnam. The steps after being bitten. and enemy but rather to wound them. • By the end of the war, seven • American, Australian and dard issue .45 caliber pistol, North Vietnamese called the million tons of bombs had New Zealand troops came a bayonet and a flashlight, route the Truong Son Road been dropped on Vietnam, up with a special way of although most tunnel rats after the ridge it ran along or be dug into the ground and to dig the soldier’s leg out, Laos, and Cambodia - more dealing with Vietcong tun- were allowed to choose an- Highway 559 after the en- a number of sharpened immobilizing the unit longer than twice the amount of nels - tunnel rats. These other pistol with which to gineer brigade that built it. wooded or bamboo stakes than if the foot were simply bombs dropped on Europe were volunteers that would arm themselves. The route began in a gorge were placed upright in the pierced. and Asia in World War II. go into the tunnels. Usually • The main supply route the North Vietnamese called ground. The presence of • Air America was an Ameri- • The term “Zippo Raids” was they were small in stature. for weapons, supplies and “Heaven’s Gate.” punji sticks would be cam- can passenger and cargo coined during the Vietnam Whenever troops would un- troops infiltrating into South • The object of some the ouflaged by natural under- airline covertly owned and War. These were military cover a tunnel, tunnel rats Vietnam was the Ho Chi U.S.’s first military actions growth, crops, grass, brush operated by the US gov- operations which involved were sent in to kill any hid- Minh Trail, a network of in Southeast Asia was to or similar materials. When ernment between 1950 and burning down Vietnamese disrupt the movement of someone stepped on the trap 1976. It was used as a dum- villages. Often Zippo ciga- supplies along the Ho Chi the stakes would penetrate my corporation for Central rette lighters were used to Minh Trail. Throughout the through their boot. Often Intelligence Agency (CIA) ignite the huts. Vietnam War a great deal of the sticks would be covered operations, including many • 12,000 American helicop- money and effort was spent in human feces. In the harsh in Vietnam and surrounding ters saw action during the trying to shut it down. Thou- tropical heat this could lead countries. Vietnam War. sands of tons of bombs were to an infection very quickly. • The term fragging is used to • Many American troops were dropped on it, key battles Sometimes a pit would be describe the deliberate kill- not in the least impressed such as Hamburger Hill and dug with punji sticks in the ing or attempted killing by with the M-16 rifle. The Khe Sanh were fought to sides pointing downward at a soldier of a fellow soldier, weapon was prone to jam- control it. Everything that an angle. A soldier stepping usually a superior officer ming and the inside of the the U.S. forces tried was into the pit would find it im- or non-commissioned of- barrel was vulnerable to cor- ultimately unable to shut it possible to remove his leg ficer (NCO). The word was rosion in the brutal Vietnam down. without doing severe dam- coined by U.S. military per- climate. • The Vietcong were skilled age, and injuries might be sonnel during the Vietnam at building and employ- incurred by the simple act of War, when such killings ing booby traps. One of the falling forward while one’s were most often attempted most common booby trap leg is in a narrow, vertical, with a fragmentation gre- TUNNEL RAT: Probably one of the most dangerous jobs of the Viet- used by the Vietcong was stake-lined pit. Such pits nade, sometimes making it nam War - going into Vietcong tunnels and seeking out the enemy. the punji stick. A hole would would require time and care appear as though the kill- 10 11 strange land. Leave no man behind Those who have given gener- ously and those who will give; After 39 years South African Paratroopers want to bring one of their fallen comrades You know we would do it for back home. By Mike McWilliams. you. Do it for Skille. The audited non-profit fund account to help this happen is: hirty Nine years ago on noon. 4 May 1978, at 0804 on The battle raged most of the Parabat Veterans Organisa- Ta chilly morning, 367 day and ended with the surren- tion NPC paratroopers from the Para- der of the enemy after the big Nedbank Account Number chute Battalion of the South Af- cannons were silenced. 1131959035 rican Defence Force, the Para- The first wave of helicop- Branch bats, stepped out of the doors ters extracted half the Parabats, 114145 of their lumbering aircraft over leaving the remainder to mop an option to the Parabats, it is being killed in action and some- with your Surname and the fortified base camp at Cass- up while waiting to be evacu- a duty. one missing in action. All must “Skillie” as identification. inga, Angola. ated themselves. Our watchword has always be brought back even though 250 kilometres behind the At half their strength, the been, Leave No Man Behind the missing may only be discov- lines, it was a matter of victory Parabats were warned by a cir- to extract the small remaining and we all know that this duty ered years later, as was Skillie. or death. If the paratroopers did cling aircraft that a column of force. never goes away, no matter how For 39 years, Skillie Hu- not prevail, walking back to the twenty armored vehicles was With the LZs under fire, the many years pass. man has lain in a lonely grave, border was going to be a deadly approaching the base. helicopters returned. A lone We make no distinction be- far from home, his comrades business, harassed by Angolan, A Cuban detachment from Buccanneer overhead, out of tween a man being injured or and his family. A stranger in a Cuban and PLAN enemy. nearby Techamutete was charg- ammo and low on fuel, protect- Due to a photo scaling error, ing to the rescue of their SWA- ed the Parabats scrambling for the drop was a shambles. The PO comrades. their lifts home. The Buccan- Useful links box drop which was meant to This was a grave threat to the neer pilot, repeatedly buzzed seal the base ended up scatter- few remaining Parabats. Their the tanks at treetop level keep- Every month we will be featuring a few useful links to military websites, newsletters and on- ing the Parabats into positions LZ’s came under tank fire and ing them buttoned up while the line magazines. Stuff that we think our readers will appreciate. that put them into mortal dan- APCs full of Cubans threatened Bats were extracted. This month we feature two newsletters. The first one is Nongqai, the unofficial police news- ger. Some dropped right on top to swamp the remaining Para- Four Parabats lost their lives letter for veterans of the former South African Police Force and for those interested in Police of the enemy, some landed kilo- bats. that day. JC De Waal, Martin History. The second is Jimmy’s Own, the official newsletter of the South African Signals As- metres away from their intend- A combination of rocket fire Kaplan, Eddie Backhouse and sociation. Click on the magazine covers to go to the respective websites. ed positions. Some in trees and from two Mirages that screamed tragically, Andries ‘Skillie’ Hu- others into the river, or on the in from Ondangwa destroyed a man was Missing in Action. wrong bank. number of vehicles, but the Mi- After all this time, we have The essential element of sur- rages couldn’t hang around as only recently established what prise was lost, giving the enemy they were at their range limit happened to Skillie Human. He ample time to set themselves up and could spend only a minute landed in the river and drowned. in the extensive trench and bun- or two over the target. Through years of detective ker system that surrounded the A land mine that the Parabats work, we have now located camp. had laid that morning for just Skillies unmarked grave where Instead of the short, sharp this kind of eventuality blew up he was buried by a local chief. skirmish planned, the attack the leading tank, stopping the The time has come to Bring was an extended affair. The en- Cuban advance for a while. Skillie Home. emy brought their anti-aircraft The Parabats hit the armour If you do anything today in cannons to bear while the Para- with all they had. RPGs and remembrance, please give a do- bats were exiting the aircraft, LMGs opened up on the col- nation to enable us to bring our and these powerful guns were umn, buying time for the he- last one back. not silenced until mid after- licopters to refuel and return Bringing Skillie home is not

12 13 Bader took part in the Battle Army. of France and Operation Dyna- After the war Bader continued Above and beyond mo, the evacuation of Dunkirk. to serve in the RAF. On 21 July On 28 June 1940 he was made 1946, he retired with the rank acting of No. of group captain to take a job at the call of duty 242 Squadron RAF. He took Royal Dutch Shell. He became part in the were Managing Director of Shell Air- It takes a certain mettle to go into battle. Especially if you suffer from what some he claimed a number of ‘kills’. craft until he retired in 1969. would call a disability. These five people, however, never saw themselves as disabled. On 18 March 1941, Bader was Bader campaigned vigorously promoted to acting wing com- for people with disabilities and mander and became one of the set an example of how to over- come a disability. In June 1976, attle has always been re- utes, he flew his first solo flight first “wing leaders”. Stationed Bader was knighted for his ser- garded as one of the true on 19 February 1929. at Tangmere with 145, 610 and vices to disabled people. tests of manhood. It is On 26 July 1930 Bader was 616 Squadrons under his com- B died of a heart also said that when faced with commissioned as a pilot offi- mand. attack on 5 September 1982. He Alexey Maresyev hardship or danger a persons cer into No. 23 Squadron RAF On 9 August 1941 while on true character will be revealed. was 72 years old. Among the based at Kenley, Surrey. patrol over France, Bader was many dignitaries and person- amputated below the knee. Des- If that is the case then these Bader became a daredevil shot down. While attempting to five people passed the test with alities at his funeral was Adolf perate to return to his fighter pi- while flying there, often flying bail out of his damaged Spitfire Galland. Galland and Doug- lot career, he subjected himself flying colours. Not only did they illegal and dangerous stunts. one of his prosthetic legs was face challenges head-on, they las Bader had shared a friend- to nearly a year of exercise to Strict orders were issued forbid- trapped in the cockpit. Part way did so while suffering with what ship that spanned more than 42 master the control of his pros- ding unauthorised aerobatics but out of the cockpit, Bader fell for most people would regard as a years since their first meeting in thetic devices, and succeeded at Bader took this as an unneces- physical disability. some time before pulling his France. that, returning to flying in June The first person on the list is sary safety rule rather than an parachute. The leg’s retaining 1943. probably the most well known order to be obeyed. strap snapped under the strain Alexey Maresyev During a dog fight in August of them. His name was Douglas On 14 December 1931 Bader and he was pulled free. Alexey Petrovich Maresyev 1943 he shot down three Ger- Bader. was attempting some low-flying The Germans treated Bader was a Soviet fighter ace -dur man Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fight- aerobatics when the tip of his with great respect. He had lost ing World War II. Like Douglas ers. In total, he completed 86 wing touched the ground and he his right prosthetic leg and Luft- Bader, he lost both of his legs. combat flights and shot down Douglas Bader Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas crashed. waffe General Adolf Galland He was born in Kamyshin, 11 German warplanes. He was Robert Steuart Bader, CBE, He was rushed to hospital notified the British of his dam- Russia, on 20 May 1916. Before awarded the Golden Star of the joining the army in 1937 Mare- DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, was where both of his legs - one With World War II looming, aged leg and offered them safe Hero of the Soviet Union, the syev worked as a turner. a (RAF) flying above and one below the knee - Bader again requested a posting passage to drop off a replace- highest military decoration of In 1940 he graduated from the USSR. In 1944 he joined the ace during World War II. He was were amputated. In his logbook in the RAF. The Central Flying ment. Bataysk Military School of Avi- Communist Party and two years credited with 22 aerial victories, after the crash Bader wrote, School told Bader to report for While recovering in hospital ation. He began his flights as a later retired from the army. four shared victories, six proba- “Crashed slow-rolling near flight tests on 18 October 1939. Bader attempted to escape but in August 1941. He In 1952 Maresyev graduated bles, one shared probable and 11 ground. Bad show.” On 27 November 1939, eight he was recaptured. Over the next had shot down four German air- from the Higher Party School. In enemy aircraft damaged. All of After a long and painful con- years after his accident, Bader few years, Bader became a thorn craft by March 1942, but on 4 1956 he obtained a Ph.D. in His- this was achieved after he had valescence Bader was give a flew solo again. After a refresher in the side of the Germans. He April 1942 his Polikarpov I-16 tory and started working in the lost both of his legs. new pair of artificial legs. He course on modern types of air- made so many escape attempts was shot down near Staraya Soviet War Veterans Committee. Bader was born on 21 Feb- was determined that he was go- craft he was posted to No. 19 that the Germans threatened to Russa and was nearly captured Eventually he became a member ruary 1910. In 1928 he joined ing to fly again. Squadron based at RAF Dux- take his legs away. by Nazi forces. of the Supreme Soviet. the RAF as an officer cadet at He retook flight training, ford near Cambridge. He was finally dispatched Despite being badly injured, He died of a heart attack on 19 the Royal Air Force College in passed his check flights and then In May 1940 he became a to the “escape-proof” Colditz Alexey managed to return to the May 2001, just an hour ahead Cranwell. requested reactivation as a pilot. flight leader and later a flight Castle Oflag IV-C on 18 August Soviet-controlled territory. Dur- of his official 85th birthday cel- In September 1928 he took his His request was turned down commander of No. 222 Squad- 1942, where he remained until ing his 18-day-long journey his ebration. first flight with an instructor and and, against his will, he was re- ron RAF. He was promoted to 15 April 1945 when it was lib- injuries deteriorated so badly Colin Hodgkinson after just 11 hours and 15 min- tired on medical grounds. . erated by the First United States that both of his legs had to be Flight Lieutenant Colin Ger- 14 15 ald Shaw Hodgkinson was a his country”. He was again treat- to become a U.S. Navy Master Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot ed by McIndoe and he continued Diver, rising to the position in during World War II. He was to fly until his release from ser- 1970 despite having an ampu- given the nickname “The poor vice in 1946. tated left leg. man’s Bader”. Three years later Hodgkinson He was born on 19 Janu- He was born on 11 Febru- re-joined the RAF as a Royal ary 1931 in Sonora, Kentucky. ary 1920 in Wells, . In Auxiliary Air Force pilot with Brashear enlisted in the U.S. 1938, aged 18, he was accepted both No. 501 Squadron RAF Navy on 25 February 1948, into the Fleet Air Arm to under- and No. 604 Squadron RAF. shortly after the Navy had been go pilot training as a Midship- This time converting to jet-en- desegregated by U.S. President man. gined aircraft and flying the De Harry S. Truman. He carried out training aboard Havilland Vampire until the ear- He attended diving school in the aircraft carrier HMS Coura- ly 1950s. Bayonne, New Jersey where he geous in the De Havilland Tiger After the war he worked in faced hostility and racism. He Moth. He had completed some Public Relations and tried his graduated from the U.S. Navy 20 hours of flying, including hand a politics. In the 1955 Gen- Diving & Salvage School in Carl Brashear solo flights. eral Election he stood as the 1954, becoming the first -Af months of searching. For his On 12 May 1939 he was prac- Colin Hodgkinson Conservative Party candidate James MacLachlan rican-American to attend and ticing blind flying at RAF Gra- for South West Islington, ulti- graduate from the Diving & Sal- service in helping to retrieve vesend, with a hood over his low double-amputee Douglas mately losing to Labour. and joined No. 261 Squadron vage School and the first Afri- the bomb, Brashear was later head. At an altitude of 800 feet Bader and fly Spitfires given the In 1957 he published his auto- RAF. can-American U.S. Navy Diver. awarded the Navy and Marine his Tiger Moth struck another chance. biography, Best Foot Forward. MacLachlan was wounded in Brashear first did work as a Corps Medal – the highest Navy aircraft and plummeted to the In September 1942 he success- He died on 13 September 1996, action on 16 February 1941. His diver retrieving approximately award for non-combat heroism. ground. The crash killed his fully requested to transfer to the aged 76. arm was so severely damaged it 16,000 rounds of ammunition During the bomb recovery trainer, and seriously injured Royal Air Force as a Pilot Offi- was amputated, but he returned that fell off a barge which had operations on 23 March 1966, Hodgkinson. cer and took control of his first James MacLachlan to operations in November 1941 broken in half and sunk to the a line used for towing broke He was rushed to hospital, Spitfire by the end of the month. James Archibald Findlay Ma- with an artificial limb. bottom. On his first tour of shore loose, causing a pipe to strike where his right leg was ampu- After training he was posted to cLachlan DSO, DFC & Two On 18 July 1943 the P-51 Mus- duty in Quonset Point, Rhode Is- Brashear’s left leg below the tated above the knee and his No. 131 Squadron RAF. Bars was a Royal Air Force tang in which he was flying was land, his duties included the sal- knee, nearly shearing it off. It left leg below the knee. He was Later in the year he was pro- (RAF) fighter pilot and flying hit by German flak or suffered vaging of airplanes and recover- was later amputated. transferred to the Royal Naval moted to and ace of World War II. engine failure and crashed over ing multiple dead bodies. He remained at the Naval Re- Hospital in Chatham to recover. posted to No. 611 Squadron He was born in Chesire, Eng- France. The Germans reported Brashear was assigned to es- gional Medical Center in Ports- During this period he was in- RAF. land on 1 . In March him as a prisoner of war but he cort the presidential yacht the mouth from May 1966 until troduced to Archibald McIndoe, Hodgkinson was then post- 1937 at the age of 17 he joined died in a military hospital from Barbara Anne to Rhode Island. March 1967 recovering and re- who convinced him to join the ed to No. 501 Squadron RAF the RAF. After completing flight his injuries. MacLachlan was He met President Eisenhower habilitating from the amputa- “Guinea Pig Club” and have as Flight commander. In No- training he was commissioned awarded a second Bar to his DFC and received a small knife that tion. plastic surgery on his burned vember 1943, during a high- as an acting on 3 on 30 July 1943 in absentia. said, “To Carl M. Brashear. In April 1968, after a long face. altitude reconnaissance mission May 1937. From Dwight D. Eisenhower, struggle, Brashear was the first By Christmas 1940, just over over France, his oxygen supply In May 1940 he flew a Fairey From the skies we now turn 1957. Many, many thanks.” amputee diver to be (re)certified a year after his accident, he was failed, causing him to crash land Battle in the Bat- our attention to the seas. Under After making chief in 1959 he as a U.S. Navy diver. In 1970, he walking on artificial limbs to in a field. tle of France and was awarded the sea to be more precise. While stayed at Guam for three years became the first African-Amer- such a standard that he was al- He was dragged from his the Distinguished Flying Cross this next person did not par- doing mostly demolition dives. ican U.S. Navy Master Diver, lowed back into the air. He sub- burning Spitfire by two farm (DFC). ticipate in combat, his achieve- In January 1966 a B28 nucle- and served nine more years be- sequently joined the Royal Na- workers, losing an artificial leg He then transferred to fighter ments are noteworthy to say the ar bomb was lost off the coast yond that, achieving the rating val Volunteer Reserve and went in the process. He was caught by school and during the Battle of least. of Palomares, . Brashear of Master Chief Boatswain’s on numerous flights, including the occupying forces and placed Britain he served with No. 73 was serving aboard USS Hoist Mate in 1971. as a rear gunner on a bomber. into the Prisoner-of-war camp, Squadron RAF and No. 145 Carl Brashear when it was dispatched to find Carl Brashear at the Naval Hodgkinson was determined Stalag Luft III for the next 10 Squadron RAF. In late 1940 he Carl Maxie Brashear was a and recover the missing bomb Medical Center , to pilot aircraft again. He was months, before being repatriated transferred to in the Medi- sailor. He for the Air Force. The warhead Portsmouth, Virginia, on July sure he could emulate his fel- and deemed “no further use to terranean Theatre of Operations was the first African American was found after two and a half 25, 2006 16 17 had something else in mind and TS Tiberon - 100 years on I found myself airborne, flying over the container without any effort on my part. The lessons and still training were ingrained in us, no one got The sea cadet training ship Tiberon in Durban celebrates 100 years. By Lt Cdr Glenn left behind. “ von Zeil. The 2000’s resulted in the Ca- det training again evolving to suit the needs of the youth and he South African Sea In 1917 during World War 1 ence as follows. accredited training resulted. TS Cadet Training Ship, TS when most of the members of “My first memory of cadets Tiberon produced a Cadet of TTiberon, celebrated 100 the Royal Naval Volunteer Re- was attending my first camp as the year in 2007. years of providing nautical and serves (RNVR) were away on a very green new entry. I was a During the celebratory dinner maritime training to the youth active duty, the Cadets obtained bit young to join but my broth- Cdr Philip Miller, CEO of the in Durban with a dinner at the the use of the RNVR base in er was already a cadet and Cdr South African Sea Cadets, pre- Blue Marlin Hotel, Scottburgh. Durban. This is when the real Wallis (the OC at the time) was sented the Foddering Trophy for The week end celebrations Naval training was implement- expecting an inspection and CELEBRATIONS: Lt Cdr James Young, Officer Commanding Perseverance to Lt Cdr James TS Tiberon, and Cdr Penny Thompson, Area Officer Kwazulu were hosted by the Officer ed. wanted to get his numbers up. Young, Officer Commanding Natal, at the TS Tiberon centenary celebration dinner holding Commanding Lt Cdr James As a result the Cadet Detach- I got out the car and ran to put TS Tiberon, to commemorate the Foddering Trophy for Perseverance awarded to the Unit. Young, Officers, Instructors and ment became more popular and my things in the huge army tent 100 years of successful nautical PHOTO: TRACY CHILDS ship’s company and attended by discussions were held to incor- I would be sleeping in and ran and maritime youth training at the Cdr Philip Miller, CEO of porate the Unit into the Navy straight into one of the metal TS Tiberon. the South African Sea Cadets, League as was the case in the stays. This resulted in me fall- erential entry into the SA Navy. one stage TS Tiberon started The SA Navy has again sup- Capt Ian Loubser, Captain of United Kingdom. By 13 April ing down with a lovely red burn TS Tiberon also won the Na- the years with 3 cadets and by ported an annual year end camp the Sea Cadet Corps, Cdr Pen- 1918 Capt Towhey received an mark on my face, my bag and tional Cadet of the Year compe- persevering had 15 Cadets at- in Simon’s Town which is the ny Thompson, Kwazulu Natal appointment as temporary Cap- bedding flying in all directions. tition on 4 occasions, sending tested. highlight for Cadets to partici- Area Officer and Lt Paul Ja- tain in the defence force and “Within seconds the Petty cadets to the United Kingdom, Although the validity of the pate in real Naval life and see cobs, Officer Commanding TS the Navy League Naval Cadets Officer in charge of the girls, Walvis Bay and Cape Town. training was questioned it be- ships in action. Woltemade in Cape Town. were born in Durban. Sandra Orbin, was at my side During these years the SA came clear that the knowledge A special mention was made The evening included an ad- The Cadets continued to pa- along with a few helpers. My Navy fully supported the Ca- and skills were still relevant. of the Officer Commanding dress by Cdr Penny Thompson rade weekly at the RNVR base belongings were collected and I dets which included trained in- Seamanship, sailing, pulling, who have commanded TS Ti- who reminisced about the ori- and later at the South African was settled in and the whole in- structors, training courses and communications and engi- beron resulting in 100 years of gins of the Unit and how it had Naval Reserve base of SAS cident was managed and I was camps in Cape Town. These neering continued to be taught nautical and maritime training added value to so many young Inkonkoni. In 1972 the Offi- cared for. This epitomises the began with overnight train trips however the Cadets also learnt in Durban: lives over the past decade. cer Commanding, Lt Cdr John cadet spirit to me. These cadets to Cape Town via Johannes- leadership, teamwork, critical Capt M Towhey One hundred years ago Capt Wallis, acquired the use of the were teenagers who understood burg, an opportunity to meet thinking, organisation, respect Lt Cdr Foddering Towhey, an ex-Sea Scout in- Bayhead base. The only build- caring, helping others and lead- other Cadets and all the mis- and loyalty. Lt Cdr John Wallis structor, investigated the for- ing on the ground initially was ership. As I find myself in a chief that goes with teenagers Cdr Penny Thompson re- Cdr Gideon Van Zyl mation of a Naval Cadet De- an ablution block with all other teaching position now, dealing away from their parents on a flects. Cdr Dave Jones tachment in Durban. He was structures erected subsequent- with teenagers every day, these train. The courses were chal- “On one particular occasion Lt Cdr Eugene Van Wyk successful with his plans and in ly. The boat shed, previously are not characteristics that we lenging and rewarding with the we were tasked an obstacle Lt Peter Sterling 1916 a self-supporting indepen- the Sydney Road abattoir, was always see. I think the impor- experience of being instructed course by Lt Cdr Eugene Van Cdr Penny Thompson dent body called the Naval Ca- incorporated and much of the tance of the life skills that the by Permanent Force personnel Wyk. We had to perform a Lt Cdr James Young det Detachment of Durban was building work completed with cadet corps teaches cannot be invaluable. number of crawling, running Under their leadership, espe- formed. The initial activities donations of material and la- ignored.” The 1990’s brought the end and generally sweaty tasks cially during challenging times, of the unit were more physical bour. The Officers, Instructors, During the 1980’s the num- of National Service and many culminating in climbing over with support of Officers, In- training in nature with the ships Cadets and parents adding their bers of Cadets in Durban av- challenges as the SA Navy a shipping container. As I ran structors, SA Navy, Maritime company meeting at the local weight. eraged around 70. This was withdrew its support and Units up to the container I thought industry in Durban and parents YMCA once a week for exer- Cdr Penny Thompson de- fuelled by National Service as needed to rely on fundraising this was where my journey TS Tiberon has persevered to cises. scribed her first Cadet experi- Naval Cadets were given pref- and payment of cadet fees. At would end however my team make a positive difference in 18 19 the lives of Durban youth. Cdr Penny Thompson con- Quo vadis Military Despatches cluded her address by thanking “the Cadet Officers who over Editor Matt Tennyson talks about the future plans for Military Despatches and ex- the years have worked tire- plains the reasoning behind it. lessly on the Unit. I don’t think anyone knows how much dedi- ecently a friend asked War II left. The bulk of the Or- not afford to eat three meals a cation is needed to be an offi- me why I had started a der is now made up by those day. And I know that there are cer until you are in that posi- Rnew online magazine. that fought in the Border War. many like him. tion yourself. All units are run He thought that I was taking on My generation. I personally know a number by volunteers and the dedica- too much. Yet none of us are getting any of veterans that are battling. tion and commitment shown is “You already do a monthly younger. Every year there are Many of them need medicine amazing. I would like to com- online magazine and two news- less and less of us. And once that they cannot afford. Some mend all Officers past and pres- letters,” he said. “So why take we go our stories and history of them do not even get enough ent for the impact they have on a new project?” will go with us. That’s why it’s to eat. That is the reason why made on many Cadets lives.” There are three very good so important to document those I want to raise funds. Imagine TS Tiberon currently has CELEBRATIONS: Officer Commanding TS Tiberon, Lt Cdr reasons why I started Military stories. being in a position where we group of committed and en- James Young, Officers, Instructors, guests and ship’s company Despatches. The third reason I started Mil- could actually help. thusiastic Cadets - 80% of the celebrate 100 years of providing nautical and maritime training First of all, I am passionate itary Despatches is one that is I have joined an organisation Cadets are home schooled, 6% to the youth in Durban. about history, especially mili- very near to my heart. I want to called Patreon. They are an In- are very keen and active sail- PHOTO: TRACY CHILDS tary history. What could be bet- use the magazine to raise funds. ternet based organisation that ors, three took part in the 2016 ter than doing something that Military Despatches is free promotes people that are trying Mirror Dinghy Nationals, four The contact detail for both Email: you are passionate about? to anyone that wants to read it. to raise money. They promote a participated in the 2017 Halcat recruitment for cadets and vol- [email protected] Secondly, I believe that there People are free to pass it on to project and people can then be- sailing regionals, and the whole unteers, as well as sponsorships are many stories that just have anyone they want. And it will come patrons of a project. Ship’s Company is preparing and fundraising is as follows: With Acknowledgement to be told. While Military Des- remain free in the future. Patrons can donate anywhere for the October 2017 Mirror Lt Cdr Penny Thompson – patches covers military related It could become commercial- between $1.00 and $500 a sailing nationals. Lt (Mrs) Denise Gouws TS Tiberon Centenary speech, articles from anywhere and ly viable and I could sell adver- month to a project. Now I don’t May TS Tiberon and her Of- Office number: 10 June 2017 from any time period, there is tising in the magazine. But that expect anyone to donate $500 a ficers continue to serve the Dur- 039-976 0174 Lt (Mrs) Denise Gouws – a strong focus on South African is not something that I would month. But I’m sure that there ban community and provide Mobile number: Administrator TS Tiberon military history. like to do. Military Despatches are a lot of people out there nautical and maritime training 060 680 3449 I am a member of the Mem- will remain free to read and it that can afford $1.00 a month. for the youth. orable Order of Tin Hats, the will remain advertisement free. That’s R13, less than the price Moths. And I am a third-gener- Yet I would still like to use it to of a cup of coffee. ation Moth. raise funds. For what purpose So I’m hoping that people CONGRATULATIONS: Cdr The Order was started shortly you may well ask? will become patrons at some Philip Miller presents the after World War I so that those I went to a function some time stage and that we can start rais- South African Sea Cadets that fought in the Great War back. One of the people at the ing some funds. Foddering Trophy for Per- severance to Lt Cdr James could get together, share com- function was a veteran of World The same friend that thought Young to commemorate 100 radeship, provide mutual sup- War II. He was 91 years old. I was taking on too much told years of successful nautical port, and remember their fallen He was wearing an impres- me that the idea would never and maritime youth training at comrades. sive collection of medals that work. TS Tiberon, Durban.. Membership was later opened included the Military Medal. I “People don’t donate to any- PHOTO: TRACY CHILDS to those that had fought in World complimented him on his med- thing,” he said. War II. It was then extended to als. What he said to me made I don’t know, I have faith in those that fought in the South me want to cry. people. And if it doesn’t work I African Border War. “Thank you. But you can’t will still continue to do Military Those that fought in World eat medals,” he said. Despatches. And it will still re- War I are long gone. There are This man, this veteran, a man main free to everyone. very few survivors of World that had given so much could 20 21 Head to Head Uzi The Uzi is an Israeli open bolt, blowback-operated submachine Small arms of the Bush War gun designed by Major Uziel Gal he South African Border (FAPLA), and Cuban troops sent As the war continued South in the late 1940s. War took place in South in Angola. The Russians also sent Africa needed to modernize It was one of the first weapons to TWest Africa (now Namib- military advisors to Angola. much of their equipment. Due use a telescoping bolt design which ia), Angola and Zambia between The weapons on the Angolan to international sanctions against allows the magazine to be housed 1966 and 1990. side were all Soviet weapons. the country this was not freely in the pistol grip for a short weap- It was fought between the Towards the end of the conflict available. South Africa devel- on. This made it ideal for the crews South African Defence Force Russia was supplying some of oped their own arms industry of armoured vehicles. (SADF) and the People’s Libera- their latest and most sophisticat- and went on to produce some of It was manufactured under li- tion Army of Namibia (PLAN), ed weapons. the best weapon systems in the the armed wing of the South West On the South African side they world, such as the G5 and G6 cense in South Africa. African People’s Organisation were armed with weapons that cannons and the Ratel Infantry Weight: 3.5kg Rate of fire: 600 rounds/min (SWAPO), the People’s Armed came from countries such as Bel- Fighting Vehicle. Forces of Liberation of Angola gium, France and Israel. Length: 640mm, stock extended Effective range: 200m Barrel length: 260cm Sights : Iron sights South African Defence Force Caliber: 9mm Parabellum Feed system: 25-round box magazine Star Model BM The Star Model BM is a single-ac- tion semi-automatic pistol that fires the 9mm Parabellum pistol cartridge The pistol is fed by an 8-round de- R1 Assault Rifle tachable box magazine.. Until it was replaced by the It was issued mainly to officers and R4, the R1 was the standard as- senior non-commissioned officers in sault rifle of the SADF. the SADF. Certain units, such as the It was based on the Belgian Military Police, were also issued with FN FAL rifle and was produced the weapon. under licence in South Africa by It was produced by Star Bonifacio Lyttleton Engineering Works. Echeverria,, SA in Spain. The FN FAL is one of the most widely used rifles in history, having been used by more than 90 countries. A folding-butt version of the R1 was used by paratroopers.

Weight: 708 grams Length: 18cm Weight: 4.3 kg Rate of fire: 700 rounds/min Barrel length: 10cm Length: 1,090 mm Effective range: 200 - 600 m Caliber: 9mm Parabellum Barrel length: 533 cm Sights : Aperture rear sight, post Feed system: 8-round box magazine Caliber: 7.62 NATO (7.62 x 51mm) front sight, sight radius Sights : Fixed sights Feed system: 20-round box magazine

22 23 R4 Assault Rifle FN MAG The R4 assault rifle replaced The FN Mag is a Belgian the R1 as the standard service ri- GPMG (General Purpose Ma- fle of the SADF in 1980. chine Gun). It is based on the Israeli Galil While it uses the same calibre ARM with several modifications. ammunition as the Bren, it had The stock and magazine are made the advantage of being a belt- of high-strength polymer and the fed weapon. stock was lengthened. It was produced by Lyttleton Engineering Works (now Denel Land Systems).

Weight: 4.3 kg Rate of fire: 750 rounds/min Weight: 11.79 kg Rate of fire: 650 - 1,000 rounds/min Length: 1,005 mm Effective range: 300 - 500 m Length: 1,263 mm Effective range: 800 m Barrel length: 460 cm Sights : Flip rear aperture and Barrel length: 630 cm Sights : Folding leaf sight with Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm NATO hooded forward post Caliber: 7.62 x 51 mm NATO aperture and notch, front Feed system: 35-round box magazine Feed system: Disintergrating linked belt blade

FAPLA, PLAN & Cuba Bren LMG The Bren gun was a light ma- chine gun developed in Britain Tokarev TT-33 in the 1930s. The Tokarev was the standard ser- It was used during World War vice pistol for the Soviet military un- II, the Korean War and in the til it was replaced by the Makarov in Falklands War in 1982. 1952. In the SADF each infantry sec- It was, however, still supplied to tion would normally include a countries that were supported by the Bren gun. Soviet Union. It was produced by Lyttleton Engineering Works (now Denel Land Systems).

Weight: 10.35 kg Rate of fire: 500 rounds/min Weight: 854 grams Rate of fire: 650 - 1,000 rounds/min Length: 1,156 mm Effective range: 500 m Length: 194 mm Effective range: 50 m Barrel length: 635 cm Sights : Iron sights Barrel length: 116 cm Sights : Front blade, rear notch Caliber: 7.62 x 51 mm NATO Caliber: 7.62 x 25 mm Feed system: 20-round box magazine Feed system: 8-round box magzine

24 25 AK-47 SKS The Avtomat Kalashnikova The SKS or Samozaryadny or AK-47 is a Russian assault Karabin sistemy Simonova is rifle. a Russian semi-automatic car- It is one of the most common bine. and popular rifles in the world It was developed in 1945 and and has seen action whereever replaced by the AK-47. there has been a revolution or guerilla war. The weapon is simple to use and easy to maintain, making it perfect for guerilla armies. Weight: 3.85 kg Rate of fire: 30 - 40 rounds/min Weight: 3.47 kg Rate of fire: 600 rounds/min Length: 1,020 mm Effective range: 400 m Length: 880 mm Effective range: 350 m Barrel length: 520 cm Sights : Hooded post front sight, tangent notch rear sight Barrel length: 415 cm Sights : Adjustable iron sights Caliber: 7.62 x 39 mm Caliber: 7.62 x 39 mm Feed system: 10-round box magazine Feed system: 30-round box magazine

AKM RPD The AKM or Avtomat Ka- The RPD or Ruchnoy Pule- lashnikova modernizirovanniy myot Degtyaryova is a light is a modernised version of the that was created AK-47. as a replacement for the DP ma- The easiest way to spot the chine gun. difference is that the AKM has The RPD has a very distinc- a muzzle brake. tive sound.

Weight: 7.4 kg Rate of fire: 650 - 750 rounds/min Length: 1,037 mm Effective range: 1,000 m Weight: 3.1 kg Rate of fire: 600 rounds/min Barrel length: 520 cm Sights : Open-type sights with rear Length: 880 mm Effective range: 350 m sliding notch and semi- Caliber: 7.62 x 39 mm Barrel length: 415 cm Sights : Rear sight notch on sliding hooded front post, tangent, front post Feed system: segmented belt stored in a Caliber: 7.62 x 39 mm drum container Feed system: 30-round box magazine

26 27 RPK The RPK or Ruchnoy Pule- AK-47 Assault Rifle myot Kalashnikova is a Rus- sian light machine gun. It was created to replace the RPD and is still used by former Soviet Front Sight Recoil spring Bolt carrier Rear Sight Union and African and Asian nations.

Weight: 4.8 kg Rate of fire: 600 rounds/min Cleaning rod Length: 1,040 mm Effective range: 1,000 m Barrel Magazine Barrel length: 590 cm Sights : Iron sights: semi- Cleaning kit Trigger shrouded front post and Caliber: 7.62 x 39 mm rear sliding tangent with Magazine release Feed system: 20-, 30-, 40-round curved an adjustable notch magazine, 75-round drum magazine

FN FAL Assault Rifle RPG-7 Front Sight Gas piston Bolt carrier The RPG-7 or Ruchnoy Pro- Gas plug Magazine release Rear Sight tivotankoviy Granatomyot is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. It is simple to use and it is the most widely used anti-armour weapon in the world. It was a major threat to SADF vehicles such as the Ratel, Buffel and Casspir.

Barrel Magazine Weight: 7 kg Max firing range: 500 m, self detonates at 920 m Trigger Return spring Length: 950 mm Sights : PGO-7 (2.7x), UP-7V Hammer Telescopic sight and Barrel length: 590 cm 1PN51/1PN58 night vision Caliber: 40 mm sights Red dot reflex sight Feed system: Single rocket Effective range: 200 m

28 29 tion as an outstanding military Famous Figures in Military History instructor, in February 1937 Hitler assigned him as the War Ministry liaison officer to the Erwin Rommel Hitler Youth, in charge of mili- One of the best generals of World War II, a man that was respected by both friend and foe, tary training. Here he clashed the Desert Fox was a man to be reckoned with. with Baldur von Schirach, the Hitler Youth leader, over the training that the boys should re- egarded as one of the the capture of Longarone on Rommel. For this and earlier ceive. most able tank com- 9 November 1917, Rommel actions, he received the order Consequently, Rommel was Rmanders of the war, re- decided to attack with a much of Pour le Mérite, also known quietly removed from the proj- spected by friend and foe alike, smaller force. Convinced that as the Blue Max. ect in 1938. He was promoted Erwin Rommel earned the they were surrounded by an In January 1918, Rommel to Oberst (colonel) on 1 August nickname der Wüstenfuchs or entire German division, the was promoted to Hauptmann 1937, and in 1938 Rommel, the Desert Fox. 1st Italian Infantry Division – (captain) and assigned to a was appointed commandant of Johannes Erwin Eugen Rom- 10,000 men – surrendered to staff position with XLIV Army RISING STAR: Rommel (right) had already made a name for the Theresian Military Acad- mel was born on 15 November himself by the end of World War I. emy War Academy at Wiener 1891 in Heidenheim, Kingdom Neustadt. Corps, where he served for the these confrontations. He decid- of Württemberg, German Em- In October 1938 Hitler spe- remainder of the war. ed against storming the city of pire. cially requested that Rommel Yet Rommel paid a heavy Lindau, which had been taken At the age of 18 Rommel de- be seconded to command the price during the war. In Septem- by revolutionary communists. cided to join the army. He was Führerbegleitbrigade (his es- ber 1914, for example, Rommel Instead, Rommel negotiated rejected by both the artillery cort battalion). This unit ac- charged three French soldiers with the city council and man- and engineers. In 1910 he was companied him whenever he with a bayonet after running aged to return it to the legiti- accepted into the infantry and traveled outside of Germany. joined the local 124th Würt- out of ammunition, only to be mate government through dip- temberg Infantry Regiment as shot in the thigh so badly that a lomatic means. World War II hole opened up as big as his fist. He was assigned as an in- a Fähnrich (ensign), studying Rommel was promoted to Three years later in Romania, structor at the Dresden Infantry at the Officer Cadet School in Generalmajor on 23 August he lost a considerable amount of School from 1929 to 1933, and Danzig. 1939 and assigned as com- blood from a bullet to the arm, was promoted to major in April He graduated in November mander of the Führerbegleit- and he also continuously suf- 1932. 1911 and was commissioned brigade battalion, tasked with fered from stomach ailments, While at Dresden, he wrote as a lieutenant in January 1912 guarding Hitler and his field fevers and exhaustion. a manual on infantry training, and was assigned to the 124th headquarters during the inva- published in 1934. Rommel was Infantry in Weingarten. sion of Poland, which began on promoted to Oberstleutnant Between the wars 1 September. Rommel remained with the (lieutenant colonel) in October World War I Following the Poland cam- 124th Regiment until 1 October 1933, and given his next com- Rommel would go on to dis- paign, Rommel was keen to take 1920, when he was named com- mand, the 3rd Jäger Battalion, tinguish himself during World command of one of Germany’s pany commander of the 13th 17th Infantry Regiment, sta- War I. Rommel was awarded the panzer divisions, of which there Infantry Regiment in Stuttgart, tioned at Goslar. Iron Cross, Second Class,and were only ten. Despite being a post he held with the rank of Here he first met Hitler, who was promoted to turned down by the army’s per- captain for the next nine years. inspected his troops on 30 Sep- (first lieutenant) and trans- sonnel office, Rommel was giv- His regiment was involved tember 1934. In September ferred to the newly created en command of a panzer divi- in quelling riots and civil dis- 1935 Rommel was moved to Royal Wurttemberg Mountain sion. Some say on the personal turbances that were occur- the War Academy at Potsdam Battalion of the Alpenkorps in intervention of Hitler. ring throughout Germany at as an instructor, a post he held September 1915, as a company His outstanding leadership this time. Wherever possible, for the next three years. commander. in France seemed to justify he avoided the use of force in Hearing of Rommel’s reputa- Acting as advance guard in his appointment as a general 30 31 and commander of a tank di- the countryside, including in vision. During the invasion of fields suitable for glider aircraft Belgium and France, Rommel landings. had proved himself to be a dar- On 17 July 1944, Rommel ing and resourceful leader. For was returning from visiting the his actions he was awarded the headquarters of the I SS Panzer Knight’s Cross. Corps. His car was attacked by a Spitfire and a 20 mm round shattered the driver’s left arm, On 6 February 1941, Rom- causing the vehicle to come off mel was appointed commander the road and crash into some of the newly created Deutsches trees. Rommel was thrown from Afrika Korps (DAK), consist- the car, suffering injuries to the ing of the 5th Light Division left side of his face from glass (later redesignated 21st Panzer shards and three fractures to his Division) and of the 15th Pan- NAZI FARCE: Rommel was given a State Funeral and mourn- skull. He was hospitalised with ed as a hero. Even though Hitler had ordered his death. zer Division. major head injuries. Rommel (left) shares a drink of water with one of his He was promoted to the rank CHEERS: On 20 July an attempt was officers somewhere in the Western Desert. of Generalleutnant three days marschall for this victory. lini. Rommel was to be posted made on Hitler’s life by senior later and flew to Tripoli on 12 Allied strategists feared that to as commander of the officers. Rommel February. The DAK had been ing defensive works. Threatened with being cut off, if Rommel captured , newly formed Army Group B. was implicated in the plot. sent to in Operation Son- Rommel continued his at- the British began a retreat east- the Middle East and possibly On 16 August 1943 Rom- Hitler knew that having Rom- nenblume, to support Italian tack against these positions to wards towards Egypt in what the Caucasus would be next to mel’s headquarters moved to mel branded and executed as a troops that had been severely prevent the British from build- became known as the “Gazala fall. However, Hitler viewed Lake Garda in northern Italy traitor would severely damage defeated by British Common- ing up their fortifications. After Gallop”. the and formally assumed com- morale on the home front. He wealth forces in Operation a day of fierce fighting on 31 With this task completed, primarily as a way to assist his mand of the army group, which decided to offer Rommel the Compass. March, the Germans captured Rommel struck for Tobruk Italian allies, not as an objective consisted of 44th Infantry Divi- chance to take his own life. His efforts in the Western Mersa El Brega. while the enemy was still con- in and of itself. He would not sion, 26th Panzer Division and If he took his own life Rom- Desert Campaign earned Rom- Splitting his force into three fused and disorganised. consider sending Rommel the SS Division Leibstandarte SS mel would be given a full mili- mel the nickname the “Desert groups, Rommel resumed the Tobruk’s defenders were at reinforcements and supplies he Adolf Hitler. tary funeral and his family Fox” from British journalists. advance on 3 April. Benghazi this point the 2nd South Afri- needed to take and hold Egypt, On 21 November Hitler gave would receive a full pension. Rommel and his troops were fell that night as the British can Infantry Division, 4th An- as this would have required di- Kesselring overall command If not he would be tried and technically subordinate to Ital- pulled out of the city. tiaircraft Brigade, 11th Indian verting men and supplies from of the Italian theater, moving executed and his family would ian commander-in-chief Gener- The port city of Tobruk held Infantry, 32nd Army Tank, and his primary focus: the Eastern Rommel and Army Group B to have suffered. Rommel took a al Italo Gariboldi. Disagreeing out. Even though it was sur- 201st Guards Brigades, all un- Front. Normandy in France with re- cyanide capsule. with the Oberkommando der rounded on land, they still had der command of General Hen- From then on the tide turned sponsibility for defending the The German public were told (OKW)’s orders access to supplies coming in by drik Klopper. The assault on against Rommel in North Af- French coast against the long that Rommel had died as a re- to assume a defensive posture boat. Tobruk began at dawn on 20 rica. His defeat at the Second anticipated Allied invasion. sult of the injuries he suffered along the front line at Sirte, Rommel launched two at- June, and Klopper surrendered Battle of El Alamein was fol- after the air attack. Rommel resorted to subterfuge tacks on Tobruk. One on 14 at dawn the following day. lowed by a series of defeats. The death of Rommel Erwin Rommel died on 14 and insubordination to take the April and another on 30 April, With Tobruk, Rommel Eventually Rommel had to re- Upon arriving in Northern October 1944 at the age of 52. war to the British. but both failed. achieved the capture of 32,000 treat all the way to Tunisia. France Rommel was dismayed Rommel’s grave is located in In March 1941 Rommel went A series of attacks and coun- defenders, the port, and huge On 23 July 1943 Rommel was by the lack of completed works. Herrlingen, a short distance on the offensive against the Brit- ter-attacks followed. First one quantities of supplies. Only moved to as command- He set out to improve the for- west of Ulm. For decades after ish. The British Western Desert side then the other was forced at the fall of Singapore, ear- er of Army Group E to counter tifications along the Atlantic the war on the anniversary of Force had been weakened by to retreat. lier that year, had more British a possible British invasion of Wall with great energy and en- his death, veterans of the Africa the transfer in mid-February of On 26 May 1942, Rommel Commonwealth troops been the Greek coast. He arrived in gineering skill. He had millions campaign, including former op- three divisions to help defend launched an attack on the Allied captured at one time. Greece on 25 July but was re- of mines laid and thousands of ponents, would gather at Rom- Greece. They fell back to Mersa fortifications at Gazala and the On 22 June, Hitler promot- called to Berlin the same date tank traps and obstacles set up mel’s tomb in Herrlingen to pay El Brega and started construct- Battle of Gazala began. ed Rommel to Generalfeld- due to the overthrow of Musso- on the beaches and throughout their respects. 32 33 280 hp Forged in Battle • Max speed: 169 km/h • Range: 395 km • Rate of climb: 4.37 m/s Military Helicopters Bell UH-1 Iroquois The UH-1, nicknamed the Each month “Forged in Battle” looks at weapons, equipment or units that have been Huey, first saw service in com- tried and tested on the battlefield. This month we look at five helicopters that were bat operations during the Viet- game changers. nam War, with around 7,000 helicopters deployed. As in Korea, it was ideal for carrying out medevac duties. ention the words he- die because they could not be The shorter flying time meant Besides the crew it could carry licopter and combat evacuated to proper medical that a wounded soldier could be four stretchers and a medical and most people will treatment in time. evacuated and flown to a treat- M assistant. It could also be used automatically think of the Viet- What better method of get- ment facility in less than an in a more offensive role. HUEY: A Bell UH-1 hovers just above the ground as troops nam War and the helicopter that ting a wounded person from the hour. It could carry ammunition scramble out. became synonomous with it, battle field to a medical facility The Bell 47 was responsi- and supplies into areas where the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, better than a helicopter. ble for saving hundreds, if not fixed wing aircraft could not role in combat operations. known as the Huey. The Bell 47 was ideal for the thousands of lives during the Alouette III land. More importantly it could Very late in the Rhodesian Yet the use of helicopters task of doing medevacs (medi- Korean War. The Aérospatiale Alouette III carry seven passengers. Bush War the Rhodesian Air in war goes back to nearly 20 cal evacuations). Two external was developed by Sud Aviation. This meant that they could de- Force was able to obtain and years before that. litters were fitted to the helicop- Characteristics and manufactured by Aérospa- liver troops to an area for com- use eleven former Israeli Agus- Many people are unaware ter, meaning that it could trans- • Crew: 1 or 2 tiale of France. bat missions and then evacuate ta-Bell 205As. They formed that the helicopter was first used port two wounded people. • Capacity: 1 passenger or 2 was the first country them from the area once the ob- No. 8 Sqn Rhodesian Air Force during World War II. Germany, The Americans also estab- litters. to use the Alouette III in com- jective was complete. and took part as troop trans- Great Britain, the US, Russia, lished MASH Units. This stood • Length: 9.63 m bat. In 1963, during the Over- The advantage was that troops ports in the counter-insurgency Canada and Japan all had auto- for Mobile Army Surgical Hos- • Height: 2.83 m seas Wars in Angola, Mozam- could arrive in the area fresh, fight. One was lost in combat giros or helicopters. pital. They were set up not far • Empty weight: 858 kg bique and Portuguese Guinea, without having to first cover in September 1979, when hit As early as 1941 Germany behind the font lines and could • Load: 482 kg Portugal began using Alouette long distances on foot. Special in Mozambique by a RPG. At had already flown the Flettner perform emergency operations • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming IIIs in combat, mainly in air as- air mobile and air cavalry units least another three were lost. FL 282 Kolibri , the most ad- and provide high care medical TVO-435-F1A flat, six-cyl- sault and medevac operations, were established. The survivors were put up for vanced helicopter model of this treatment. inder, reciprocating engine, where it proved its qualities. While nearly every Huey was sale in 1990. period and used it in combat for Besides the basic transport armed with a door gun, some artillery spotting in Russia and version (code named canibal, tasked with ground attack or Characteristics UH-1D for convoy protection in the plural canibais), Portugal used armed escort were outfitted • Crew: 1–4 Baltic and . a special version of the Alouette with rocket launchers, grenade • Capacity: 1,760 kg includ- Helicopter would go on to III with a MG 151 20 mm auto- launchers, and machine guns. ing 14 troops, or six stretch- play a vital role in warfare dur- cannon mounted in the rear in Later versions of the Huey ers, or equivalent cargo ing the 20th and 21st century. order to fire from the left side were upgraded to carry more • Length: 17.40 m We look at five helicopters door; it was designated heli- stretchers or more troops. • Width: 2.62 m that were game changers. canhão (heli-cannon) and code During the war 7,013 UH-1s • Height: 4.39 m named lobo mau (big bad wolf). • Empty weight: 2,365 kg Bell 47 served in Vietnam and of these In the Overseas Wars, the 3,305 were destroyed. In total • Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming It was during the Korean War Portuguese usually launched 1,074 Huey pilots were killed, T53-L-11 turboshaft, 1,100 that the helicopter really came air assaults with groups of six along with 1,103 other crew shp (820 kW) into its own. or seven Alouette III: five or six members. Although losses were • Max speed: 217 km/h During wars prior to this canibais - each usually carrying high, the helicopter had proved • Range: 507 km many wounded troops would MEDEVAC: A Bell 47 with two litters prepares to land at a five paratropers or commandos MASH Unit in Korea. that it could play an important • Rate of climb: 8.92 m/s - and a lobo mau heli-cannon. 34 35 The Portuguese practice was among its capabilities, either for the troops to jump from the the pilot or gunner can slave the canibais when the helicopters helicopter’s 30 mm automatic were hovering two-three me- M230 Chain Gun to their hel- ters above the ground - famous met, making the gun track head images of these disembarking movements to point where they troops became an iconic im- look. age of the war. The landing of During Operation Desert the troops was covered by the Storm on 17 January 1991, eight lobo mau. While the troops per- AH-64As guided by four MH- formed the ground assault, the 53 Pave Low IIIs destroyed part canibais moved away from the TANK KILLER: The AH-64 Apache is armed to the teeth and is of Iraq’s radar network in the combat zone, while the lobo devastating to ground targets. operation’s first attack, allow- mau stayed to provide fire sup- ing aircraft to evade detection. BIG BOY: A Russian Mil Mi-8 operating in Afghanistan during port, destroying enemy resis- and is now produced by Russia. • Length: 18.17 m The Apaches each carried an the Soviet-Afghan War. tance and concentration points It is called Hip by NATO. • Height: 5.65 m asymmetric load of Hydra 70 with the fire from its 20 mm It was officially withdrawn An operational assault or re- In addition to its most com- • Empty weight: 7,260 kg flechette rockets, Hellfires, and autocannon. Once the ground from SAAF service at AFB sponse usually composed of a mon role as a transport heli- • Powerplant: 2 × Klimov one auxiliary fuel tank. combat had finished, the cani- Swartkop near Pretoria in June, first wave of 32 soldiers carried copter, the Mi-8 is also used TV3-117Mt turboshafts, During the 100-hour ground bais returned; firstly to collect 2006. to the scene by three helicop- as an airborne command post, 1,454 kW (1,950 shp) each war a total of 277 AH-64s took the wounded, then the rest of The Fireforce concept was ters (G-Cars) and one Dakota armed gunship, and reconnais- • Max speed: 260 km/h part, destroying 278 tanks, nu- the troops. developed by the Rhodesian (Paradak), with a command/ sance platform. It is among the • Range: 610 km merous armored personnel car- The Alouette III was a work- Security Forces during the Rho- gunship helicopter (K-Car) and world’s most-produced helicop- riers and other Iraqi vehicles. horse of the South African Air desian Bush War. a light attack aircraft in support ters, used by over 50 countries. Boeing AH-64 Apache One AH-64 was lost in the Force (SAAF). It served the Fireforce reacted to enemy (Lynx). One of the advantages It is the third most common op- The Apache makes no pre- war, to a rocket-propelled gre- SAAF for over 44 years and ambushes, farm attacks, or ob- of the Fireforce was its flexibil- erational military aircraft in the tenses. It does not carry pas- nade (RPG) hit at close range, flew more than 346,000 hours. servation post (OP) sightings, ity, as all that was needed was world. sengers, it does not evacuate the Apache crashed but the It was particularly used in South and could also be called in by a reasonable airstrip. The heli- Large numbers of Mi-8 fami- wounded, and it does not trans- crew survived. West Africa (now Namibia) trackers or patrols who had copters used were Alouette IIIs. ly helicopters were used during port cargo. It is a 100% attack during the Border War. made contact with the enemy The K in K-Car stood for kill. It the Soviet–Afghan War during helicopter. Characteristics AH-64A/D While some Alouette IIIs and then called for reinforce- was armed with two FN MAG the 1980s. Its rugged construc- It features a nose-mounted • Crew: 3 2 (pilot, and co-pi- were used as gunships, the pri- ments. Fireforce was first -de light machine guns. tion allowing easier in-theater sensor suite for target acquisi- lot/gunner) mary role of the Alouette was to ployed in January 1974, and operations and maintenance. tion and night vision systems. It • Length: 17.73 m casevac (casualty evacuation) saw its first action a month later Characteristics A large number of Mi-8 were is armed with a 30 mm M230 • Height: 3.87 m wounded troops. on 24 February 1974. • Crew: 2 lost with several shot down by chain gun carried between the • Empty weight: 5,165 kg • Capacity: 5 passengers enemy fire, with the Mi-8 and main landing gear, under the • Powerplant: 2 × General • Length: 10.03 m its derivatives being the main aircraft’s forward fuselage. Electric T700-GE-701 tur- • Height: 3.00 m aircraft model lost by the Soviet It has four hardpoints mount- boshafts, 1,690 shp (1,260 • Empty weight: 1,143 kg Union in Afghanistan. ed on stub-wing pylons, typi- kW) [upgraded to T700-GE- • Powerplant: 1 × Turbomeca cally carrying a mixture of 701C (for AH-64A/D from Artouste IIIB turboshaft, Characteristics AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and 1990), 1,890 shp (1,409 649 kW (870 shp) derated to • Crew: 3 (pilot, copilot, flight Hydra 70 rocket pods. kW)] each 425 kW (570 hp) engineer) The AH-64 has a large amount • Max speed: 293 km/h • Max speed: 210 km/h • Capacity: 26 passengers or of systems redundancy to im- • Range: 476 km • Range: 540 km 12 stretchers and seat for one prove combat survivability. • Rate of climb: 2.7 m/s • Rate of climb: 4.3 m/s medical attendant or 4,000 One of the revolutionary kg of disposable stores on features of the Apache was its Mil Mi-8 six hardpoints, including 57 helmet mounted display, the STRIKE FROM THE AIR: Members of a Rhodesian fireforce The Mil Mi-8 was originally mm S-5 rockets, bombs, or Integrated Helmet and Display prepare to board an Aloutte III. designed by the Soviet Union, 9M17 Phalanga ATGMs Sighting System (IHADSS) 36 37 key river crossing which meant Battlefield that the Irish were completely cut off from Elizabethville. Expecting to take the men off guard, the first attackers moved The Siege of Jadotville in rapidly but were spotted by A small company of Irish soldiers faced overwhelming odds against battle-hardened an alert sentry. A warning shot by Sgt. Billy Ready alerted troops deep in the heart of Africa. the company to the threat. The reland has never owned nor interest in the Katanga Prov- command of Commandant Pat Irish maned their positions and tried to conquer a sovereign ince. Much of the world’s sup- Quinlan, were sent to the min- began to return fire. It was the nation. As a neutral country ply of copper, cobalt and ura- ing town of Jadotville, approxi- start of a battle that would last I six days and five nights. has chosen never to be nium was to be found there. In mately 100 kilometers up coun- the aggressor. fact the uranium for the atomic try from the main UN base in The Katangese attacked in Yet in September 1961 a bomb dropped on Hiroshima Elizabethville. DIGGING IN: The Irish troops dig in and prepare fields of fire at Jadot- waves of 600 or so, preceded by company of 155 soldiers from had come from a mine in Jadot- They had been sent to the ville. bombardment from 81mm mor- A Company 35th Infantry Bat- ville. mining town, ostensibly to as- tars and a French 75mm field talion of the found The Anglo-Belgian Union sist in the protection of its citi- Baluba) warriors, and many military tactics and history. He gun. The Irish soldiers success- themselves under attack from Minière du Haut Katanga con- zens. But, when the Irish troops Belgian, French and Rhodesian had read everything he could fully defended against wave af- an enemy force of between trolled the mines in Katanga, so arrived at Jadotville, they were . get his hands on and he was ex- ter wave of attackers from their 3,000 and 4,000. The battle it was in their interest to sup- not welcomed by the local peo- They were well armed. Be- pecting that at some stage his positions. became known as the Siege of port Tshombe. The last thing ple, who were pro-Katangese sides their personal weapons company would be attacked. The fire that the Irish returned Jadotville. they wanted was for their mines and anti-UN. they had both 7,62mm and He had noted the deep lev- was accurate and effective. The story begins 1960 when to be nationalised by the newly- Yet it had been the Belgium .50 calibre Browning machine els of hostility to his men in officers were - re the Belgians granted indepen- formed Congo government. foreign minister that had called guns mounted on Land Rov- Jadotville and began to organ- portedly observed shooting na- dence to the Belgian Congo. In Tshombe demanded UN rec- the UN secretary general, re- ers, 81mm mortars, a 75mm ise a robust defensive perimeter tive gendarmes to stem the rout May 1960 elections were held ognition for independent Ka- porting that Belgian settlers and field gun and a Fouga Magister around their base. The 42 year- caused in Katangese lines. and a month later the Congo be- tanga, and he announced that the local population were un- trainer jet, fitted with under- old officer ordered his men to Quinlan ordered his signal- came an independent republic. any intervention by UN troops protected, and feared for their wing bombs and machine guns. dig 1.5 metre-deep trenches, ler to start a radio log. Every Joseph Kasa-Vubu became would be met with force. safety. It is not clear why the The field commanders were stockpile water and carry their message from them to the UN the first president of the Congo requested Katangese wanted to isolate the Michel de Clary and Henri guns at all times. Headquarters was to be logged and Patrice Lumumba was the intervention from UN forces Irish UN troops, although some Lasimone, both were French Quinlan’s instincts proved and vice versa. prime minister. Mobutu Sese and UN Secretary General Dag commentators have suggested with plenty of combat experi- spot on. While most of his men Quinlan told headquarters Seko was the army chief of Hammarskjöld sent a UN force that the goal may have been to ence. were at mass on September 13, that he was low on both ammu- staff. under the direction of Irish take the Irish as prisoners for The overall commander of the Katangans attacked. nition and water. He also said In the resulting strife and representative Conor Cruise leverage in negotiations with the Gendarmerie Katangaise The attack was more than that they could do with some chaos following independence, O’Brien. the UN. was Roger Faulques. He was a likely launched because another whiskey. Moïse Tshombe declared the President Joseph Kasa-Vubu The Irish troops had a prob- highly decorated French army UN force had seized Katangan The Irish beat off wave after State of Katanga’s secession and were lem. Not only had none of them Battalion Chief, a graduate of positions in Elisabethville. The wave of attacks. The Irish Sup- from the rest of the Congo. The becoming worried about Patrice ever seen combat, they had the École spéciale militaire de operation, named Operation port Platoon knocked out most Christian, anti-communist pro- Lumumba popularity among never even fired a shot in anger. Saint-Cyr, and a paratrooper Morthor, was ordered by Conor of the Katangese mortar and Western Tshombe declared, the troops. They had him arrest- They were also lightly armed officer of the French Foreign Cruise O’Brien, probably with artillery positions with accurate “We are seceding from chaos.” ed and sent to Katanga where he with only light personal weap- Legion. He was given leave by the nod from Dag Hammar- counter-battery fire from 60mm Favouring continued ties with was executed by a firing squad ons, a small number of water- French army minister Pierre skjöld. mortars. Belgium, he asked the Belgian led by a Belgian mercenary. cooled Vickers machine guns Messmer, to provide support to Inexplicably the operation The Katangese asked Quinlan government to send military of- A Company 35th Infantry and 60mm mortars. the Katanga rebellion. had been kept secret from Quin- for a cease-fire to tend to their ficers to recruit and train a Ka- Battalion of the Irish Army was Facing them was an enemy Yet while Quinlan may not lan by the UN Command. An- wounded. During this time they tangese army. part of the UN Peacekeeping that numbered between 3,000 have had any combat experi- other major problem was that offered Quinlan an opportunity Naturally Belgium and many Force sent to the Congo. The and 4,000. They were made ence he was a keen student of the Katangans had also taken a to surrender. An offer which he western countries had a strong 155 Irish UN troops, under the up from Luba (also known as declined. 38 39 In the meantime 500 Irish and Swedish UN troops based in Kamma, as well as Indian Army Gurkhas, made several attempts to relieve the men at Jadotville. The Katangese forces had dug in along the Lufira River, giving them control of the Lu- fira Bridge. They had heavy weapons and air support. The UN troops came under heavy and sustained ground and air fire, killing several Indian UN troops and wounding a number of Irish troops. They were un- CALM BEFORE THE STORM: Commandant Pat Quinlan, far left, able to get across the river. poses with soldiers of A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, in Elisabeth- ville, before the siege. On the sixth day, with his po- sition untenable, without any troops. tion restored nine years after his clear orders or promise of as- After weeks of fighting their death. sistance, having run out of am- six month tour of duty came to The veterans of A Company munition and food and low on an end and they were rotated out reportedly regarded him as an water, Quinlan accepted the of the battle zone and returned exceptional officer who had second offer to surrender to the to Ireland that December. saved the lives of his men by Katangese. On their return to Ireland ordering them to dig in, and Bush War Books has probably one of the finest At the end of the battle the Quinlan recommended a num- who successfully led his com- Irish had suffered five wound- ber of his men for the Military pany against an overwhelming collections of military titles available. Especially ed, but not a single one of them Medal for Gallantry (MMG), enemy force. He was forced on the South African Border War. died. They did not lose a man. Ireland’s highest award for mil- into an impossible situation by The Katangese forces, on the itary valour, for their actions the apparent failings of the UN other hand, were not so fortu- during the battle. leadership. Against the odds, he nate. They suffered 300 dead, But there was to be no hero’s had saved the lives of each of Click here to visit their website. including 30 mercenaries. welcome. The surrender of A his men in a battle they had not They also had more than 1,000 Company was seen by some expected nor planned for. wounded. as a national embarrassment In 2004 Irish Minister for De- The Irish were taken prisoner which overshadowed the men’s fence Willie O’Dea agreed to of war and held as hostages for courage and competence. Some hold a full review of the battle. A about a month. They were used even thought of them as cow- inquiry cleared in an effort to extort terms of ards. The term “Jadotville Quinlan and “A” Company of ceasefire that would have been Jack” was sometimes applied allegations of soldierly miscon- embarrassing to the UN. as a term of derision about the duct. A commemorative stone The were eventually ex- Irish Defence Forces. recognising the soldiers of “A” changed for prisoners held by The veterans of Jadotville Company was erected on the the Congolese government of were dissatisfied that the- De grounds of Joseph Kasa-Vubu. fence Forces refused to ac- in in 2005. A commis- After being released A Com- knowledge the battle and that sioned portrait of Quinlan was pany returned to Elizabethville there was an implied black installed in the Congo Room of and were involved in active mark on the reputation of their the Irish Defence Forces’ UN combat again. This time with commander. Quinlan, who died School. “War does not determine who is right - only who is left” the support of Swedish UN in 1997, had his public reputa- 39 00 Quiz 1976 1975 Who do we belong to? Bond van Savannah Veterane Savannah Veterans Association his month’s quiz is by no means easy. There are 15 uniforms and you need to identify which country or unit the uniform belongs to. To give you a bit of help, two of these uniforms are Tfrom World War II and two are from the Vietnam War. Answers on page 47. Tribulus ad hostem 1 2 3

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42 43 Gaming Matt O’ Brien attempts to become shogun and rule Japan with an iron fist.

f you enjoy a good game of new units. In some cases you ing damaged. They will have to chess chances are you will will have to construct special be repaired, and again this will Ienjoy Total War Shogun 2. buildings that allow the con- cost money. Finding a happy Think of it as chess on a grand- struction of other buildings. balance with taxes is not easy. er and more complex scale. For example if you want to Another way of getting in The concept of the game is train and recruit cavalry troops money is through trade with simple. It is the 16th Century in you will first have to construct a other provinces. You can build eral. They provide experience Cavalry units are quick and ments and battles at sea can be Japan and where once ruled a horse breeders building. farms, grow crops to feed your and morale to the troops. They they can charge in formation. fun. unified government now stand As mentioned, all of this citizens and trade any excess can gain experience points in The are vulnerable to bow and Total War Shogun 2 is one of many clans, all vying for hon- takes money. You start the game crops that you have. battle and can then be upgraded. rifle fire but once they get close the best RTS games around. our, recognition, control and for with a limited amount of gold The final method of raising Yari (spear) infantry are ex- they will destroy these units. conquest. As daiymo (warlord) coin. There are various ways of money is by conquering other cellent at defending. They can Don’t use them to attack spear of one of these clans, it is your swelling your financial coffers. provinces. When you take over take a cavalry charge to pieces infantry head on though. duty to befriend, betray or de- The first is through tax. Your a city you have the choice of if attacked head on. They are Siege units do exactly as the stroy utterly those that stand in province will have a popula- occupying it or looting it and not great on offense and are name suggests. They are great your way as you strive to unite tion. Besides your army there burning it to the ground. vulnerable to sword infantry. for attacking fortifications but the warring factions and rise up are also civilians that pay the Most buildings can be up- Sword infantry are well bal- are worthless if the enemy gets to rule them all as undisputed tax. You can raise or lower the graded. Cities and town will anced troops. If they can get in close enough to them. Shogun - the battle-proven mil- taxes at any time. This is, how- start with a fort. These can be among the enemy they can be Once you have an army you itary leader of Japan. ever, where it gets tricky. If you upgraded to castles or even cit- devastating. will then move them into an- You begin the game by se- lower the taxes your daiymo adels. While a castle or citadel Naginata (heavy) infantry other province. The moment lecting one of the nine available will be popular and your citi- offers much better protection can defend and attack, but are you enter another province it clans. At the start you will con- zens will be happy. The prob- and is easier to defend, they not great at either. is a declaration of war. You can trol a single province. Besides lem is that you will soon run cost a lot of time and money to Bow infantry are excellent at then attack or lay siege to an your warlord you will have a out of money. You will be un- build and they have to be main- range but useless when it comes enemy city. small army. able to construct any new build- tained. to melee combat. As soon as the You can also train and recruit The first thing you will need ings or recruit new troops. An Your army is important. It enemy gets close it’s time to special agents. These could be to do is increase the size and even bigger problem is that you needs to have the right balance pull them back. religious agents that will move strength of your army. This you will be unable to pay your army of troop type to be success- Rifle infantry are expensive into a province and try and con- Publisher - Bohemia Interactive do by recruiting troops from or feed your citizens. ful. You can have a number of to train and recruit. They can vert them, or ninja that can spy Genre - RTS special dojo (training halls). An Raise the taxes and you will armies and some of them should put up a deadly volley of fire on the enemy or even try and archery dojo, for example, can find yourself very unpopular be garrisoned in cities for de- but their matchlock rifles are assassinate a general. Platform - PC train and recruit archers. and your citizens not happy fence. Other armies should be slow to reload and, like bow You can enter into negotia- Score - 8.5/10 If you do not have a dojo then campers. Raise them too high used to attack and take over infantry, they are useless at me- tions with other clans and set up you will have to build one. This and they could even revolt. A other provinces. lee combat. Their unit sizes are alliances or trade agreements. Price - R599 costs money, as does recruiting revolt can lead to buildings be- Each army should have a gen- also fairly small. The game also has naval ele- 44 45 Movie Review Book Review The Siege of Jadotville Daniel Roxo: The Phantom of the Forest ’m no expert, thus it came in what he was doing, and he there. A more accurate version You’ve read about the battle, now see the movie. as a big honour when I was didn’t just fight for his own of how Daniel came to South asked by the author, Ste- country, he laid down his life Africa and his participation hen Richie Smyth rive at the UN compound near After many extended waves I phen Dunkley to provide my for our beloved South Africa. in the conflict in Angola is re- first read the book Jadotville. After examining the of battle, the Irish company humble opinion on this book. This book honours a man freshing. Siege at Jadotville: compound, Quinlan decides is forced to surrender to Faul- W Everyone with an interest in that deserves it and it is long Daniel’s act of bravery that The Irish Army’s Forgotten that it is wide open to attack and ques’s troops after running out the history of this period would overdue. The photographs resulted in the citation for HC Battle, he was in his own words, orders his men to dig trenches. of ammunition. They are held like to read this book. It is evi- in the book bring the reader and the other silent ways in “blown away by the fact the he While buying food in the in a Katangese prison for about dent that the author went to much closer to this extraordi- which he not only portrayed his had never heard this story.” nearest town, Quinlan meets a month, then are freed in a great lengths to set the record nary man. Faintly remembering bravery but also the deep sense The book was written by De- French mercenary Rene Faul- prisoner exchange deal and are straight on misinformation and talks about radio transmissions of leadership are highlighted in clan Power, one of the Irish sol- ques, who has been hired by allowed to go home. myths regarding Daniel Roxo, from Mozambique in Septem- the book. diers that had taken part in the the mining companies allied to The film was shot near Jo- a legend in more countries than ber 1974, reading the author’s The search for truth regard- battle. Tshombe’s Government. After- hannesburg, South Africa and we can count on one hand. It is account of Daniel’s part in that, ing his burial filled me with “Once I started to learn more, wards, he visits the estate of a it was released at the 2016 Gal- clear that Daniel Roxo believed made me feel as if I was right deep sadness. He was a soldier I knew that I had to make this Belgian colonist, Madam La- way Film Festival where it won who volunteered to protect our movie,” says Smyth. Fongagne, who tells him that a number of awards. Afterwards country, he deserved a hero’s He secured the rights to the Jadotville contains the world’s it was released for worldwide burial, not the shaded secrecy story and penned a script based richest uranium deposits. distribution on Netflix. that surrounded his final resting on it. Meanwhile, O’Brien orders Jamie Dornan stars as Com- place. The film is about an Irish UN forces to launch an attack mandant Pat Quinlan and Jason Stephen Dunkley and every army unit’s role in the UN against Government build- O’Mara plays the role of Ser- contributor to this book – I wish peacekeeping mission in the ings held by the Katangese in geant Jack Prendergast. to salute you all on a great book. Congo in September 1961. Elizabethville. While Indian If you belong to Netflix this is The Phantom of the Forest will The film opens with the as- peacekeepers are attempting to a movie I strongly recommend. not only have a special place on sassination of left-wing Con- seize the city’s radio station, To watch the official trailer my personal bookshelf, it will golese Prime Minister Prime thirty unarmed Katangese are of the film, click on the poster be on my ‘MUST give’ gift list. Minister Patrice Lumumba and killed by gunfire and grenades. below. the outbreak of civil war. As the O’Brien orders the incident to Reviewed by: Mara Marx mineral rich State of Katanga be swept under the rug. Bargain books, Shelly Beach secedes under the leadership In retaliation, Faulques re- of Moise Tshombe, United Na- ceives orders to attack Jadot- tions Secretary General Dag ville. Katangese forces and mer- Hammerskjöld assigns Conor cenaries under Faulques, attack Who do we belong to - Quiz Answers Cruise O’Brien to head up a and besiege the Irish. During a UN peacekeeping mission. brief ceasefire, Faulques vainly 1. Rhodesian 6. US Navy Digital Pattern 11. Chinese Privately, Hammerskjöld tells demands Quinlan’s surrender. O’Brien that the Katanga crisis Quinlan refuses, and his com- 2. Israeli 7. United States Tiger Stripe 12. US Army (Vietnam) could trigger World War III and pany is attacked repeatedly in (Vietnam) orders the Irish diplomat to take separate waves by the Katang- 3. Russian 13. South African Police (SAP) offensive action. ese/mercenary forces. They kill 8. United States Army Meanwhile, Irish Army Com- a total of 300 enemy soldiers, 4. 14. United States Desert Pattern mandant Pat Quinlan com- and wound 1,000 enemy sol- 9. British Army Desert Pattern mands an infantry company diers, with zero Irish deaths and 5. South African Defence Force 15. United States Marine Corps of Irish peacekeepers who ar- only 16 Irish wounded. (SADF) 10. Waffen SS (World War II) (WW II) 46 47 talents. On the lighter side When I finished school I didn’t go straight into the army. I received a deferment in order to study further before doing Food, glorious food my national service. So before going into the army It was Napoleon that said that an army marches on its stomach. Yet in most armies, I did a one-year diploma at ca- soldiers make comments about the food. Most of it not very complimentary. tering school and received a qualification as a chef. can recall a verse from a uniform. It was made from the was stew. Their idea of stew Cobus, one of the guys that song that we would some- same material as our browns, was some carrots, peas, pota- did basics with me had also not times sing when I was in the but it was white. Most of the toes and a few pieces of meat been called up immediately af- I ter he finished school. He had army. time they looked filthy. floating in oil. They must have EATING IRONS: From left, clockwise. A varkpan which translates We had this one specimen in used a ton of oil to cook with. to wait for a year before being as Pig Pan. The pikstel (pick set) consisted of a fork, knife and spoon. conscripted. They say that in the army the kitchens that looked as if he Most nights I wouldn’t even The fire bucket was used for drinking, cooking and even shaving. The food is so divine, spent most of his day crawling bother going to supper. I would During this time he worked The bread fell off the table, around a sewerage pit. His fin- go to the canteen and buy my- for his father who owned a And killed two friends of mine. gernails were always black and self a pie and some crisps. walked into the mess and there the plate of food in about three long-distance furniture removal I don’t think he knew what soap I must admit though that was about three hundred troops gulps. business. So for a year this guy Now while this may be a cyn- was. The very thought that this when we went to the border the sitting eating. “There!’ bellowed the RSM, drove huge furniture removal ical little song, there was more guy used to handle food made food improved dramatically. “Everything all right?” asked obviously feeling justified. trucks all over South Africa. than a little truth in it. South Af- me nauseous. We had a national service chef the RSM in his booming voice. “You see, this food is fit for a After we finished basics we rican Defence Force chefs, and If a health inspector had ever there who did all our cooking “How is the food?” dog!” were then told what field we the term is used very liberally walked into that kitchen he and he was bloody good. He re- “The food is crap,” chirped With that, the dog sat down would be employed in. Cobus here, came in for a lot of flack. would have condemned it on ally put a lot of effort into his a voice from the back of the and began licking its bum. The was told that he had been se- They were often referred to as the spot. As for this guy I was cooking and we ate like kings. mess, “not even a dog would same voice that had made the lected to become a chef. I, on ‘fitters and turners’ as in “they telling you about, he should Where was this guy when I was eat this shit.” comment about the food earlier the other hand, was told that I used to fit food into a pot and have been condemned to death. doing basics? The RSM immediately de- piped up, “It’s trying to get rid was to become a truck driver. I turn it into shit.” Yet to be fair We used to eat from ‘vark- manded to know who had made of the taste of the food.” couldn’t believe it. it was not an easy task prepar- panne’, a type of metal tray that Of course the troops would the comment. Everyone in the place, with We told our corporal about it ing food for a huge number of looked something like those TV often make snide comments Of course no one was going the exception of the RSM, burst and his attitude was “do what conscripts. trays you get. At breakfast we about the food. to own up. The RSM was re- into laughter. It was too much you are told.” So we went on or- Though it may be true that would sometimes get bacon and Steve (19) remembers an in- ally furious. He told the staff for me and I was crying with ders before our company com- being a chef in the military was eggs and while this may sound cident that left him rolling with sergeant in charge of the kitch- laughter. mander. We explained to him no easy task, this excuse did not like a good meal, it wasn’t. laughter. It also earned him sev- en that no one was to leave the “What’s so bloody funny cor- what our backgrounds were and hold much water with the troops Because it was winter the trays en extra duties. mess until he returned. Then he poral? Are you mad,” the RSM suggested that we should swap. who had to eat the meals. Sean were ice cold. They would slap During my two-year period told me to come with him and berated me. I believed that I could be of far (18) was a rifleman who did his a spoon full of porridge on your of national service I was a cor- we climbed into his Land Rover I ended up getting seven extra more service as a chef, while basic training at 5 South Afri- tray, then the next guy would poral at 1 SAI in Bloemfontein. and set off for the local SPCA. duties for being insubordinate to Cobus was a natural for the po- can Infantry Battalion in Lady- slam an egg and two pieces of One Sunday I was BOS (Battal- He found this really mangy the RSM, but it was worth every sition of truck driver. smith in July 1978. He was not thick bacon onto it and finally ion Orderly Sergeant) and one dog and loaded it into the back one of the extra duties, believe The company commander in the least impressed with the one of them would pour your of my duties was to visit the of the Land Rover. me. As for the dog, it was ‘ad- said that he would look into it, food. coffee over the whole lot. troops mess during lunch to see On our return he brought the opted’ by the kitchen staff and but I don’t think he ever did. I We had a tuck shop at 5 SAI By the time you had reached that everyone had been fed and dog back to the mess and told was aptly named ‘Lunchtime’. wound up driving a truck for and if it wasn’t for that I think the table to sit down everything was happy with the food. them to dish up a plate of food. my national service while poor I would have starved to death. had congealed into a greasy One this particular Sunday He put the plate on the floor in The military also had some Cobus ended up in the kitchens. The first thing that used to put mess. It was disgusting. the RSM of the unit arrived front of the dog. really strange methods of se- me off the food was the chefs. For supper we would often and said that he would accom- The dog was obviously starv- lecting personnel. Donald (19) Christmas, that special time They used to wear a white get stew, or at least I think it pany me on my inspection. We ing because it wolfed down felt that the army ignored his of the year reserved for family 48 49 David (18) explains. We had a tradition in our unit Take a different look at a career... that on Christmas day the of- ficers and senior NCOs had to serve the troops lunch. We all sat down at these long tables that were covered with white table clothes and were decorated with Christmas crackers. Everyone got a little paper hat to wear and there were bottles of wine on the table. Then our OC and RSM led in the officers and senior NCOs to serve the food. They came around with trays and served us COOKING IN THE FIELD: The 250-man mobile field kitchen was a nifty piece of equipment. Many of the bush bases used these and individually. It was really great you could cook just about anything in them - even bake bread. fun. Our company sergeant ma- jor was a scream. He came and friends, good food, good- sponsible for communications. in wearing his army boots, a will, and exchanging gifts. Because of the fact that guys paper hat, and a white apron Yet for the troops on the bor- would be out on patrol, they and nothing else. Here he was der it was just another day at the had three Christmas Brunches. walking around bare-arsed ask- Every month hundreds of new magazines and newspapers are going online and they all office. Maybe that statement is One was on the 16th December, ing if we’d had enough to eat. need content. They need someone to write articles and many of them will pay you for it. a little unfair. The SADF did try one on the 20th December, and I laughed so much that I nearly and do something special for the last one on Christmas Day. choked on my food. I think that Hipe Magazine is offering a three-month online journalism course where we will show the troops over the Christmas In this manner everyone had a it was an excellent tradition and you how to write the type of articles that people want to read and magazines want to period. chance to get a decent Christ- I wonder if they still do things buy. At the larger bases such as mas meal. like that today? Grootfontein, Oshakati, Rundu, As a signaller I did not go And best of all the course is 100% free. Katima Mulilo, Mapacha, etc., out on patrols but remained at While most troops, especial- a special Christmas lunch was the base camp the entire time. ly those serving on the border, held. This meant that I was able to were never really happy with At the smaller bases this was enjoy not one but three Christ- the food, some of them hit it not always possible because the mas meals that year. I can still lucky. Gavin (18) explains. troops would often be involved remember what was served. The food at our base back in with patrols on Christmas Day. It was steak, turkey, roast po- South Africa was really bad. So In these cases Christmas lunch tatoes, corn, peas, and gravy. when we went up to the border was usually served over a num- Afterwards we had trifle and we thought it would only get ber of days. Max (18) has good everyone was given two beers worse. reason to remember his Christ- or two tins of cold drink. It was The base were I was had a Do you think you have what it takes to become a cyber mas on the border. kind of cool. permanent force staff sergeant journalist? I spent Christmas 1978 on in charge of the kitchens. This It’s a perfect way to earn a little extra or even as a new the border. I was with the Sig- Some of the Christmas lunch- guy was incredible. He would career. nals Corps and was attached es at the larger base camps were prepare the most amazing to a base called Okalongo in pretty elaborate affairs and the meals. For more INFORMATION send us an e-mail at editor@ Owamboland. I think 4 SAI food was of the highest quality. The only problem is that I put hipe.co.za with the heading ‘cyber journalist’ and we will was there at the time and I was Certain units had traditions re- on 15 kilograms while I was send you all the details. one of their three signallers re- garding the Christmas meal, as there. 50 E-mail [email protected]

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