South African Mirages and Cuban MiG-21s dogfighting over Cuito
Cuanavale, the largest tank battle on African soil since El
Alamein; Puma troopships shot out of the skies by Strela missiles
and RPG-7 rockets; Alouette III gunships hovering menacingly above
Koevoet tracker-combat teams as they close in for the kill;
Hercules and Transall transports disgorging their loads of Parabats
over Cassinga; suicidal helicopter hot-extractions of Recce
operators deep in enemy territory; and a lone Alouette pilot who
disobeyed orders and under intense ground fire evacuated a
critically wounded soldier ... such is the story of the South
African Air Force, the SAAF, over the 23-year period 1966-1989, the
period of conflict that became known as the 'Border War'. Set
against the backdrop of the Cold War, the SAAF was effectively
South Africa's first line of defence against Soviet expansionism in
southern Africa. That the Soviets, through their surrogates - the
Cuban military, Angola's FAPLA and Namibia's SWAPO - sought a
communist regime in South Africa is indisputable, as too was the
SAAF's skill, quality, determination and capability to defeat the
best Soviet air defences of the time. This account covers all the
major operations that the SAAF was involved in, from Operation
Blouwildebees, the opening salvo of the conflict at Omgulumbashe,
South West Africa in 1966 to the final curtain, Operation Merlyn,
the so-called April Fool's Day 'war' of 1989 when the SAAF and
Koevoet, almost alone, frustrated SWAPO's last throw of the dice
with its illegal invasion of South West Africa. In this account,
highlighting such operations as Reindeer, Bootlace/Uric, Sceptic,
Protea, Daisy, Askari, Moduler, Hooper and Packer, among many, as
well as the ongoing methodological operations like Lunar, Maanskyn,
Donkermaan and Butterfly, Baxter examines and brings to life the
squadrons and aviators that fought in both counter-insurgency and
conventional warfare roles. Besides an extensive selection of rare
photographs, the book features a comprehensive section on
camouflage and markings and 11 pages of colour aircraft profiles
and insignia by noted SAAF authority William Marshall, making this
title especially useful for modelers.
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