Episode 24 – The Angolan Army re-organises, Moscow refocuses on Africa and Mirages arrive in Ondangwa

This is episode 24 and we’ll hear how Swapo insurgency into Ovamboland began increasing rapidly after the end of Operation Savannah in early 1976. The Angolan war was just getting going and its future would be determined to a large extent by Cold War politics. Despite strong competition, the Soviet Union managed to reassert it’s power and its decision to intervene drastically in Angola was motivated by the perception that it had lost influence in the Third World. They wanted to show support for liberation movements in Africa and Angola was an opportunity which they exploited to the full. By the start of 1976 the USSR actually had relatively few ties remaining in Africa. Moscow had suffered setbacks in Ghana, Mali, Zaire and the Sudan while relations with Egypt were also in decline. The Chinese meanwhile had made great strides in East Africa, particularly in Zambia and Tanzania and Beijing was challenging Moscow openly – worse the Chinese and the Americans had colluded in their joint covert support of the FNLA. In May 1976 and twenty three years after the end of the Korean war, 2 Squadron was called on to fly their first operational mission of the border war. Intelligence reports on Angolan defence deployments were received at Grootfontein. Commander colonel Dan Zeeman was given authority for three cross-border missions and number 2 Squadron was given the task of carrying out this attack. The reason was intelligence reports were starting to indicate that the Russians had installed SA-2 and SA-3 missile launchers in southern Angola. On the 14th May 1976 commandant Ollie Holmes led a formation of four Mirage IIIs on the ferry flight from Waterkloof air force base in Pretoria to Ondangwa via a refuelling stop at Grootfontein.