THE AIRBORNE CONCEPT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY, 1960-2000: STRATEGY ...

784 Pages·2017·48.09 MB·English

THE AIRBORNE CONCEPT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY, 1960-2000:
STRATEGY VERSUS TACTICS IN SMALL WARS

by

EDWARD GEORGE McGILL ALEXANDER

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY

in the subject
HISTORY

at the
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

Supervisor: PROF GC CUTHBERTSON

2016
STATEMENT

I declare that “The Airborne Concept in the South African Military, 1960-2000: Strategy versus Tactics in
Small Wars” is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated
and acknowledged by means of complete references.
I further declare that I have not previously submitted this work, or part of it, for examination at UNISA
for another qualification or at any other higher education institution.

(EDWARD GEORGE McGILL ALEXANDER)
UNISA STUDENT NUMBER: 02683369
SOUTH AFRICA IDENTITY NUMBER: 470331 5007 083

29 February 2016

ii
THE AIRBORNE CONCEPT IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY, 1960-2000:
STRATEGY VERSUS TACTICS IN SMALL WARS

Abstract

The thesis commences by elaborating on the concept of vertical envelopment as a form of
military manoeuvre and defining airborne operations as comprising parachute, helicopter
and air-landed actions. It goes on to describe strategy and tactics as they apply to the
discussion before briefly tracing the development internationally of vertical envelopment
and the thinking of the South African military about airborne operations during the
Second World War.
Events leading up to the decision by the South African military to acquire
helicopters and to train paratroopers in 1960 are examined and the early operational
employment of helicopters is analysed. The establishment of 1 Parachute Battalion is
discussed in the light of the absence of a clear understanding of how it should be
employed. Moving on to the commencement of the conflict known as the Southern
African Thirty Year War, the issue of strategic versus tactical application of an airborne
capability during operations in Namibia, Angola and Rhodesia is defined.
Strategic application is then illustrated by specific independent airborne strikes,
and the requirement for an airborne brigade to plan and conduct such operations is
highlighted. The establishment of 44 Parachute Brigade and the difficulties experienced in
its development are reviewed before scrutinising the tactical use of airborne forces in
support of other ground forces.
The high point in organisation and capability of the airborne forces of the South
African Defence Force at the time of the ending of the Thirty Year War is appraised and
the unfulfilled potential of the capability is elucidated. Faced with change and
uncertainty, the employment of the paratroopers in urban operations during the height
of the civil unrest is examined. This is followed by probing the response of the
paratrooper organisation to severe budget cuts, enforced reorganisation and relocation,
the ending of conscription and integration into the new South African National Defence
Force following the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.
The thesis concludes with an evaluation of the airborne actions during the
incursion by South Africa into Lesotho in 1998 and an assessment of the implications of
the loss of a strategic airborne capability.

Key terms

Airborne operations; Paratroopers; Thirty Year War; Border War; Bush War; Liberation
Struggle; South African Defence Force; SADF; South African National Defence Force;
SANDF; 1 Parachute Battalion; 44 Parachute Brigade; Vertical envelopment; Helicopters;
Strategy; Tactics; Insurgency; Counter-insurgency; Namibia; Angola; Lesotho; Rhodesia;
Constand Viljoen; Jan Breytenbach; Manoeuvre; SWAPO; Cubans; MPLA; FAPLA.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume 1: Thesis

Chapter Heading Page
Statement ii

Abstract and Key Terms iii

1. Table of Contents iv
2. Preface vi

3. Military Abbreviations and Terminology vii
1 4. Introduction and Research Background 1
2 Vertical Envelopment as a Form of Manoeuvre in Tactics and Strategy 46
3 The Airborne Concept in History and Early South African Experience 79
4 Crucial Decisions: South Africa’s Acquisition of Helicopters and the 112
Training of the First Paratroopers
5 The Mpondo Revolt and the Establishment of 1 Parachute Battalion: The 166
Problem of raison d’être
6 5. The Insurgent War Begins: Tactical Airborne Application with Strategic 221
Potential
7 6. The Airborne Conundrum: Strategy or Tactics? 268
8 7. Strategic Application: Cross-Border Airborne Strikes 309
9 8. A Strategic Tool: Establishment of a Parachute Brigade 360
10 9. Tactical Application: Airborne Support to Ground Forces 380
11 Crest of the Wave: An Airborne Capability at its Peak 438
12 A Climate of change, Uncertainty and Instability: Unfulfilled Airborne 476
Potential
13 Internal Operational Employment and Lesotho Incursion: Nadir of the 522
Strategic Airborne Concept
14 Conclusion 574
Sou rce List A-1

iv
Volume 2: Appendices

1. Chapter 3, Appendices 1–20
Airborne Insignia; Italian Renaissance Ideas; Fantasies; Early Parachuting; South African Airborne
thinking and experiences in the Second World War.

2. Chapter 4, Appendices 21–36
Early helicopters in the Union Defence Force; training of the South African Defence Force’s first
Paratroopers.

3. Chapter 5, Appendices 37–49
Mpondo Revolt; Establishment of 1 Parachute Battalion; Acquisition of C-130 Hercules aircraft.

4. Chapter 6, Appendices 50–59
Capability Development; Ongulumbashe; Portuguese and Rhodesian Co-operation; Biafra.

5. Chapter 7, Appendices 60–64
New Transport Aircraft and Helicopters; Maps of Early Operational Areas, Recruiting Advert, Fire
Force in Rhodesia by SADF Paratroopers.

6. Chapter 8, Appendices 65–67
Cassinga, Aerial Photos and Aircraft

7. Chapter 9, Appendix 68–69
Paratrooper Personalities in the Battle between Brigade and Battalion, Envisaged 44 Parachute
Brigade Organisation.

8. Chapter 10, Appendices 70–71
Fire Force; Tactical air-landed operation in Kaokoveld.

9. Chapter 11, Appendices 72–77
Organisation of 44 Parachute Brigade, 1989; Air-droppable Vehicles; Parachute Battalion Group
Exercises; UNITA Parachute Course.

10. Chapter 13, Appendices 78–80
Urban Airborne Operations; Integration of airborne forces.

v
PREFACE

I am a retired Army officer who spent some 47 years in the military. I began as a private soldier
and retired with the rank of brigadier general. During this time I spent 30 years serving in or
working closely with airborne forces. The expansion and contraction of the airborne capability
in the South African military was part of my experience, and during my final years of service life,
I was appointed to head a project concerned with resuscitating this capability. Much has since
been done to restore the situation, but the question of why the capability declined has never
been answered satisfactorily.
My interest in airborne matters prompted me more than 25 years ago to commence
research of the South African capability. The research for this thesis has been a culmination of
that work, and has presented an opportunity to delve deeply into original documents and to
compare these to interviews with participants. It has enabled an assessment to be done of the
two prevailing schools of thought concerning airborne forces: merely another tool in the
arsenal of a tactical commander to achieve goals on the battlefield; or a capability with the
potential to achieve objectives independently of other ground forces with results of strategic
importance during conflicts or crises.
This thesis examines the concept of vertical envelopment as a form of manoeuvre,
during South Africa’s part in the Thirty Year War. In an effort to contextualise the thesis, a
deliberate effort has been made to link political agendas, strategic issues, military tactics and
technology in an integrated analysis.
In the thesis the names South West Africa and Rhodesia are used when discussing
periods before their current names had received formal international recognition. Thus the
name Namibia is only used in those parts of the thesis dealing with the period after 1968, and
Zimbabwe for the period after 1980.
Because the thesis deals with an essentially military subject, extensive use is made of
military terminology. The list of definitions for this terminology should be consulted where any
uncertainty arises. In addition, military abbreviations have been used, principally in the
footnotes and especially where military archival sources have been cited. These abbreviations
too, are explained in the terminology list.
vi
LIST OF MILITARY TERMINOLOGY AND ABBREVIATIONS

Note 1: Because the thesis is principally concerned with South African Airborne Operations, the
SADF/SANDF terminology and abbreviations have been favoured.
2: Additional explanations are provided in the endnotes to this list.

1. Military Ranks and their Abbreviations

Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs)

Lance Corporal (Lance Bombardier in the Artillery) : LCpl (LBdr)
Corporal (Bombardier in the Artillery) : Cpl (Bdr)
Sergeant : Sgt
Staff Sergeant : SSgt
Warrant Officer Class 2 (Sergeant Major) : WO2
Warrant Officer Class 1 (Sergeant Major) : WO1

Officers

Junior Officers

Second Lieutenant : 2Lt
Assistant Field-Corneti : Asst Fd Ct
Lieutenant : Lt
Field Cornet : Fd Ct
Captain : Capt

Field Officers

Major : Maj
Commandantii : Cmdt
Lieutenant Colonel : Lt Col
Colonel : Col
Brigadieriii : Brig

General Officersiv

Brigadier Generalv (One Star) : Brig Gen
Major General (Two Star) : Maj Gen
Combat Generalvi : Cbt Gen
Lieutenant General (Three Star) : Lt Gen
General (Four Star) : Gen
Commandant Generalvii : Cmdt Gen
Field Marshal/General of the Armies (Five Star): FM/Army Gen
vii
2. Military Organisations, with their Abbreviations and Ranks of Commanders

Sectionviii (usually eight to ten men) : Sec : Cpl
Hawk Group (22 men – paratrooper org) : Hawk : 2Lt/Lt
Platoon (about 35 men – infantry) : Pl : 2Lt/Lt
Troopix : Tp : 2Lt/Lt
Company (100 – 150 men) : Coy : Majx
Combat Teamxi (Reinforced Sub-unit) : Cbt Tm : Maj
Squadronxii : Sqn : Maj
Batteryxiii : Bty : Maj
Battalion (500 – 800 men) : Bn : Cmdt/Lt Col
Battle Groupxiv (Reinforced Unit) : Battle Gp : Cmdt/Lt Col
Commandoxv : Comdo : Cmdt/Lt Col
Regimentxvi (about 1000 men) : Regt : Col
Groupxvii : Gp : Col
Brigade (2500 – 5,000 or more men) : Bde : Col/Brig/Brig Gen
Division (more than one Brigade) : Div : Maj Gen
Corpsxviii (more than one Division) : Corps : Lt Gen
Army (more than one Corps) : Army : Gen
Army Group (more than one Army) : Army Gp : FM/Army Gen

3. Abbreviations for Specific Military Units and Formations

1 MA : 1 Military Area (Kavangoland and the Caprivi)xix
1 Para Bn : 1 Parachute Battalion
1 RC : 1 Reconnaissance Commando
1 RR : 1 Reconnaissance Regiment
1 SSB : 1 Special Service Battalion
2 MA : 2 Military Area (Ovamboland and Kaokoland)xx
2 Para Bn : 2 Parachute Battalion
2 RC : 2 Reconnaissance Commando
2 RR : 2 Reconnaissance Regiment
2 SWA Spec : 2 South West African Specialist Unit
3 Para Bn : 3 Parachute Battalion
3 SAI : 3 SA Infantry Battalion
4 RC : 4 Reconnaissance Commando
4 RR : 4 Reconnaissance Regiment
4 Para Bn : 4 Parachute Battalion
5 RC : 5 Reconnaissance Commando
5 RR : 5 Reconnaissance Regiment
10 SA Div : 10 South African Division
13 SA : 13 Sub-Area (Eastern Caprivi)
14 Para Bn Gp : 14 Parachute Battalion Group
15 Sqn : 15 Squadron, SAAF (Super Frelon helicopters)
16 Sqn : 16 Squadron, SAAF (Alouette III helicopters)
viii
17 Sqn : 17 Squadron, SAAF (Alouette III helicopters)
19 Sqn : 19 Squadron, SAAF (Puma helicopters)
28 Sqn : 28 Squadron, SAAF (Transall C-160/Hercules C-130 aircraft)
32 Bn : 32 Battalion
44 Para Bde : 44 Parachute Brigade
44 Para Regt : 44 Parachute Regiment
44 Pathf Coy : 44 Pathfinder Company
44 Sqn : 44 Squadron, SAAF (C-47 Dakota aircraft)
101 Bn : 101 Battalion
ABS : Amphibious Boat Squadron, SAN
MAC : Marine Amphibious Company, SAN
Marine Bde : Marine Brigade, SAN
SACC : South African Cape Corps
SAS : Special Air Service (British and Rhodesian)
RAR : Rhodesian African Rifles
RLI : Rhodesian Light Infantry

4. Other Abbreviations

2IC : Second in Command
AA/AAA : Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Aircraft Artillery
ABS : Amphibious Boat Squadron
ACO : Air Contact Officer
AFB : Air Force Base
AGL : Above Ground Level
ALO : Air Liaison Officer
AMSL : Above Mean Sea Level
Armscor : Armament Corporation of South Africa
AOP : Air Observation Post (describing a light aircraft used for artillery
spotting)
ATk : Anti-Tank
APLA : African People’s Liberation Army (PAC)
AU : African Union
ANC : African National Congress
APC : Armoured Personnel Carrier
AWOL : Absent Without Official Leave
BDF : Boputhatswana Defence Force (also used for Botswana Defence
Force)
CAF : Chief of the Air Force
C Army : Chief of the Army
C Army S Ops : Chief of Army Staff, Operations
CAS : Close Air Support
CB : Confined to Barracks
Casevac : Casualty Evacuation
CCB : Civil Cooperation Bureau
CDF : Ciskei Defence Force
ix
CDS : Container Delivery System (Air Supply)
CF : Citizen Force (part-time soldiers)
CGS : Chief of the General Staff
Cmdr : Commander
Comd : Command
C Navy : Chief of the Navy
CO : Commanding Officer/Candidate Officer
COIN/COINOPS : Counter-Insurgency/Counter-Insurgency Operations
Comdo : Commando
ComOps : Combined Operations (Rhodesian Designation)
Comops : Communication Operations
CP : Command Post
C SADF : Chief of the SADF
C SANDF : Chief of the SANDF
CSM : Company Sergeant-Major. The senior NCO in a company
CTF : Combined Task Force
DB : Detention Barracks
dd : Dated
DHQ : Defence Headquarters
DVR : Van Riebeeck Decoration (for distinguished service in action)
DZ : Dropping Zone (for paratroopers or parachuted cargo). “Drop
Zone” in US terminology
DZSO : Dropping Zone Safety Officer
EEI : Essential Element of Intelligence. A question that must be
answered satisfactorily before an operation can proceed
Encl : Enclosure
EW : Electronic Warfare
EZ : Extraction Zone (for delivering supplies by means of LAPES)
FAC : Forward Air Controller
FAF : Forward Airfield (Rhodesian designation)
FAPLA : Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola
FLOT : Forward Line Own Troops
FNLA : Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola
FRELIMO : Frente de Libertação de Moçambique
GOC : General Officer Commanding
Gp : Group
HAA : Helicopter Administrative Area
HAHO : High Altitude High Opening (free-fall parachuting with oxygen)
HALO : High Altitude Low Opening (free-fall parachuting with oxygen)
HAPO : High Altitude Parachute Operations (includes HAHO & HALO)
HC : Honoris Crux (decoration for bravery)
HE : High Explosive
HF : High Frequency
HQ : Headquarters
IFV : Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Insum/INSUM : Intelligence Summary
x