Africa's Commandos - new book on the RLI

[JMA]

Not a bad haul for a day's work... 20 odd weapons recovered after a good Fire Force action (bodies not on show). Time for a shower, a plate of steak, egg and chips (fries) and a few (maybe more) bitterly cold beers. A job well done.

[zealot66]

I have made an agreement with the managing editor to write a brief operational history of the Rhodesian SAS then some specific actions. I am fortunate enough to have contacts who served in the SAS, one started in 61 with the second intake. I will also write about D squadron, South African Recces who volunteered to fight as Rhodesian soldiers in a classified operation not divulged until well after the war. Probably in the late 80s.

Then likely to explore some of SA's elite forces. Great thread BTW!! there is alot of stuff out there that is in peoples basements or in their aging mind. I want to get more and more of it before it disappears. It is a legitimate part of COIN history. It has mostly been ignored due to apartheid and politics. The soldiers didn't have the luxury of dwelling on such things......

[JMA]

I have made an agreement with the managing editor to write a brief operational history of the Rhodesian SAS then some specific actions. ......

Which managing editor IIMA?

[JMA]

Carried on a scale of 1:4 the FN MAG light machine gun allowed Rhodesian 4-man sticks (fire teams) to independently engage larger numbers of enemy in action. Being accepted by his commanders - and also especially by his peers - as a ruthlessly effective gunner was what the young troopies strove for. To illustrate this point I met one of my ex-troopies last year in the UK - 35 years after the fact - and he explained that when I took the gun away from him - for having two stoppages in a contact - it (the humiliation) was the worst thing that happened to him in his 7 years military service. Here is a photo of a young gunner about to deploy on a Fire Force call-out:



Note: In early 1978 the gunner was positioned in the starboard door (the aircraft's twin Brownings (or single FN MAG) were mounted in the port rear door) so that he could engage opportunity targets from the air - especially when coming in to land in a hot LZ. Inside next to the gunner was the stick commander who wore an aircraft headset to allow him to monitor the radio communications on the run in to the target.

[zealot66]

Can you email me at X ? Thanks. Dan

[JMA]

Time to go home... this time in the back of an Augusta Bell. This one a good farming boy who knew how to make that weapon 'talk'.

[JMA]

Due to the lack of helicopter capacity and the need for more troops to be delivered into the target area early to block escape routes it was decreed in early 1977 that the RLI would become parachute trained for this purpose. Trained and experienced soldiers were rotated through the Rhodesian Air Force 'Parachute Training School' with out any fuss as they were all battle proven and the air force trainers were interested only in one thing and that was to train the RLI in military parachuting. As an American has written:

... a group of us reported to New Sarum airbase for Rhodesian Para Course 75/77. Though I was parachute-qualified I didn’t mind going through Rhodesia’s course taught by the Air Force. The course was only two weeks long with the second week consisting of nine jumps. Unlike the US Army’s jump school, there was no physical training associated with the course and the technical training was easy. There were no 34-foot or 250-foot towers and no mindless screwing with the future paras.

Armies just can't help themselves and despite the tempo of the war intensifying time was found in later years to put soldiers (mainly those coming directly off recruit training) through 'pre para course PT'. (Obviously the PT staff were getting bored with all the soldiers going on ops, but instead of giving them soldiers to play with the PT staff should have been packed off to the bush to get some trigger time in.)

This is how a gunner kitted up for a jump. The photo is of troops waiting to emplane for a fire force deployment. (Note: the Dak - C-47 had more air speed than the Alouette helicopters so would normally get airborne some time after the choppers.)