Quote Originally Posted by Condor View Post
Moderator's Note: thread created to help JMA and gain hopefully responses (ends)

Aviation operations in general with an emphasis on rotary wing operations in support of the ground forces. Also did the Rhodesian ground forces use some version of a Forward Air Controller (FAC) to help coordinate aviation assets with the guys on the ground?
Condor, further to my first response here is a further comment from elsewhere from Peter Petter-Bowyer:

-----------------------------

Background to FAC and GAC
By Peter Petter Bowyer

Then Rhodesian forces of Federal days had an obligation to Britain to support her Baghdad Treaty obligation in any conflict in the Middle East. In addition British interests in Africa were to be supported, when needed, by Rhodesia.

Therefore the Federal Army and the RRAF (Royal Rhodesian Air Force) trained for conventional operations based on British military systems which were themselves based on WW ll principles. In this regard the RRAF trained Army battalion and sub unit commanders in the methods necessary to effectively direct air strike pilots against enemy targets visible to their own forces. This was essentially an RAF systems known as Forward Air (Strike) Control or FAC.

After some cock-ups experienced during Operation Cauldron (1968) it was necessary to adopt totally different techniques for counter insurgency operations in bushveld conditions. So a home-grown method of FAC was developed by the Rhodesian Air Force in co-operation with RLI Commando Commanders and SAS. We called this method of Ground to Air Control of air strikes, GAC. Once developed and proven, most army units were trained for GAC.

---------------------------

Group Captain Petter-Bowyer has published an extremely interesting autobiography - "Winds of Destruction"

Only possible in a very small airforce 'PB' was involved in most of the developments in the Rhodesian Air force and the war - importantly the home grown weapons development.