1985 Aeroflot Antonov An-12 shoot-down

Last updated
1985 Aeroflot Antonov An-12 shoot-down
Aeroflot An-12B CCCP-11129 LBG 1976-2-2.png
An Aeroflot Antonov An-12 similar to SSSR-11747.
Shootdown
Date25 November 1985
SummaryIn-flight break up following shootdown
SiteApprox. 43 km east of Menongue, Cuando Cubango Province, Angola
Aircraft
Aircraft type Antonov An-12BP
Operator Soviet Air Force
Registration CCCP-11747 [Note 1]
Flight origin Cuito Cuanavale Airport, Cuito Cuanavale, Angola
Destination Luanda International Airport, Luanda, Angola
Passengers15
Crew8
Fatalities23
Survivors0

The 1985 Aeroflot Antonov An-12 shoot down occurred on November 25, 1985, in Angola during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War. An Aeroflot Antonov An-12BP cargo aircraft operated by the Soviet Air Force flying from Cuito Cuanavale to Luanda was shot down, allegedly by South African Special Forces, and crashed approximately 43 kilometres (27 mi) east of Menongue in Angola's Cuando Cubango province.

Contents

The incident took place in the aftermath of the Soviet Union-backed People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola's (FAPLA) operation 2 Congresso do Partido conducted against units of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA, which received support from South Africa).

The transport was carrying eight crew members, 15 passengers and two tank diesel engines in need of repairs. According to eyewitnesses from the local populace and investigative reports, the aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile (SAM). All people on board the aircraft died in the crash.

Flight overview

The aircraft involved in the incident was an Antonov An-12BP, a large Soviet-built four-engine turboprop transport, tail registration SSSR-11747. Officially a civil aircraft, it was part of an air transportation military detachment consisting of several An-12 transports and their crews, under the direct command of the Soviet Chief Military Advisor in Angola. The detachment was part of the 369th Military Transport Aviation Regiment, 7th Military Transport Aviation Division, Military Transport Aviation, [1] based at that time in the city of Jankoi/Dzhankoy, Crimea, Ukrainian SSR. The An-12s were primarily used to support FAPLA and its military operations. All eight crew members and four of the passengers were Soviet nationals. Nine other passengers were Angolans.

The flight crew consisted of:

Crash

According to eyewitness reports and the black box recordings, the An-12BP took off from Cuito Cuanavale at 11:20 am. About 15 minutes into the flight at the altitude of approximately 10,000 feet (3,000 m) the pilot reported an explosion to air traffic control on the aircraft's port side next to the wing and engines. Seconds later the pilot also reported that the transport was experiencing problems with engines three and four and stated his intention to turn towards Menongue airport, located less than 50 kilometres (31 mi) away, for an emergency landing. After the explosion, the cargo of two massive tank engines became loose and shifted, altering the aircraft's center of gravity and causing it to bank to the port side. The black box recordings indicated that the crew tried to level the An-12 and turn it towards Menongue's airport for an emergency landing; however, 47 seconds after the missile detonated, the port wing exploded and separated from the aircraft. The burning aircraft then crashed in a field about 43 kilometres (27 mi) away from Menongue, with the main part of the widespread wreckage landing in close proximity to the Menongue-Cuito Cuanavale road. The next day, several officers from the Soviet Military Mission in Menongue, accompanied by Cuban and Angolan troops, arrived at the crash site where they found all 21 bodies 8 crew members and 13 passengers at the scene. The human remains were first transported to Menongue for identification and later to Luanda. Coffins containing the remains of the Soviet crew and passengers were then transported to the Soviet Union.

Alleged shootdown

Civilians from local villages and members of the local people's defense organization (ODP – Organização de Defesa Popular), who had witnessed the midair explosion and the crash, said they had heard and seen what they believed to be a surface-to-air missile being launched immediately before the accident. They described the sound and fume trails that originated from the ground to the point of impact in midair. The recordings of the An-12BP crew's air traffic conversation with Menongue air-defense radar operators were obtained by Angolan authorities. These were later passed on to Soviet investigators conducting their own probe into the crash. The recordings revealed that the crew had reported a missile explosion on the aircraft's port side. In the Soviet Union a specially designated commission under the direct supervision of the Chief of the Air Military Transportation Command of the Soviet Armed Forces was created to establish the cause of the crash. The commission's examination of parts of the aircraft's fuselage revealed multiple traces of an explosive matter and fragments from the surface-to-air missile.

In his book Journey Without Boundaries, SADF Colonel André Diedericks, a former South African Special Forces officer, claims that he was the person who gave the order to launch the missile that brought down the An-12. During the early summer of 1985 one of the previously captured Strela-l (SA-9) systems, manned and operated by a South African Recce group under the command of then-Captain Diedericks, crossed into the Cuando Cubango province, Angola, and with UNITA's help, protection and escort was secretly deployed around the Menongue area. [3] The main mission of the group was to carry out covert combat operations, code names "Catamaran 1" and "Catamaran 2", with the goal of disrupting air traffic in Cuando Cubango province by shooting down both Cuban and Angolan transports, combat aircraft and gunships with the Strela-l (SA-9). [3]

Diedericks' account is reiterated by Koos Stadler, another Reconnaissance Regiment soldier (colloquially known as the "Recces") in his 2015 book, RECCE: Small Team Missions Behind Enemy Lines .

Casualties

Crew of SSSR-11747 11747 crew.jpg
Crew of SSSR-11747

All 21 air force crew and military passengers were killed in the crash:

In 1987, a commemorative monument, featuring images of the An-12BP's crew members and their names, was erected in the city of Dzhankoy, where most of them were stationed and had lived.

Reactions and aftermath

In the 12 hours after the crash, the after-midnight news reports issued by the BBC, the Voice of America African Service and UNITA's radio station Galo Negro made almost identical announcements: UNITA was reported as having shot down a Cuban military cargo aircraft with Cuban personnel on board, in the same area that the An-12BP was shot down, using a surface-to-air missile. The next day, on November 26, 1985, UNITA officially claimed responsibility for shooting down the aircraft. However, several months later information obtained[ by whom? ] through various intelligence sources indicated that the An-12 was brought down by a missile launched from a Soviet-made 9K31 Strela-1, a vehicle-mounted short-range guided surface-to-air missile system. Several Strela-1s had been captured by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during a prior incursion into Angola.

In the aftermath of the crash, on December 5, 1985, a Mil Mi-8 helicopter was shot down. Two Mi-8 crews were tasked to provide close air support to a Cuban-reinforced infantry battalion that had orders to secure the crash area for the arrival of a team to conduct on-site investigation and help remove the wreckage for further investigation. As the battalion approached the area of the crash, it was ambushed by a far superior combined SADF/UNITA force deployed along the Menongue-Cuito Cuanavale road. A fierce fight ensued, resulting in a high number of dead and wounded from both sides. The two Mi-8s, both manned by Soviet Air Force crews, were called in to provide support for the Cuban battalion. On their arrival they came under heavy anti-aircraft ground fire. One was shot down; it crashed and burst into flames, killing the Soviet crew. There were also two Angolan soldiers from the newly formed 29th Airborne Assault Brigade, manning door-mounted guns on the helicopter, who also died in the crash.

Notes

  1. The aircraft registration prefix for civil aircraft registered in the Soviet Union was SSSR. In the Russian cyrillic alphabet, the English letter "S" is written as "C" and "R" is written as "P", hence "CCCP" is "SSSR" in cyrillic.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuando Cubango Province</span> Province of Angola

Cuando Cubango is a province of Angola and it has an area of 199,049km2 and a population of 534,002 in 2014. Menongue is the capital of the province. The governor of the province is José Martins, who was appointed governor in November 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Special Forces</span> Military forces of the Republic of South Africa

The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Recces, is South Africa's principal Tier 1 special operations forces, specialising in various types of operations, including counter-insurgency, long-range-reconnaissance, unconventional-warfare, and hostage rescue. The brigade operates with two active-duty groups, with 4 Special Forces Regiment focusing on maritime operations, and 5 Special Forces Regiment focusing on land and airborne operations. Only about 8% of recruits who undergo South African special forces training pass the course.

The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was fought intermittently between 14 August 1987 and 23 March 1988, south and east of the town of Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) and Cuba against South Africa and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War. The battle was the largest engagement of the Angolan conflict and the biggest conventional battle on the African continent since World War II. UNITA and its South African allies defeated a major FAPLA offensive towards Mavinga, preserving the former's control of southern Angola. They proceeded to launch a failed counteroffensive on FAPLA defensive positions around the Tumpo River east of Cuito Cuanavale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Border War</span> 1966–1990 border war between Zambia, Namibia, and Angola

The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia, Zambia, and Angola from 26 August 1966 to 21 March 1990. It was fought between the South African Defence Force (SADF) and the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), an armed wing of the South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO). The South African Border War was closely intertwined with the Angolan Civil War.

Operation Displace was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War. It involved maintaining the illusion that the SADF had remained in brigade strength east of Cuito Cuanavale at the end of April 1988 and the eventual withdrawal of all South African military units from south-eastern Angola during August 1988.

Operation Wallpaper was a military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War.

Operation Alpha Centauri was a South African military operation during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War to halt an offensive launched by the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) towards Angola's Cuando Cubango Province. Its objective was to prevent FAPLA forces from reaching Jamba, a strategic town which functioned as the de facto headquarters of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and its armed wing.

Operation Moduler was a military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War. It formed part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. The Angolan objective was to advance south-east to attack the UNITA at Mavinga. The SADF objective was to protect UNITA by stopping that advance. The advance was halted with heavy Angolan casualties. The South African forces and its UNITA allies then began offensive operations against the Angolan forces, who had retreated back to a defensive line east of the Cuito River with the objective of destroying them once and for all.

Operation Hooper was a military operation in 1987-88 by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War. This operation forms part of what has come to be called the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. The Cubans' objective was securing the town of Cuito Cuanavale on the west of the river from capture. The SADF objective was to drive the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) west across the river or to destroy them, so as to ensure that FAPLA was no longer a threat to the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in the south-east. The FAPLA advance was permanently halted, UNITA lived to fight on for another 15 years. The SADF never attempted to capture the town. Both sides claimed victory.

Operation Packer was a military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War from March to April 1988. This operation forms part of what became known as the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. Operation Packer was a continuation of Operation Hooper, using fresh troops and equipment. The Cubans' objective was still to secure the town of Cuito Cuanavale to the west of the river from capture. The SADF objective was once again to eliminate the remaining Angolan forces on the east side of the river, so as to ensure that the Angolans were no longer a threat to UNITA in the south-east. Although at the conclusion some Angolan units remained in positions east of the river, the Angolan advance against UNITA was permanently halted, and UNITA lived to fight on. The SADF never attempted to cross the river or to capture the town. Both sides again claimed victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuito Cuanavale</span> Municipality in Cuando Cubango, Angola

Cuito Cuanavale, occasionally spelt Kuito Kuanavale or Kwito Kwanavale, is a town and municipality in Cuando Cubango (Kuando-Kubango) province in Angola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angola–South Africa relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Angola and South Africa in the post-apartheid era are quite strong as the ruling parties in both states, the African National Congress in South Africa and the MPLA in Angola, fought together during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War. They fought against UNITA rebels, based in Angola, and the apartheid-era government in South Africa which supported them. Nelson Mandela mediated between the MPLA and UNITA during the final years of the Angolan Civil War. Although South Africa was preponderant in terms of relative capabilities during the late twentieth century, the recent growth of Angola has led to a more balanced relation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban intervention in Angola</span> Cuban operation in southwestern Africa

The Cuban intervention in Angola began on 5 November 1975, when Cuba sent combat troops in support of the communist-aligned People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) against the pro-western coalition of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). The intervention came after the outbreak of the Angolan Civil War, which occurred after the former Portuguese colony was granted independence after the Angolan War of Independence. The civil war quickly became a proxy war between the Eastern Bloc, led by the Soviet Union and the Western Bloc, led by the United States. South Africa and the United States backed UNITA and the FNLA, while communist nations backed the MPLA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola</span> Former armed wing of the Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA)

The People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola or FAPLA was originally the armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) but later (1975–1991) became Angola's official armed forces when the MPLA took control of the government.

Operation Excite/Hilti was a set of military operations by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Karton</span>

Operation Karton was a secret military operation during August 1983 by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War.

Operation Cerebus was a South African Defence Force (SADF) special forces operation conducted in Angola during October 1985 during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War.

Operation Magneto was a military operation in August 1985 to transport UNITA soldiers by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War.

Operation Abrasion was a South African special forces military operation in December 1985 by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accidents and incidents involving the An-12 family</span> List of model-specific aviation incidents

The Antonov An-12 is a transport aircraft designed and manufactured by the Ukrainian manufacturing and services company Antonov. Given the long operational history of the An-12, more than 190 An-12s have crashed involving many casualties. The An-12 has also been involved in a number of aviation incidents.

References

  1. "369th Military Transport Aviation Regiment". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  2. "Гибель советского самолета в Анголе" [The death of a Soviet plane in Angola]. rsva.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  3. 1 2 Diedericks, André (2007). Journey Without Boundaries (2nd ed.). Durban, South Africa: Just Done Productions Publishing (published 23 June 2007). ISBN   978-1-920169-58-9. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
External image
Searchtool.svg Monument commemorating the crew of the Antonov An-12 in Jankoi, Crimea, Ukraine