| Operation Kerslig | |
|---|---|
| Part of the South African Border War | |
| Location | Angola   Luanda Operation Kerslig (Angola) |
| Objective | Raid on the oil refinery in Luanda. |
| Date | 30 November 1981 |
Operation Kerslig (Operation Candle Light) was a South African Defence Force special forces raid on an oil refinery outside Luanda, Angola. The raid took place on 30 November 1981 by members of the 1 and 4 Reconnaissance Regiments.
The Petrangol refinery was built in 1958 and supplied Angola with petrol, diesel, and jet fuel and managed by Belgium company Petrofina SA . The refinery was to be attacked around 1am on 30 November with the intention to damage or destroy the distillation towers, fuel tanks and pipelines within the refinery complex. Members of 1 Reconnaissance Regiment (1RR) would conduct the initial surveillance of the refinery and the actual attack while 4 Reconnaissance Regiment (4RR) would man the special forces Barracuda boats and supply the divers with transport to and from the Angolan capital of Luanda supplied by the South African Navy strike-craft. The mission was to be covert and blame laid on UNITA as being responsible and not the South African Defence Force. [1] : Ch8 On 16 November, 1 RR was given training by 4 RR to refresh their knowledge with the boats and by 18 November with the two South African Navy strike-craft. [1] : Ch8 By 20 November the two strike-craft, SAS Oswald Pirow and SAS Jim Fouche, left Saldanha Bay with the 4RR boat crews and a two-man 1RR reconnaissance team and arrived for refuelling on 22 November at Walvis Bay before heading northwards to Angola. [1] : Ch8 The survey vessel SAS Protea (A324) would arrive on 24 November at Walvis Bay from Simon's Town and picked up the members of 1 RR attack teams before heading northwards as well. [1] : Ch8
On the night of 25 November, the two strike-craft positioned themselves off Luanda, 9 km north-west of the lighthouse at Ponto das Lagostas. [1] : Ch8 Two special forces boats were launched and headed for a point off the shore. Two 4RR divers then entered the water and swam to the beach to ensure the landing point's suitability and its security and then called the boats in to drop off the two-man reconnaissance team. [1] : Ch8 The boats returned to the strike-craft which withdrew 80 km offshore. As the dawn approached, the reconnaissance team found themselves in the middle of military transport storage area, but were able to leave and find a safer hideout during daylight hours. [1] : Ch8 That evening they returned to reconnoitre the transport storage area before proceeding to the refinery, surveilling and photographing the target before returning to their hideout having establishing an inward and exit route for an attack teams. [1] : Ch8 After spending another day at the hideout, on the evening of 27 November, the strike-craft returned and the boats collected the reconnaissance team. [1] : Ch8 The two strike-craft then set off for their rendezvous with the SAS Protea on the early morning of 28 November for refuelling as well as the final planning and briefings of the forthcoming raid and the transfer of the attack teams. [1] : Ch8
By early evening of 29 November, the two strike-craft were 16 km off Luanda. [1] : Ch8 Four boats were launched for the beach landing site and again dropped off the two reconnaissance team divers to investigate the landing site. [1] : Ch8 The four boats were then signalled to land. A communications team was left on the cliffs to maintain radio contact between the teams and the strike-craft. The HQ and attack teams then proceeded to the outer perimeter fence of the refinery. [1] : Ch8 None of the guard towers appeared to be occupied nor was the inner fence maintained. [1] : Ch8 By 23h57 the four attack teams had cut their way inside the refinery grounds while the support and HQ teams maintaining the security of the exit route. [1] : Ch8 Team 5 guarded the cut fence.
Team 1 proceeded to their target, three distilling towers, but were unable to lay their explosive in the right position as the design of the first tower and a manned control station did not match the intelligence so the explosives were laid on pipes into the tower. [1] : Ch8 Signalling the rest of the teams to begin their arming they proceeded to the second tower that appeared unmanned and out of commission. While attempting to break into the tower they were interrupted by a premature explosion from within the refinery at Team 4's site. [1] : Ch8 They then armed and left the charges at the towers' base and returned to the entrance site.
Team 2's targets were twelve jet fuel tanks. They were able to place six charges before the premature explosion from within the refinery interrupted them. [1] : Ch8 Following orders if the plan changed, they left the remaining charges against a tank and before attempting to arm one of the charges, a second premature explosion occurred within the refinery and so they left the explosives unarmed and returned to the entry point on the fence. [1] : Ch8 Meeting Team 1 they joined in the search of Team 4.
Team 3 managed to lay their charges on two spherical gas tanks and had proceeded to two horizontal tanks when the first premature explosion occurred within the refinery. [1] : Ch8 Orders were now to return to entry point, but finding their route blocked by guards proceeded to another part of the perimeter fence and exited leaving their remaining two charges on pipelines leading to the harbour before returning to the rendezvous point by following the fence. [1] : Ch8
Team 4 had charges to place on twelve crude oil tanks and they began to place them as soon as Team 1 gave the order to start. About seven minutes after they started, one of their charges prematurely exploded and they decided to place the remaining charges together. Captain de Kok armed one of them, but it exploded and the other two members of the team were injured. [1] : Ch8 One badly team member made it back to the entry point and so Team 1 and 2 re-entered the refinery to find the two missing men and found another team member badly burnt and blinded and returned him to the entry point and resumed their search for the De Kok, but after a third premature explosion it became too dangerous and it was realised he could not have survived. [1] : Ch8
The men returned to the entry point in the fence and made contact with the HQ team, returning to the beach via the vehicle transport area to save time while more premature explosions occurred in the refinery. [1] : Ch8 The boats were already on the beach waiting and the strike-craft were closer to the shore to speed up the pick-up. [1] : Ch8 The two injured were transferred to individual strike-craft for treatment by medical teams and as soon as the boats were loaded, headed out to sea as several more explosions broke out in the refinery. The two strike-craft would later rendezvous with SAS Protea and transferred the two injured men and latter would then head for Walvis Bay reaching there on 2 December where the men were transported to Pretoria for medical treatment. [1] : Ch8 The two strike-craft left Angolan waters and would arrive back in Langebaan with the 1 & 4 Reconnaissance Regiment teams on 4 December before sailing for Simon's Town later that day to refuel and restock and return to their bases. [1] : Ch8
Fire-fighters managed to bring the fires under control by 1 December while all fires had been extinguished by 3 December. [1] : Ch8 Angolan and Western oil officials claimed that if the attack had been successful, the city of Luanda would have taken damage from the explosion and the release of poison chemicals. [2] Brave refinery workers had managed to remove lead tetrachloride, which the South Africans did not know about, from the tanks before the flames got to them. [1] : Ch8
Kundi Paiama, Angola's Minister of State Security was demoted after the raid because of the security lapses. [3] Several infantry units were called in to guard the complex while security infrastructure within the refinery was upgraded. [1] : Ch8
The Belgium operator of the refinery reckoned the damage to the refinery would be repaired in two months. [2] It was close to three months before partial production began again. [1] : Ch8 Seventeen tanks had been destroyed, but the gas spheres had not exploded even though their contents burnt close the point of the explosion. [1] : Ch8 The South African intelligence reckoned that $60 million of various fuel products had been lost and that the damage was worth $36.5 million. [1] : Ch8
Jonas Savimbi, leader of UNITA, initially claimed responsibility for the attack by a small assault team firing RPGs. [4] But his version of events did not match the evidence left behind by the attackers.[ clarification needed ] [1] : Ch8
By the 1 December, Angolan officials presented evidence to Western diplomats that the attack had been carried out by South African "mercenaries". [1] : Ch8 It appeared that SADF special forces member, Captain AJP de Kock, was killed instantly when demolition explosives he was laying, prematurely exploded. [5] His remains, the mines, weapons and other sabotage equipment that was left behind were presented to the world's media. [2]
The raid was acknowledged as a South African special forces operation during the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. [6]
The Angolan Armed Forces or FAA is the military of Angola. The FAA consist of the Angolan Army, the Angolan Navy and the National Air Force of Angola. Reported total manpower in 2021 was about 107,000. The FAA is headed by the Chief of the General Staff António Egídio de Sousa Santos since 2018, who reports to the minister of National Defense, currently João Ernesto dos Santos.
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Royal Navy formed special forces with several name changes—Special Boat Company was adopted in 1951 and re-designated as the Special Boat Squadron in 1974—until on 28 July 1987 when the unit was renamed as the Special Boat Service after assuming responsibility for maritime counter-terrorism. Most of the operations conducted by the SBS are highly classified, and are rarely commented on by the British government or the Ministry of Defence, owing to their sensitive nature.
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force.
The Eland is an air portable light armoured car based on the Panhard AML. Designed and built for long-range reconnaissance, it mounts either a 60mm (2.4 in) breech-loading mortar or a Denel 90mm (3.5 in) gun on a very compact chassis. Although lightly armoured, the vehicle's permanent 4X4 drive makes it faster over flat terrain than many tanks.
The South African Special Forces Brigade, colloquially known as the Recces, is South Africa's principal special operations unit, specialising in various types of operations, including counter-insurgency, long-range-reconnaissance, unconventional-warfare, special operations, hostage-rescue, and direct-action operations. 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 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 resulted in some of the largest battles on the African continent since World War II and was closely intertwined with the Angolan Civil War.
Operation Savannah was the South African code name for their military incursion into Angola in 1975–1976. It was part of the South African Border War and arose due to the Angolan War of Independence. The operation also materially influenced the subsequent Angolan Civil War. South African forces invaded deep into Angola with the objective of driving the MPLA, Soviet and Cuban forces out of southern Angola so as to strengthen the position of UNITA, the main opponent of the MPLA and an ally of South Africa.
Operation Protea was a military operation during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War in which South African Defence Forces (SADF) destroyed a number of South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) bases in Angola. During the operation, which took place from 23 August to 4 September 1981, up to 5,000 SADF soldiers occupied Cunene province, Angola.
Operation Askari was a military operation during 1983 in Angola by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War.
Operation Daisy was a military operation conducted from November 1–20, 1981 by the South African Defence Force and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) in Angola during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War. This conflict was sparked when the South African Defence Force decided to try to halt the regroup of the active military branch of SWAPO, also known as the People's Liberation Army of Namibia.
Operation Prone was a proposed military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War between May and September 1988. With the advance of the 50th Cuban Division towards Calueque and the South-West Africa border, the SADF formed the 10 SA Division to counter this threat. The plan for Operation Prone had two phases. Operation Linger was to be a counterinsurgency phase and Operation Pact a conventional phase.
The Raid on Pebble Island was a raid by British Special Forces on Pebble Island's airfield during the Falklands War, and took place on the night of 14–15 May 1982. Pebble Island is one of the smaller Falkland Islands, lying north of West Falkland. The site was being used as a forward operating base for T-34 Mentor and Pucara aircraft by the Argentine Air Force; British Special Air Service (SAS) operatives were tasked with destroying the aircraft on the ground, in an operation that echoed back to some of the unit's first missions during the North African Campaign of World War II. SAS elements, then embarked on HMS Hermes, were tasked with eliminating the airfield, with naval support from the Type 22 frigate HMS Broadsword as Hermes defensive escort and the County-class destroyer HMS Glamorgan to provide naval gunfire support with its Mark 6 4.5 inch guns.
Special Forces of Zimbabwe are the units of the Zimbabwe National Army that operate as special forces. These forces have been deployed in several African conflicts, including the Mozambique Civil War and the Second Congo War.
The Warrior-class strike craft are in service with the South African Navy, with the design being a modified Sa'ar 4 (Reshef)-class fast attack craft. The class was initially known as the Minister class as all the boats were named after South African Ministers of Defence, before being renamed Warrior-class after 1994. The strike craft flotilla was known as SAS Scorpion.
The Battle of Quifangondo was fought on 10 November 1975, near the strategic settlement of Quifangondo, Luanda Province, between the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA), armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and the National Liberation Army of Angola (ELNA), armed wing of the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). The engagement was notable for marking the first major deployment of rocket artillery in the Angolan Civil War, as well as the last serious attempt by ELNA forces to seize Luanda, the Angolan capital. It occurred on the last day of Portuguese colonial rule in the country, which formally received independence only hours after the fighting.
Angola–India relations refers to the international relations that exist between Angola and India.
Operation Klinker was a military operation in Angola during December 1983 by the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South African Air Force (SAAF) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War.
The 4 Reconnaissance Commando is a defunct South African Special Forces unit of the South African Defence Force that was formed in July 1978, specialising in amphibious operations.
Operation Nobilis was a special forces and naval operation in 1984 by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War. Its objective was the destruction of three Angolan OSA missile boats in Luanda harbour with alternative targets of other Angolan naval or commercial transport vessels in the military harbour.
Operation Lark was two special forces naval operations in 1978 conducted by members of the South African Navy (SADF), 4 Reconnaissance Regiment and Rhodesian SAS during the South African Border War. Its objective was the assassination of Robert Mugabe at his residence in Maputo, Mozambique.
| Participants | |
|---|---|
| Related conflicts | |
| Background | |
| Events |
|
| Aftermath | |
| Memorials | |
| Related topics | |
