Operation Konyn

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Operation Konyn
Part of the South African Border War
Location
Angola location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Chibemba
Red pog.svg
Cahama
Operation Konyn (Angola)
ObjectiveDestruction of air-defence installations and depots at and around the towns of Cahama and Chibemba in Angola.
Date21–23 August 1981

Operation Konyn (English: Operation Rabbit) was a military operation by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War. Operation Konyn was launched on 21 August 1981. The operation preceded Operation Protea with the objective of destroying targets at Cahama and Chibemba in Angola. [1] :169 The Angolans had built a series of radar and early warning stations at Cahama, Chibemba, Lubango and Menongue. Attacking the first two target towns would ensure that the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) would not interfere with the South African Air Force operations in support of South African Defence Force (SADF) ground troops taking part Operation Protea against People's Liberation Army of Namibia bases. [2]

A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may be of a combat or non-combat nature and may be referred to by a code name for the purpose of national security. Military operations are often known for their more generally accepted common usage names than their actual operational objectives.

South African Defence Force comprised the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994

The South African Defence Force (SADF) comprised the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994.

South African Border War The war on the border of South West Africa/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 resulted in some of the largest battles on the African continent since World War II and was closely intertwined with the Angolan Civil War.

Contents

Background

Planning for the operation began on the 21 August 1981 while SADF ground combat units begun to form up in position for Operation Protea that was to begin on the early morning of 23 August. [1] :169 On the morning of the 23 August, SAAF combat aircraft consisting of two Canberra bombers, eight Mirage F-1's and two Buccaneers attacked facilities at Cahama. [1] :169 Minutes later a further two Canberra bombers, sixteen Mirage F-1's attacked the radar installations at Chibemba. [1] :169 The radar facilities were heavily defended by SA-7s. [1] :169

English Electric Canberra Bomber aircraft family by English Electric

The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid-to-late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber. Among the performance requirements for the type was the demand for an outstanding high-altitude bombing capability and high speed. These were partly accomplished by making use of newly developed jet propulsion technology. When the Canberra was introduced to service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the type's first operator, in May 1951, it became the service's first jet-powered bomber.

Blackburn Buccaneer Royal Navy carrier-borne attack aircraft

The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British carrier-borne attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, but this name is rarely used.

By the afternoon, five Canberra bombers returned to Cahama and bombed it again and later that evening the Buccaneer's returned and attacked a transport depot north east of this target town. [1] :171

Aftermath

On 26 August, during Operation Protea, the town of Cahama and Chibembe were again bombed by the SAAF. [1] :174 The following day FAPLA engineers arrived at the towns and begun to rebuild the radar installations and upgrade the defensive positions. At the same time a mechanised battalion of PLAN arrived at Cahama, under FAPLA command, to take up a defensive position.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Nortje, Piet (2004). 32 Battalion: The Inside Story of South Africa's Elite Fighting Unit . Zebra. ISBN   1868729141.
  2. Louw, Martin & Bouwer, Stefaan (1995). The South African Air Force at War. p. 174.

Further reading

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