Counter-Strike from the Sky

by Wood, J. r. t.

• ISBN13: 9781920143619
• ISBN10: 1920143610
• Edition: DVD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-03-15
• Publisher: 30 Degrees South Pub Pty Ltd

Summary

Fireforce as a military concept dates from 1974 when the Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) acquired the French MG151 20mm cannon from the Portuguese. Coupled with this, the traditional counter-insurgency tactics (against Mugabe's ZANLA and Nkomo's ZIPRA) of follow-ups, tracking and ambushing simply weren't producing satisfactory results. Visionary RhAF and Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI) officers thus expanded on the idea of a 'vertical envelopment' of the enemy (first practiced by SAS paratroopers in Mozambique in 1973), with the 20mm cannon being the principle weapon of attack, mounted in an Alouette III K-Car ('Killer car'), flown by the air force commander, with the army commander on board directing his ground troops deployed from G-Cars (Alouette III troop-carrying gunships and latterly Bell 'Hueys' in 1979) and parachuted from DC-3 Dakotas. In support would be a propeller-driven ground-attack aircraft armed with front guns, pods of napalm, white phosphorus rockets and a variety of Rhodesian-designed bombs; on call would be Canberra bombers, Hawker Hunter and Vampire jets.

Table of Contents

List of Colour Plates	p. 8
Acknowledgments	p. 9
Glossary	p. 11
Foreword	p. 13
Introduction	p. 16
Prologue	p. 19
The Armed Struggle: The African Nationalist Bid for Power	p. 22
The Rhodesian Security Forces prior to 1965	p. 25
The Counter-Insurgency Campaign: 1966-1980	p. 35
Meeting the Challenge of the Insurgency	p. 50
The Basic Tool of Fireforce: The Alouette Helicopter	p. 55
The Arming of the Helicopter	p. 61
The Support Weapons	p. 67
The Precursor of Fireforce at the 'Battle of Sinoia': 28 April 1966	p. 75
Exploiting the Agility of the Helicopter	p. 81
The Birth of Fireforce	p. 90
The Development of Fireforce	p. 93
Fireforce Tactics	p. 96
Commanding the Fireforce	p. 99
A Day in the Life of an RAR Soldier	p. 119
Fireforce Writ Large: Operation Dingo: Airborne Assault in Mozambique: 23-27 November 1977	p. 123
Fireforce in Action at the Height of the War	p. 207
Selected Bibliography	p. 230
Index	p. 232
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