Chapter 30 OPERATION DINGO THE ATTACK ON CHIMOIO AND TEMBUE

OPERATION DINGO 

On November 22, 1977, the Parachute Training School filled with scores of men, all about to receive a most extraordinary briefing. The next morning we would attack a large terrorist base camp at Chimoio, across the border in Mozambique. Every single PJI was involved - even those who’d left the school through injury were called up from their civilian occupations. It was the largest operation up until that time and involved 168 paratroopers plus pilots, crew, and PJIs,  8 (although others say 6) Dakotas, a DC7 and about 40 choppers. We were about to commence Operation Dingo and a new phase of our Bush War.

It was thanks to our experiments with the DC7 that this massive operation was even possible. Before this the Rhodesians could only attack camps within the range of our Alouette III Helicopters. Sure, we could bomb and strafe them with our Canberra, Hunter, Vampire or other light fixed-wing aircraft, but if we really wanted to do damage, the best way, as usual, was to surround the bastards and kill them. We had to be on the ground to do this and to get on the ground in sufficient numbers, we needed the ability to provision troops and refuel helicopters.

This is where the DC 7 really changed things up. Suddenly we could parachute more men, more supplies and essential 200 litre drums of Jet A1 Helicopter fuel. Now we had a method of attacking terrorist base camps far away from our borders. We could refuel the helicopters close to the target, and also drop men into the same spot to help position the drums and provide a reserve of reinforcements for the main battle if needed. The DC7, used in conjunction with our trusty old Daks, became a lethal combination.

One evening in September 1977, I was summoned to COM OPS, an unusual request, especially in the middle of the night. I rocked up at COM OPS where Group Capt Norman Walsh, the Air Force Director of Operations, and Lt/Col Brian Robinson, the boss of the SAS were studying a number of aerial photos.

 I also took a look- it seemed to be a very large camp of some sort. Information, such as the parade ground, hospital, and weapon pits, had been marked on the maps; along one side there appeared to be a small river and down the other sides were trees and huts.

They wanted to know if it was possible to drop troops amongst the trees along the edges of the camp. The trees were mainly scrub with the occasional taller, 20 -30 foot tree (6-8 meter).

I was also shown another set of aerial photos of another enemy base camp. This one was a big square carved out of the bush, with a number of buildings and weapons' pits in the middle. 

This time it was easy. The camp commander had cleared the bush for about 1500 metres around his camp providing us with a lovely DZ. The paratroopers would be dropped down two opposite sides and the choppers would block off the two ends. I was asked if I could see any problems with the plan to put paratroops into the proposed drop zones. My only concern was the height of the trees and, once I was assured they were not more than 7 to 8 meters tall, I was quite happy because they were ideally positioned for the attacking paratroopers to have immediate cover on landing.

I wasn’t told where the camps were, but it wasn’t hard to guess they were both over the border in Mozambique.  We also discussed jumping from, and doing fuel supply drops from the DC 7, and whilst I did not see any problems from a parachuting point of view, this large aircraft could be vulnerable to ground fire, especially if it was flying low and slow during the dropping runs.

A couple of months went by before the many men involved were called into the PTS for the briefing. It was then they were informed we were to drop eight Dakota loads of paratroops down the two sides of the Chimoio Terrorist Camp. This complex measured approximately 3000meters by 5000meters with a river running across another side. The plan called for paratroopers to be dropped at 50meter intervals down two, sides of the camp, and for helicopter borne troops to be positioned on the other side of the river.

The attack was to take place when the terrorists were on parade, with one drop between the hospital and the parade ground and the second drop into the scrub about 1000 metres from the parade ground complex. The choppers would also put troops down on the other side of the little river so the entire enemy camp would be suddenly, and very effectively, surrounded.

In the mean while the DC 7 would drop some more paratroops, along with fuel and other provisions, into the Admin area, which was about a 10 minute chopper flight away. These guys could quickly position the 200 litre drums of helicopter fuel to allow for fast refuelling and they would also be a ready reserve if required.

This photograph shows the DC 7 F with its matt black finish . This paint job was completed in half a day using paint rollers.


The DC7 would be painted over with a black matte paint, in the hope it would lessen the chance of a SAM7 missile locking onto its nice shiny surface. The two PJIs detailed for that aircraft were to liaise with 3 Air Supply Platoon about loading the fuel drums, spare ammunition for the soldiers, 20mm cannon shells for the K cars, and anything else that would be parachuted in from the DC7. The painting of this large 4 engine aircraft, was done in an afternoon, by a lot of men using paint rollers and hundreds of liters of paint.

This photograph shows R.L.I. troopers climbing into the DC7 'loaded for bear'. It was not for this operation because the aircraft is without its coat of mat black paint. However it does give an idea of the size of the DC7 and it also shows just how young these men were.  

As always the troops received training tailored especially for the operation at hand. In this instance, for those jumping from the Dakotas, the PJIs carried out ground training which focused specifically on the aircraft drill. This was because the sticks were to be dispatched very slowly as opposed to the usual, quick as possible, exit. This was more difficult than it sounds. It was very hard to slow the men down to one per second, especially once adrenalin kicked in, and you had a bunch of battle-ready guys pushing from the back. To ensure perfect timing, as each man stepped into the door he was physically held, then allowed to go.

This photograph shows the R.L.I. troops on their way to the Admin Base about 10 min. chopper flying time from Chimoio Terrorist Base Camp. No such thing as health and safety and no seats or seat belts, just sit on the floor. This image shows the inside of the D.C.7 F aft of the open cargo door and the static line cable turn buckles are shown on the right foreground.

This photograph is of the forward section of the DC7F and shows some of the very hard working # 3 Air Supply Platoon dispatchers sitting on top of a large number of 200 liter drums of Jet A one Chopper fuel  Next to the drums the boxes containing 20mm cannon ammo for the Kcar helicopters, extra .762mm rifle ammunition, water, rations explosives and most things we thought may be required to destroy the terrorist base camp. The paratroops on the right of the photo were the lucky ones as they had wooden benches to sit on.

Those jumping into the Admin Base from the DC7 were taught the Aircraft Drill as most of these paratroopers had not jumped from this aircraft before. Talk about on the job training this was the ultimate.

I briefed the pilots on the line astern configuration of the drop, and reminded them the drop speed was 95 knots with half flap and the drop height was 500 feet, with each aircraft stepped out slightly to starboard of the aircraft in front. This allowed the Skipper of the aircraft behind to observe the paratroops deployed from the aircraft in front, so he could turn the green light on immediately the count reached 21. This meant there were no gaps in the long line of parachutes and an imposing wall of soldiers was created.

During the drop, each Dakota Skipper also kept his finger on the transmit button, so the next aircraft could hear the PJI call out the number of the paratrooper as he made his exit. This enabled the green light to be turned on in the next dropping aircraft at precisely the right moment. After the last man in each stick was dispatched the Skipper pointed the nose down and headed for the trees, getting the speed up close to 200 knots.

As each Dakota completed its drop, it broke away from the target and made for the Rhodesian border. As soon as they were clear the Skipper slowed down so the bags could be pulled in, and, once they were in, the speed was increased again. I was in the lead Dakota, and after we completed our drop we returned to Rhodesian airspace and landed at Forward Air Field 8, otherwise known as Grand Reef, just outside Umtali. Extra parachutes and RLI reinforcements were positioned here if needed. The other Dakota aircraft of No.3 Sqn returned to New Sarum.

As soon as the reinforcements were issued with their parachutes I went to the Ops room to see how things were progressing. The Battle of Chimoio continued for the rest of the day and the troops involved settled into ambush positions for the night.

The attack on Chimoio was an astounding success. Sadly we lost one Vampire FB9 and the pilot was killed, an SAS paratrooper was also killed and eight soldiers were wounded. In contrast, over 3000, and some estimate more than 4000, enemy were killed. If we had to fight a battle then this was the way to do it. Minimum casualties on our side, maximum casualties to the enemy, and the complete annihilation of their base.

The next day the paratroopers were recovered by helicopter, along with a large amount of war materials. This could only be done because the DC 7 dropped the 200 litre drums of fuel close to the target.

One previously unpublished incident is that the last aircraft to fly over Chimoio was a Dakota which dropped leaflets over the destroyed camp. I can safely say I was the last person over the battle area, as I was in the rear of that aircraft throwing out the bits of paper. This particular sortie was done as fast and as low as possible.

On the way back to Rhodesia we were fired at and actually took a couple of hits through the tail. Chris Pesarra and I returned fire, me with my 762 FN rifle and Chris with his personal .44 Magnum revolver. The bang from the revolver was incredible and the Skipper, Bob d’Houtman wanted to know if we still had a tail plane.

We again landed at FAF 8, but this time it was to pick up a load of the paratroops involved at Chimoio and fly them back to New Sarum. On our arrival we expected to be stood down and sent home for a well-earned rest. This was not the case. Instead, we were immediately assembled for another briefing – Operation Dingo was only half done.

We were to hit the second camp I’d seen mapped out a couple of months earlier in Com Ops. It was called Tembue and was situated to the north of Lake Cabora Bassa, a large dam on the Zambezi River inside Mozambique.

Again, we drew parachutes and checked everything, but this time, rather than doing ground training, we simply reminded the paratroopers of their drills. This was still classed as Operation Dingo – but whilst we’d successfully completed phase one, now called Zulu 1, we were off to finish the job with the final phase, Zulu 2.

This photograph shows 3 of the Parra Dakotas flying over the Rhodesian countryside but I am uncertain if it was on the way to or from Chimoio,  but it looks as if it may have been. A PJI can be seen looking at the aircraft from which this photograph was taken.

This photograph shows two of the Parra Dakotas flying over the flood waters of the giant Cabora Bassa dam after dropping their paratroops around the Tembue terrorist base camp approx 225km inside Mozambique from the Rhodesian border.


This time I was on the last aircraft, which was to do the drop down the right hand side of the cleared square. Being in the last aircraft I hoped to see something of the airstrikes. In addition, it was only fair that I take my share of flack as the last aircraft was the most likely to be shot at.

As it happens, we weren’t shot at. However, I did see a Hunter FGA9 fire his front guns at a round pit on the ground and, as he pulled up I swear he flew under the Dakota doing its drop on the other side of the target. Thanks to all those Jet Jocks for keeping us sitting ducks safe.

Zulu 2 was equally successful – although, as it was a smaller camp, the number of enemy killed was less. Operation Dingo only took place because we’d learned to parachute from the DC 7 and were able to use its tremendous cargo parachuting capacity, as well as drop paratroops from it. Op Dingo was the first time the DC 7 was used on static line operational parachute drops, but it was not the last. It proved we could launch large-scale attacks far from home and strike and destroy the enemy before they even had a chance to cross our borders.