| Air Force of Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|
Flag of the Air Force of Zimbabwe |
|
| Active | 1980 – present |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Size | 5,000 personnel (1999) |
| Part of | Ministry of Defence |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Air Marshal Perence Shiri |
| Notable commanders |
Air Chief Marshal Josiah Tungamirai |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel | |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | Mi-35P |
| Fighter | F-7II/N, F-7MG, MiG-23 |
| Reconnaissance | O-2 |
| Trainer | SF-260, K-8, Hawk Mk 60 |
| Transport | Ilyushin Il-76, An-12, C-212, Islander, AB412SP |
The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) is the air force of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It was known as the Rhodesian Air Force until 1980. The Air Force of Zimbabwe saw service in the Mozambican Civil War in 1985 and the Second Congo War of 1998–2001.
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The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was reconstituted into the Air Force of Zimbabwe in 1980. The RhAF's 12 Hunter FGA.MK 9s were joined by other aircraft in 1981, 1984 and in 1987, from Kenya and the British Royal Air Force.
In 1981, the Air Force of Zimbabwe ordered 8 eight Hawk MK60s, which were delivered in July 1982. On the night of July 25, 1982 a sabotage attack on Thornhill airbase damaged four hawks, nine hunters and a single FTB-337G. One hawk was written off, another was repaired on site and the other two were returned to BAE for a rebuild. A follow-on order for five was completed in September 1992.
The first supersonic interceptor operated by the air force was the F7 Airguard, 12 of the IIN and II variants were delivered in 1986. In 1993, a pair of O-2As were delivered for anti-poaching patrols over Zimbabwe's national parks. Two Cougar helicopters were reported to be in use in 1997. One was delivered in April 1995 and the second in September 1996. They were used for VIP duties.
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly called Zaire), and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power (though hostilities continue to this day).
Zimbabwe's well-trained military entered the war as the best equipped side. In mid-August 1998, the AFZ deployed between five and six F-7s, most of the C.212s, and a dozen helicopters or more – including Alouettes, Bell 412s and Mi-35s – to Congo. All were flown by Zimbabwean pilots. Later on, after receiving an urgent shipment of spares, the AFZ apparently deployed some of Hawks as well, which, at the start of the war, had been reported as not in flyable condition. It was thus that the AFZ contingent in Congo in August and September 1998 consisted of flights from No.3, No.5, No.7 and No.8 Squadrons, while a flight from No.2 Squadron was to follow later.
The No.2 AFZ Squadron was flying 12 BAe Hawk T.Mk.60/60As, which are used as strike-fighters – equipped with AIM-9B Sidewinder AAMs, Mk.82-series bombs, and Hunting BL.755 cluster-bomber units (CBUs), as well as launchers for unguided rockets. Only six or seven F-7s From No.5 squadron were fully mission-capable. At the time the war in Congo was about to break out, Zimbabwe was in the middle of negotiations with China for an additional batch of 12 F-7s.
For transport, the AFZ had the No.3 Squadron, flying 12 CASA C.212-200 and six Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander light transports which had already seen heavy service, and were to see even more of this in Congo. Transport and liaison were also duties of the No.7 Squadron, equipped with Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette IIIs (including ex-Portuguese Air Force-and Romanian IAR-built examples), as well as of the No.8 Squadron, equipped with Agusta-Bell 412SPs which were later armed with rocket launchers for this war. However, the latter unit would soon to play a significant role in the war in DRC, as it was only recently equipped with the most recent addition to the AFZ: six Mi-35 helicopters (including two Mi-35Ps). The first AFZ Mi-35-crews were trained at Thornhill AB, in Gweru, by Russian instructors. CO of this unit was Sqn.Ldr. Mukotekwa.
The first noted AFZ operation took place on 26 August 1998, where they destroyed a 5 km armoured column of rebels as they were approaching Kinshasa.[1] After defeating the invaders in Kinshasa, the Zimbabweans, in the belief that Kabila's government was already safe, suggested that there was no need to continue the war, and peace should be negotiated. The result was that the rebels reinforced their efforts: the Rwandans and Ugandans were also rushing better-equipped units into the battle. Indeed, the garrisons in eastern Congo that remained loyal to Kabila were falling to rebel attacks one after the other. The Ndigili airport, in Kibanseke Province, as well as Kitona (both held by Zimbabwean troops) were attacked simultaneously. In both cases the AFZ responded with fierce air strikes, offering rebels the opportunity to claim that up to 100 civilians were killed by their bombs.
A series of fierce battles was fought between 4 and 13 September 1998, during which the Angolan mechanised forces were finally able to deploy their full firepower. The Chadian contingent was meanwhile deployed in NE Congo, where it participated in re-capture of Lubutu. The AFZ and FAC were active in this area for several days, flying a number of strikes during which cluster-bomb units (CBUs) were used. According to government reports 45 rebels were killed and 19 captured in this battle
On 13 September, when the Angolans attacked towards Kamina, the Zimbabweans found themselves under fierce attacks by thousands of rebels in the Manono area. It was in this area that the AFZ suffered its first documented loss of this war: on 4 September the SF.260MC flown by Sqn.Ldr. Sharunga crashed in bad weather, killing the pilot. Nine days later an Alouette III helicopter carrying several high ranking officers – including Col. Kufa and Sqn.Ldr. Vundla – was shot down by rebels in eastern central Congo. Kufa and Vundla were killed, while Flt.Sgt. Sande was captured by RCD.
In late October 1998, the Zimbabweans launched an offensive – to a degree possible due to the deployment of additional foreign troops in Congo, including some 2,000 Namibians – in SE Congo. This began with a series of air strikes, partially flown by BAe Hawk T.Mk.60s of the No.2 Squadron, newly deployed in Congo, and by F-7s of the No.5 Squadron. These first targeted airfields in Gbadolite, Dongo and Gmena, and then rebel and Rwandan communications and depots in Kisangani area, on 21 November. On the following day the No.2 Squadron prepared a special mission, launching a strike package of six aircraft, armed with Mk.82 bombs and Matra 155 rocket launchers for unguided rockets calibre 68mm: reaching out far over central Congo they appeared over the Lake Tanganyika and attacked ferries used to transport Burundi troops and supplies into the war in Congo. According to Zimbabwean reports their strike came as a complete surprise: with no other means of air defence but machine-guns and light infantry weapons, six ferries were sunk and 600 Burundi and Rwandan troops killed. In a similar attack, on 7 December 1998, Zimbabwean planes or helicopters sank two rebel boats on Lake Tanganyika some 40 km north of Moba.[2]
In November 1998, it was reported that a $54 million shipment of helicopters, fighters and spotter aircraft had arrived in Zimbabwe to assist in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is unclear who received the delivered weapons. There were only very few reports about the fighting in the next few days, probably because the Congolese, Zimbabwean and Angolan governments found themselves under heavy pressure from Western powers because of this offensive. The few reports released from sources close to the rebels indicated Zimbabwean and Congolese attacks on Nuyuzu, Kasinge and towards Manono, supported even by T-62 tanks and heavy artillery. According to Zimbabwean reports the Hawks and F-7s continued their operations by additional attacks against Kalemi on 24 November, and a new round of strikes against different airfields in eastern Congo two days later, during which the pilots of No.5 Squadron claimed destruction of an unidentified An-12 transport on the ground.[3]
The AFZ is subdivided into the Administration Wing, the Engineering Wing, the Flying Wing, and the Regimental Wing.[4] The Administration Wing supports equipment purchasing, recruitment, staff support, food supplies, and related functions. The Engineering Wing maintains and inspects aircraft and related equipment, and covers the School of Technical Training, a tertiary education institution responsible for training aircraft maintenance engineering technicians. (This is the only federation aviation school in Africa.) The Flying Wing handles aircrew personnel divided into eight squadrons at three primary bases. It also covers the schools for flying and parachute training. Finally, the Regimental Wing covers those squadrons specially selected to guard other AFZ assets, such as personnel and installations.[4]
It is very difficult to create a reasonable overview of the Air force of Zimbabwe aircraft inventory. There are very few credible sources of information on this subject on the internet or in the open literature. Since these sources do not completely agree with each other, it is best to take notice of all of them, and to accept a rather large margin of error.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nanchang K-8 Karakorum | China/ Pakistan | Advanced trainer | 11 | These are the upgraded K-8E with glass cockpit | ||
| Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger | Soviet Union | Multi role | 2 | 2 seen in 2003 fly past and currently believed to be stored at Thornhill because they are "excess to requirements". | ||
| Chengdu F-7 II/N Airguard – | China | Fighter | 6–30 | only 6 or 7 were operational when the DRC war started. It is believed an additional 12 were acquired early 1999. A third batch of the Chengdu F-7 MG variant was acquired in November 2004 | ||
| Guizhou FT-7BZ | China | Trainer | 2 | |||
| SIAI SF260M/TP/W | Italy | Basic Trainer | 49 delivered | Status unknown | ||
| Ilyushin Il-76 Candid | Soviet Union | transport | 1 | |||
| Boeing 720–025 | United States | transport | 1 | Status unknown | ||
| BAe 146 | United Kingdom | VIP transport | 1 | |||
| Gulfstream III | USA | VIP transport | 1 | Photographed in South Africa, 8 October 2008 | ||
| Yakovlev Yak-40 | Soviet Union | VIP transport | 3 | |||
| Antonov An-12 Cub | Soviet Union | Transport | 1 | |||
| CASA C212-200 Aviocar | Spain | Medium transport | 14 delivered | |||
| Harbin Y-12 | China | Light transport | unknown status | |||
| Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander | United Kingdom Romania | Light utility transport | 6 | |||
| Cessna FTB.337G and O-2A | USA | Light utility transport | 23 | 3 were lost in operations in the DRC | ||
| Mil Mi-35P Hind | Soviet Union | Attack helicopter | 2/4 | latest sources state that there is 2 Mi-35s and 4 Mi-35 | ||
| Eurocopter AS532 Cougar | France | Medium transport helicopters | 2 | used as presidential helicopters | ||
| Agusta-Bell 412SP | Italy | Light utility helicopter | 12 | some were armed with rockets for the DRC conflict | ||
| Aerospatiale SE-316B Alouette III | France | Light utility helicopter | 4 | 4 participated during the air show in 2005 | ||
| Mil Mi-8 Hip | Russia | Medium utility helicopter | 3 | were seen in a fly past on 12 July 2010 | ||
| Shenyang J-5 JJ-5 | China | Zimbabwe's standard jet trainer. | 2 |
Zimbabwe has been interested in MiG-29s in the past. A USD300+ order for a squadron was placed with Russia in the late 80s but was cancelled in 1992 [1] when the region stabilised as South Africa withdrew from Angola and Namibia. Negotiations to buy MiG-29SMTs were held again in 2004 [2] but an order for Chengdu FC-1 fighter was placed instead [3]. See The Military Balance, 2005 to 2009 issues.
The AFZ's rank structure is similar to the RAF's rank structure from where, via the Rhodesian Air Force, its ranks were derived.
In descending order of importance the AFZ officer ranks are:
In descending order of importance the AFZ airman ranks are:
It is difficult to ascertain the Air Force of Zimbabwe aircraft losses. It is believed four Hawks were lost, three F7s and several helicopters.
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