I served 18 months in the "bush war" at this Airbase - AFB Ondangwa (Sector 10).

It was a forward tactical airfield, used mainly for launching Impala bomb raids on targets within Angola (as far north as Luanda), troop support in the form of Allouettes with their 20mm guns (which also provided "top cover" for landing transports), a paratroop base, Mirage fighters to scramble against any air threats (the Migs got brave sometimes) and also very importantly as a Casevac (casualty evacuation) station. It had the biggest and most well equiped field hospital north of Grootfontein and was usualy used to stabilise the wounded before moving them down to Grootfontein. I remember donating many a pint of blood at the hospital for wouded soldiers.

It was one of the smaller re-supply bases for sector 10 (maily fuel and ammo, although Oshakati was much larger) and was also used as a transit camp (deurgangskamp) due to the fact this was the main port of air entry into the region as the runway could accomodate Hercules C130's (or "Flossies")

I never heard any stories or rumours about conspiracy theories or Americans trying to steal SAM sites.

Truth be told - the SAM technology that FAPLA (Angolan forces) did manage to get from the USSR was so outdated and in disrepair, I doubt the Americans would want it - or be able to learn anything from it at all. It mainly consisted of SAM 2's welded to the back of pickup trucks or shoulder fired SAM 7's that hardly ever worked - we found a few arms caches containing these and had one fired at one of our Dacotas just north of the base. It hit the tail and did so little damage the pilot landed back at base witout much effort.

I spent many hours in the ops room (Victor zero) and also went out on many ops from this base, some of these across the border (kaplyn) into Angola itself. We never saw or heard any stories about any Americans, stolen SAM sites or the like. Engineers, the Recces or sometimes ourselves would generally dispatch any SAMs right in the field where they stood.

God, I could write a book about things that happened on this base, like :

The time we shot 92 holes though a civilian car and the driver survived unharmed....

The huge brawl we had against the parabats where more than 100 troops beet the C$Ap out of each other...

The time I started my own private war againt a herd of wild pigs, by mistake of course....

.... I could go on forever.

I have many photographs (unofficially of course as these were banned) and even found an old airbase newsletter called "Oshifo E Shonwa" or "The Eagles Newpaper"

If anyone is interested, I can dig out and scan some pictures and even the newsletter from my time on Ondangs (as we called it) and upload it somewhere.

Lemme know if anyone is interested.

Cheers.