Air Force of Zimbabwe

The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) is the

The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF; formerly known, from 1954 until 1970, as the Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF)), 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 (RAF).

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.

Second Congo War 1998–2003

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; although hostilities are currently ongoing. Zimbabwe's well-trained military entered the war as the best-equipped side. In mid-August 1998, the AFZ deployed five or six F-7s, most of the C.212s, at least four Cessna 337G Lynxs, and a dozen or more helicopters, including Alouettes, Bell 412s and Mi-35s, to Congo. All aircraft were flown by Zimbabwean pilots. After receiving an urgent shipment of spare Hawks, the AFZ apparently deployed some of them as well. At the start of the war, the Hawks had been reported to be in unflyable condition. Due to these circumstances the AFZ contingent in the Congo in August and September 1998 consisted of flights from No.3, No.4, No.5, No.7 and No.8 Squadrons, while a flight from No.2 Squadron was to follow later.

The No.2 AFZ

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.^[4] 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. This resulted in the reinforcement of rebel efforts as well as the Rwandans and Ugandans rushing better-equipped units into the battle. The garrisons in eastern Congo that remained loyal to Kabila fell to rebel attacks. 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. Rebels claimed that up to 100 civilians were killed by their bombs.

A series of fierce battles were 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

In late October 1998, the Zimbabweans launched an offensive in SE Congo. The offensive was made possible owing to the deployment of additional foreign troops in Congo, including some 2,000 Namibians. 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 units first targeted airfields in Gbadolite, Dongo and Gmena, and then rebel and Rwandan communications and depots in the Kisangani area, on 21 November. On the following day the No.2 Squadron launched a strike package of six aircraft, armed with Mk.82 bombs and Matra 155 rocket launchers for unguided rockets calibre 68mm, which reached out far over central Congo. They deployed over 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 machine-guns and light infantry weapons as the only means of air defense, 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.^[5]

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 by

The AFZ is subdivided into the Administration Wing, the Engineering Wing, the Flying Wing, and the Regimental Wing.[8] 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. The training institute 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. The Regimental Wing covers those squadrons specially selected to guard other AFZ assets, such as personnel and installations.^[8] and weapon activations.

Directorates found in the airforce of Zimbabwe:

• Regiment
• Civil Military Relations
• Finance
• Training
• Health Services
• Intelligence
• Administration
• Engineering

Aircraft

Current inventory

Ascertaining a list of aircraft types operated by the Air force of Zimbabwe is difficult because of secrecy. AFZ has been constantly linked to

Retired aircraft

Previous notable aircraft operated by the Air Force consisted of the

The AFZ's rank structure is similar to the RAF's rank structure from where, via the Rhodesian Air Force, its ranks were derived.

Officers/Commissioned Ranks

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
Air Force of Zimbabwe[20] v t e
			Air chief marshal		Air marshal		Air vice-marshal		Air commodore		Group Captain		Wing commander		Squadron leader		Flight lieutenant		Air lieutenant			Air sub-lieutenant

Airmen/Other ranks/Non Commissioned Ranks

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Air Force of Zimbabwe[20] v t e																																			No insignia
	Warrant officer class 1						Master technician	Warrant officer class 2	Master sergeant	Flight sergeant	Sergeant												Corporal				Senior aircraftman		Leading aircraftman						Aircraftman

Aircraft losses

Exact figures for the Air Force of Zimbabwe's aircraft losses have not been publicly published. It is believed four Hawks were lost, three F7s and several helicopters.

• Michael Enslin, 21 years of age the time, was shot down in a BAe Hawk at 1000 feet while recovering from a dive. He survived for 5 days in the bush until he was rescued. He was the third pilot to be shot down.
• SF.260MC flown by Wing Commander. Sharaunga crashed in bad weather, killing the pilot.
• The Pilot Wing Commander became disorientated at night while on the way to take part in a
  Laurent Kabila
  's funeral, and the pilot ejected. He was found alive in the jungle by Zimbabwean troops five days later.

Incidents and accidents

• The Air Force suffered a major setback on 25 July 1982 when four of their eight
  Thornhill Air Base. Plane 602 was written off, plane 601 was kept in Zimbabwe for repairs, whilst planes 600 and 603 were shipped back to British aerospace for repairs to airworthy status^{[citation needed}
  ]
• 22 July 1985, a
  UFO was witnessed by dozens of persons on the ground and in the control tower at Bulawayo Airport now Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport. The air traffic controllers watched it hover and tracked it on radar and two BAE Systems Hawk jets were scrambled to pursue it and the pilots described it as incredibly shiny, reflecting the colours of the sunset they estimated that the UFO was travelling at twice the speed of sound^{[citation needed}
  ]
• More than 20 airspace intrusions were reported in the first nine days of October 1992. The violations appeared to be in the vicinity of
  Thornhill Air Base and the violators are believed to be South African transport planes on their way to Angola.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• February 1995, a Chengdu F-7 crashed near Lalapanzi after encountering some engine problems. Fight Lieutenant Zisengwe died in the plane crash^{[citation needed]}
• 21/22 January 2001, an unnamed
  Wing Commander flying a Chengdu F7 became disoriented at night while on the way to take part in a flypast at Laurent Kabila's funeral. He ejected and was found alive in the jungle by Zimbabwean troops five days later.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• In 2005, a
  Wing Commander Lysias Charuka and Air Lieutenant Aletini Silaigwana^{[citation needed}
  ]
• 1 April 2005 Aérospatiale Alouette III Crashed soon after take-off in Gokwe, the pilot tried to avoid telephone lines. All four on board survived^{[citation needed]}
• 5 September 2008, a K-8 Karakoram training jet crashed into Block 1 Married Quarters flats at
  Chirumanzu and Flight Lieutenant Dumisani Ndlovu of Bulawayo. Both were 28 years old^[21]
• On 22 September 2010, K-8 serial number 2021C piloted by "Venom" practicing for the
  AFB Ysterplaat, Cape Town. It took some time to get the runway open again and aircraft in the air at the time diverted to Cape Town International Airport^{[citation needed}
  ]
• On 4 September 2014 a SIAI-Marchetti
  SF.260 trainer aircraft crashed into a shanty town on the western outskirts of the capital soon after takeoff from the Charles Prince Airport on a routine training mission over the Mount Hampden area when it suddenly nose-dived and crashed. The two pilots, Squadron leader Taurayi Jombo aged 36, and Air Lieutenant Evidence Edzai Begede aged 28 died on the spot. Such was the force of the impact that one of the pilots was decapitated but there were no further casualties only extensive structural damage to buildings nearby^[22]
• On the morning of 23 April 2015 a K-8 crashed in an open field a few kilometers from Thornhill Airbase after catching fire. Both pilots ejected safely^[23]
• An SIAI-Marchetti trainer aircraft
  Squadron Leader Mkhululi Dube and trainee pilot Silungile Sweswe^[24]
• On 23 April 2021, an Agusta Bell 412
  AB-412 helicopter from Number 8 Squadron crashed in Arcturus just 32 km east of Harare. It was on a general handling sortie. Four crew members and one child on the ground died. Among the crew was Annita Mapiye, the country's first female Air Force helicopter pilot. No mayday was transmitted ^[25]
• An
  Mi-35 helicopter gunship made an emergency landing in an open field in Chitungwiza on 8 July 2021 after the pilot, a group captain, tried his luck on an empty tank against the advice of the engineer. On board were two pilots and five aircraft technicians. They all survived without injuries.^[26]
• On 3 February 2023 an
  SF-260 on a training sortie crashed in the Mlezu college area near Gweru. Both Pilots Group Captain Benson Munyanduki and Wing Commander Daniel Manyenga perished. This was the air force's fourth crash in a little over two years.^[27]

• Fylde Air Base
• List of air forces

References

Notes