Winds of Destruction
Peter John Hornby Petter-Bowyer
Winds of Destruction is a unique account of one man’s service in the Rhodesian Air Force, spanning a period of twenty-three years from 1957 to 1980—through the politically turbulent years of Federation; the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (U.D.I.) by Ian Smith’s government in 1965 and thirteen years of relentless, uncompromising bush warfare against the never-ending tide of Robert Mugabe’s and Joshua Nkomo’s ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrillas. In a gruelling conflict that permitted no quarter, the Rhodesian Air Force (Rh.A.F.) fast became one of the Rhodesian Defence Force’s most lethal and effective counter-insurgency organs. In pre-emptive bombing strikes against enemy camps in Mozambique, Zambia and as far afield as Tanzania; in its integral role as a troop-carrier and airborne strike force in ‘fireforce’ operations; in working closely with such specialist units as the Selous Scouts, the S.A.S., the R.L.I. and the R.A.R. the Rhodesian Air Force was never far from the action and in no small way responsible for the astonishing military successes against a vastly numerically superior army. This all in spite of the international sanctions against Rhodesia, which ordinarily would have brought a nation’s armed forces to its knees. However, forced by circumstances, the Rh.A.F. was obliged to maximise usage of its aging fleet of fighter-bombers, transports and helicopters and to resort to innovative techniques in terms of tactics and weapons systems, many of which were later adopted by the South African Air Force in its own counter-insurgency operations in Angola and Namibia in the ’80s.
P.J.H. Petter-Bowyer
WINDS OF
DESTRUCTION
The Autobiography of a Rhodesian Combat Pilot
Maps
Central Africa and Southern Africa
Air Force Bases and Forward Airfields
Rhodesian, ZIPRA and ZANLA Operational Boundaries
Foreword
I WILL NOT PRETEND THAT I have known Group Captain Peter John Hornby Petter-Bowyer, affectionately known as ‘PB’, as long as some have. After both having left our beloved Rhodesia, we lived in the same town, Durban, for years without encountering each other. Given my work on the history of Rhodesia, and my service in the Rhodesian Regiment and the Rhodesian Intelligence Corps, I knew his reputation, of course, indeed the awe in which this modest-to-a-fault airman was held within the ranks of the Rhodesian Security Forces. If our paths did not cross in daily life, I made it my business to interview him about what I knew of his achievements.
What PB presents us with in this book is a unique account of Rhodesia from the prosperous post-Second World War years to her death-throes in 1980. Unique because it is seen not just through the eyes of a pilot, because PB was seldom deskbound, rarely flying a ‘Mahogany Bomber’ at headquarters, but through those of a Renaissance man, the proverbial man of great knowledge. PB’s restless, inquiring mind never allowed him just to perform the task required of him. He was not what the Army thought of the typical pilot, homeward bound to clean clothes, a warm bed, fine food and the girls and the beer.
If PB was flying, he was thinking. Thinking about his aircraft. He was not an engineer but he would be responsible for many modifications of his aircraft, much to the irritation of a few of the technical staff. If he was bombing, he was thinking about the bomb, its purpose and whether it was achieving it. So it would be PB who would mastermind the invention and production of Rhodesia’s remarkable range of bombs. He did not do this alone, but his inquiring, inventive mind was the inspiration. The Rhodesian Air Force was condemned by circumstance to fly aircraft which elsewhere were obsolete, but the best had to be made of them, and not just by a high level of flying competence. The aging Canberra bomber (designed by PB’s cousin, William ‘Teddy’ Petter) was Rhodesia’s bomber equipped with a range of standard NATO bombs. PB soon saw ways to make it more effective even if metal fatigue would reduce the number of available Canberras. PB enhanced the humble air-to-ground rocket and gave the Hunter a formidable blast bomb, among other weapons. When a helicopter pilot, PB would enhance the Alouette III’s refuelling ability, and assist in improving its weaponry.
It was not just a fascination with technology that marks the man. PB is not just an inventor; he was an inspiring and resourceful leader of the school that did not ask his pilots to do anything he would not do, and he would be the one doing it longer. Beginning with his helicopter days in the latter half of 1960s, PB was a leading counter-insurgency tactician. It was PB who realised that one could track from the air. Better than that, alone among the pilots, he realised that there were telltale signs, not just tracks, which betrayed the presence of his enemy. His self-imposed social anthropological research led him to become Rhodesia’s leading air-recce pilot when commanding No 4 Squadron. When PB appeared overhead in his stuttering Trojan, everyone in the ground forces knew something was about to happen, that the whereabouts of the quarry was about to be known. His training led to others acquiring this skill, and one at least bettered him, but it was PB who had the vision. He would carry that vision into every task that he performed.
I commend to you not just this inspiring pilot’s tale, but the man himself.
Professor J.R.T Wood
Durban, South Africa
Author’s Note
WHILE RESEARCHING MY FAMILIES’ backgrounds I ran into difficulties that forced me to rely entirely on faded memories of aged relatives because no written legacies exist. So in 1984 I started recording my own life’s story with the simple objective of leaving a permanent record, in hopes that my family would record their own historical narratives for successive generations to build upon. But then in January 2000 I was persuaded by Rhodesian friends to expand on what I had recorded, to meet a need for at least one Rhodesian Air Force story told at an individual level. Consequently this book is not an historical account of the most efficient air force of its day; nor does it cover important subjects that did not involve me either directly or indirectly. Nevertheless, my experiences are unique and sufficiently wide-ranging to give readers a fair understanding of the force I served, and reveal something of the essence of Rhodesia and her thirteen-year bush war.
In 1980, the long struggle to prevent an immensely successful country from falling into the hands of political despots, particularly Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his goons, was lost at political level. This was because of relentless international pressure against the white government of Ian Smith in favour of ‘immediate’ black-majority rule. Britain’s ruling parties had not only failed to uphold promises of independence for Rhodesia, they totally disregarded every warning of the calamity that would befall the country and its people if ‘one man—one vote’ was prematurely forced into effect. Now, after more than twenty-five years in power, Robert Mugabe’s ZANU (PF) has exposed Britain’s disastrous folly and proven that Rhodesian fears were well founded. Too late to prevent the appalling mess that exists in modern-day Zimbabwe, our efforts to preserve responsible government have now been fully justified.
However, upon gaining power, Robert Mugabe and his ZANU (PF) cohorts became paranoid about the security of their personal positions. This led to the implementation of laws that ensured white Zimbabweans were denuded of personal weapons, military paraphernalia and any Rhodesian documentation that might be used against ZANU Having handed in my own weapons in 1980, I took the precaution of destroying all my diaries. This book reveals some of the reasons why such hasty action was taken but I have lived to regret dumping twenty diaries into the septic tank of our Salisbury home. In hindsight I realise that I should have buried them deep for later recovery. Nevertheless, the consequence of my error is that Winds of Destruction is, for the most part, written from memory. I offer no excuse for inev
itable errors in detail that the ageing mind may have created, because the essence of this book is correct. Nor do I make any apology for naiveté on political issues, as military personnel in my time were strictly apolitical and this may show in my personal opinions.
During the great wars men left their families for months or years at a time. In Rhodesia this was not the case. Typically, many soldiers, airmen and policemen were in the field for periods of six weeks or more and returned home to rest and retraining for no more that ten days before returning to the bush. This cycle imposed incredible strains on men and their families. A two-year stretch in action and six months at home might have been easier to bear because short-duration homecomings tended to cause higher stress levels. From an environment of ‘blood and guts’ a serviceman was expected to instantly revert to the tranquillity and comforts of home life without being able to share his experiences and fears with his loved ones. The family on the other hand, though forced to living a life without ‘dad’, expected him to be the relaxed and fatherly character of a stable family from the very moment he came home. They had no idea of his harboured secrets and built-up tensions. In reality ‘dad’ could not reconcile himself to the normality he encountered away from ‘the sharp end’ and probably drank too much with his friends after a day of retraining. He then became subdued, even difficult, in the last couple of days before returning to the bush. Misunderstandings caused too many marriages to fail or left deep-seated problems in those that survived. Mine survived thanks to my beloved wife Beryl who guided our children through the Tough times.
It is for these reasons that I dedicate this book to my wife Beryl, my daughter Debbie, my son Paul, and to all those wonderful wives and widows of Rhodesian servicemen who kept the home fires burning and sustained our will to fight on for our country.
My thanks go to my friend, Air Marshal Sir John Baird, retired Surgeon General to Britain’s armed services and Queen’s Physician, for very kindly reading my draft work, which helped eliminate many obvious typographical errors. Thank you Sir John. Special thanks also go to Professor Richard and Carole Wood for reading my first draft and giving me the encouragement and direction I needed to complete this book.
Peter Petter-Bowyer (‘PB’)
Norfolk, England
Chapter 1
A short history of the Rhodesian Air Force
AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE Anglo–Boer War all seven Southern Rhodesian military units, which had participated with the British forces, were disbanded. However, in 1914 at the outbreak of the Great War in Europe, the Rhodesia Regiment was re-established. It served with distinction and remained in force until it was again disbanded in 1920.
A Territorial Force was formed in 1927 with 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Rhodesia Regiment based at Salisbury and Bulawayo. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the regular members of these battalions, together with a disproportionately large component of volunteers, were absorbed into British units in many theatres.
A Territorial Force Air Unit had been formed in 1935 and operated out of the commercial airport at Belvedere on the south-western edge of Salisbury City. Six Hawker Hart twin-seater fighter aircraft were received from the RAF in 1937 to add to an existing small communications flight. Combat pilot training commenced immediately, resulting in the first Rhodesian wings presentation to six pilots on 13 May 1938. Later in the year they were to prove themselves by flying the next batch of Hawker Harts from Britain to Southern Rhodesia.
With war clouds looming over Europe, the Territorial Force members of the Air Unit were called up for full-time service in August 1939 and by the end of the month the aircraft were on the move. Ten pilots (among them Lieutenant E.W.S. Jacklin, later to become the first post-war Chief of Air Staff) and eight aircraft left Salisbury on 27 August to fly to Nairobi—constituting the only aerial force available to Imperial Authorities in East Africa.
Nairobi proved to be merely a staging post on the route north, for within two or three days all the Rhodesian aircraft had been moved to the Northern Frontier District on the Abyssinian border. On 19 September 1939, the Air Unit officially became the Southern Rhodesian Air Force, and the flights on service in Kenya were designated No 1 Squadron of that force.
In April 1940, all Southern Rhodesian Air Force personnel were absorbed into the Royal Air Force and No 1 Squadron was redesignated No 237 (Rhodesian) Squadron. As a tribute to its preparedness, it was allowed to adopt the motto ‘Premium Agmen in Caelo’ (The First Force in the Sky).
By November 1941, No 237 Squadron was equipped with Hurricanes and was embroiled in the seesaw battles with the Afrika Korps and the Luftwaffe. In February 1942, it was ordered back to Ismalia in the Canal Zone before travelling yet farther east.
The next year was spent covering the Iraq/Persia sector with the squadron operating from such bases as Mosul, Kermanshah and Kirkuk. In March 1943, it returned to the Canal Zone where its role changed from army co-operation to fighter reconnaissance, flying Spitfires. A long spell of operations across North Africa followed, during which the squadron moved progressively westward.
But with the war obviously coming to an end, the squadron was gradually losing its all-Rhodesian nature. It became increasingly difficult to replace personnel who had completed their operational tour, and after two more moves to Italy and France the squadron was eventually disbanded in 1945.
But 237 was not the only unit to operate as a ‘Rhodesian’ squadron with the Royal Air Force. In 1940, No 266 Squadron was officially designated a ‘Rhodesian’ unit and the decision was made that aircrew from Rhodesia should be posted to it. The following year, No 44 Squadron of bomber command followed suit. In addition to the Rhodesians who fought in these squadrons, there were obviously many more who played their part in other Air Force units and in other theatres of operations.
During the six years of war, the total number of Rhodesians in Air Force uniform stood at 977 officers and 1,432 other ranks. Of these, 498 were killed—a proportion of one man in every five who went to war. But one further casualty of the war was the Rhodesian Air Force itself—certainly as far as Rhodesia was concerned. No 1 Squadron of the Southern Rhodesian Air Force had been turned into 237 Squadron that had then been disbanded. Further, the training element of the old SRAF had been absorbed into the Royal Air Force and had become the nucleus of the huge Rhodesian Air Training Group. But in doing so, it had lost its identity.
It was not, however, a situation that was to last long, and the vacuum was soon to be filled. In the immediate post-war period, men trickled back to Rhodesia after being demobilised from the British services. Some of them joined the Southern Rhodesia Staff Corps, generally at very low ranks, and it was from this nucleus that the Air Force was to arise again.
Many of the ex-Air Force members of the Staff Corps itched to re-establish military aviation, but prospects were far from promising. There was no money, there were no aircraft, and even the original SRAF buildings had been appropriated for use by new immigrants and for various government departments. However, the enthusiasts cajoled and persuaded, and eventually attracted to their cause Sir Ernest Guest, then Minister of Defence, and Colonel S. Garlake, Commander of Military Forces in Southern Rhodesia. The result was the provision of £20,000 sterling and the instruction to form an air unit. The financial grant was woefully inadequate, but there were almost limitless reserves of enthusiasm and resourcefulness to call upon.
Under the leadership of Lieutenant-Colonel E.W.S. Jacklin, the dozen or so officers and men of the unit set about acquiring some aircraft. The Royal Air Force contributed a war-surplus Anson light transport aircraft, and then a major salvage exercise started. The men went on forays through the old RAF maintenance depots and even scrap dumps. Tools, raw materials, spares, supplies and even trained personnel filtered through to the little unit at Cranborne from all over the country. Eventually, using basic tools and equipment, the unit had rebuilt six scrapped and abandoned Tiger Moths.
On 28 November 1947, the Gov
ernment Gazette No 945 carried the notice establishing the Air Force as a Permanent Unit of the Rhodesian Staff Corps, and this was the beginning of the Southern Rhodesian Air Force to come. The six rebuilt Tiger Moths were joined by six Harvard trainers purchased from the Rhodesian Air Training Group, and later twelve more Harvards were obtained from South Africa at nominal prices.
The work paid off in progressive expansion—more ex-Air Force personnel joined the unit, and gradually a varied selection of aircraft was acquired. By 1951, a Leopard Moth, a Dakota, Rapides, Ansons and Austers had been collected from a variety of sources, and the unit operated a small regular element with one active auxiliary squadron—No 1 Squadron.
By this time the Berlin Blockade, the clamping of the Iron Curtain across Europe and the onset of the Korean War had made it obvious to all that the preservation of peace was to be more a matter of armed preparedness than of wishful thinking. So once again the Southern Rhodesian Government made a contribution to the defence of the Commonwealth—this time it was in the form of two fighter squadrons.
From Britain twenty-two Spitfire Mk22 aircraft were successfully ferried out in spite of dire predictions and a certain amount of betting from a number of aviation experts. Fulltime training was then re-introduced in the form of the ‘Short Service’ training scheme.
Spitfire Mk22.
In 1952 the Air Force moved from Cranborne to Kentucky Airport, which subsequently became the huge airfield jointly used by New Sarum Air Force Station and Salisbury International Airport. This was the first permanent home of the Air Force, and it was the first time that it had occupied buildings and facilities specifically designed for its purposes.
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