Rhodesia strikes back Air Rhodesia Flight 825

westlands farm (or freedom camp) zipra s headquarters , operation gatling s main target.

rhodesia attacked zipra s bases in zambia, in group captain peter petter-bowyer later described payback time flight 825. operation gatling, launched on 19 october 1978, joint-force operation between air force , army, contributed special air service , rhodesian light infantry paratroopers. gatling s primary target, 16 kilometres (10 miles) north-east of central lusaka, formerly white-owned westlands farm, had been transformed zipra s main headquarters , training base under name freedom camp . zipra presumed rhodesia never dare attack site close lusaka. 4,000 guerrillas underwent training @ freedom camp, senior zipra staff on site. rhodesian operation s other targets chikumbi, 19 kilometres (12 miles) north of lusaka, , mkushi camp; 3 attacked more or less simultaneously in coordinated sweep across zambia. assaulting targets deep inside zambia first rhodesian forces; guerrillas near border had been attacked.

led squadron leader chris dixon, identified himself lusaka airport tower green leader , rhodesian air force group flew zambia @ low altitudes (thereby avoiding zambian radar) , took control of country s airspace quarter of hour during initial assault on westlands farm, informing lusaka tower attack against rhodesian dissidents, , not against zambia , , rhodesian hawker hunters circling zambian airfields under orders shoot down fighter attempted take off. zambians obeyed of green leader s instructions, made no attempt resist , temporarily halted civil air traffic. using rufunsa airstrip in eastern zambia forward base, rhodesian military suffered minor casualties during three-day operation, , afterwards claimed have killed on 1,500 zipra personnel, cuban instructors.

historians paul moorcraft , peter mclaughlin write exaggerated considerably number of guerrillas killed, of nkomo s army, numbering 10,000 fighters, had not been touched. on other hand, unarmed refugees camped in or around insurgent positions, , hundreds of these had been killed in rhodesian raid. moorcraft , mclaughlin comment rhodesian airmen, have been impossible distinguish innocent refugees young zipra recruits. sibanda describes freedom camp refugee camp boys , , says 351 boys , girls killed. claims red cross , un refugee agency confirmed zapu s claim smith s forces struck @ defenseless, civilian trainees .