Page 614 - Le Operazioni Interforze e Multinazionali nella Storia Militare - ACTA Tomo I

614 XXXIX Congresso della CommIssIone InternazIonale dI storIa mIlItare • CIHm

United States of America (USA) and other Western countries had withdrawn support
from South Africa, and the SADF faced the possibility of an all-out conventional war
in Angola – something the South African government was not prepared to risk. These
military, but especially political considerations, eventually made the South African gov-
ernment decide to withdraw from Angola. The last South African troops left Angola on
7
27 March 1976. Although most of the fighting during Operation Savannah was done
by the South African land forces, supported by SAAF aircraft and helicopters, the SAN
played a small but nevertheless noteworthy role, assuring no foreign intervention from
the Atlantic seaboard, and participating in limited joint operations.

3. Electronic and other patrol work
While these events were taking place “up north” and “on the border”, the security
situation on the “home front” in South Africa deteriorated. This was mainly due to the
riots that broke out in Soweto on 16 June 1976, and which spread to other areas. The
next year the black consciousness leader Steve Biko died in police custody. These events
led to international indignation and condemnation, further isolated the apartheid regime,
which in turn led to harsher means to quell opposition – and which led to the imposi-
tion (on 4 November 1977) of an all-embracing mandatory arms embargo by the United
Nations (UN) against South Africa. The SAN, in particular, was hard hit, because it led
to the cancellation of the delivery of two “Agosta” class submarines and two Type 69A
light frigates, nearing completion in French yards. 8
The South African government had anticipated an arms embargo and had placed an
order for three missile-carrying fast attack craft (called strike craft by the SAN) to be
built in Israel, followed by a further six similar (albeit slightly modified) strike craft built
in South Africa. These small ships were designed for operations in the Mediterranean,
but the SAN had to operate them in the stormy seas around the coast of South Africa. In
due course these small ships were also deployed over long distances by the SAN for pa-
trol work along the coast of Angola, and also in support of Special Forces; as a matter of
9
fact, for nearly 30 years the strike craft formed the backbone of the SAN’s surface fleet.
SAN submarines and frigates continued to do operational patrols along the Angolan
(and Mozambican coast), with the survey ship SAS Protea also deployed to do elec-
tronic surveillance. One of the reasons why the Soviet Union did not become involved
in the war on a larger scale, was the presence of SAN submarines. Furthermore, the
SAN’s submarines probably also played an important role with regard to shallow water
operations – including surveillance and the gathering of information; which could also
be of value in joint operations. Another ship that was apparently used for electronic
surveillance along the coast of northern SWA and Angola, in support of the SADF’s war
effort, was the Department of Transport’s former Antarctic supply and research ship, the
RSA. She was taken over by the SAN and commissioned on 23 April 1978; officially

7 Scholtz, pp. 13-29.
8 Du Toit, pp. 281-289; TD Potgieter, “Another apartheid dilemma: corvettes for the South African Navy”,
New Contree 47, September 2000, pp. 94-95.
9 Du Toit, pp. 297-309.