Battle of Cassinga | |||||||
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Part of the South African Border War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
370 soldiers 4 Canberra B-12 bombers 5 Buccaneer fighters 4 Mirage III fighters 4 C-130 Hercules transport planes 5 Transall C-160 transport planes 13 Aerospatiale Puma helicopters 6 Super Frelon helicopters |
SWAPO: 300–600 guerrillas[1] 2 ZPU-4 AA guns 1 ZU-23-2 AA gun 1–2 ZSU AA guns 3,000–4,000 refugees [1][2] Cuba: 144–400 soldiers 4 T-34 tanks 17 BTR-152 APCs 7 trucks 4 AA guns | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 killed 11 wounded 1 missing |
Cuba: 150 soldiers killed[2] 3 T-34 destroyed 17 BTR-152 destroyed SWAPO: unknown 40 captured | ||||||
624 dead and 611 wounded in total (Angolan government claim)[2] 582 dead and 400 wounded in total (SWAPO claim)[1] |
The Battle of Cassinga also known as the Cassinga Raid or Kassinga Massacre was a controversial[3] South African airborne attack on a South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) military camp at the town of Cassinga, Angola on 4 May 1978. Conducted as one of the three major actions of Operation Reindeer during the South African Border War, it was the South African Army's first major air assault operation.