Thanks to the international embargo, the WW2-era C-47s remained (and remains!) in South African service. In August 1986, a C-47 was flying high-ranking officers (including either the Chief of the Army or just a senior general) to Ondangwa airbase, only 35 miles south of Angola and deep within contested South West Africa (now Namibia).
While flying at 8,000 feet and normal cruising speed, the plane was suddenly rocked by an explosion that destroyed most of the cloth tail control surfaces, likely from a Strella-2M MANPADS missile launched by Angolan infiltrators. The pilot declared an emergency to the airbase which sent a helicopter to help guide it in (and take some amazing photos).
The helicopter radioed the C-47 that the rudder was entirely gone, as was most of both elevators, but the tailwheel was still intact and the rear fuselage was structurally sound, so a normal landing could still be attempted.
Although the loss of the elevator looks the most serious, it actually wasn’t. Yaw could still be somewhat adjusted using the ailerons on the wings and throttling each side’s engine as needed. More serious was the disintegrating elevators. The pilot had to constantly pull back on the lever hard to keep the plane level, and the loadmaster resorted to ordering the VIPs to move back and forth inside the cabin as needed.
The plane landed safely at the airbase with no casualties.
(From Left to right: loadmaster Pvt. Walsh, pilot Cpt. Walsh, copilot Lt. Moses.)
RomulusX51GFLASH on
I got a mini library of books on the South African Border War, Rhodesian Bush War, and a few on the Portuguese Colonial Wars. Can recommend just ask away
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I was reading [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/WarCollege/comments/1r4he94/can_a_aa_missile_like_an_aim120_lock_on_a_drone/) on r/WarCollege about whether missiles can lock onto propellor driven drones and the top post mentioned the surprising case of a C-47 being hit by a Strella MANPADS. I followed [the given link](https://saafmuseum.org.za/c-47-6855-sa-7-missile-strike/) and then found [this much more detailed site](https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2022/05/08/manpads-vs-wwii-c-47-skytrain/) as well. The whole thing really is quite interesting.
Thanks to the international embargo, the WW2-era C-47s remained (and remains!) in South African service. In August 1986, a C-47 was flying high-ranking officers (including either the Chief of the Army or just a senior general) to Ondangwa airbase, only 35 miles south of Angola and deep within contested South West Africa (now Namibia).
While flying at 8,000 feet and normal cruising speed, the plane was suddenly rocked by an explosion that destroyed most of the cloth tail control surfaces, likely from a Strella-2M MANPADS missile launched by Angolan infiltrators. The pilot declared an emergency to the airbase which sent a helicopter to help guide it in (and take some amazing photos).
The helicopter radioed the C-47 that the rudder was entirely gone, as was most of both elevators, but the tailwheel was still intact and the rear fuselage was structurally sound, so a normal landing could still be attempted.
Although the loss of the elevator looks the most serious, it actually wasn’t. Yaw could still be somewhat adjusted using the ailerons on the wings and throttling each side’s engine as needed. More serious was the disintegrating elevators. The pilot had to constantly pull back on the lever hard to keep the plane level, and the loadmaster resorted to ordering the VIPs to move back and forth inside the cabin as needed.
The plane landed safely at the airbase with no casualties.
(From Left to right: loadmaster Pvt. Walsh, pilot Cpt. Walsh, copilot Lt. Moses.)
I got a mini library of books on the South African Border War, Rhodesian Bush War, and a few on the Portuguese Colonial Wars. Can recommend just ask away