Forwarded from Beyond The Grill
Rhodesian troops would sometimes have to jump up to four times a day into contact/tracking and at extremely low altitudes (500-300ft). They set numerous records for most jumps and lowest jumps (217ft). One troopie in particular, Des Archer of the RLI, did 73 operational jumps. The RSF did over 14 000 jumps in their short time on the battlefield.
The SADF used weather balloons to trick Cuban air defences in Tchipa (Angola) into action. The Cubans fell for the ruse, launching 6 SA-6 SAMs to blow the harmless balloons out of the sky. The South African observers promptly used the firing data to plot the location of Cuban SAM sites and subjected them to a four-hour-long, 200+ shell, long-range "artillery" bombardment. The much-feared SA-6, the teeth of Communist air defences in Tchipa, were knocked out.