Spider Zero Seven by Mike Borlace

Author:Mike Borlace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2018-02-27T00:00:00+00:00

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When I arrive at Chiredzi, there is a detachment of three G-Cars being run by ‘Grimshag’, Squadron Leader Graham Cronshaw, who at this time is an ex 7 Squadron ‘heavy’ doing a turn in the bush from his headquarters job. As there is no fireforce operating here, the K-Car is unmanned, but an external raid is about to be mounted and it needs to be manned. I defer to his experience and suggest that he leads as the senior officer, but he declines the offer and I find I don’t even get to choose the best gunner, as he doesn’t want to split his ‘team’ up as they are working together so well.

The target is a camp over the border from the south-east corner of Rhodesia – Mavue. The air force is going to bomb with the Canberras, take out the triple-a with Hunter strikes and then drop in six Dak loads of SAS paratroops, backed up with some heliborne troops from our G-Cars, and controlled by Major Barney Robinson, 22’s commanding officer, in the K-Car.

During the briefing it quickly becomes apparent that there are not enough helos, and after a bit of wrangling it is agreed that we will combine with the Chipinga fireforce. However, the jet jockeys and the planners are not keen on delaying the briefing, so I am told to brief them when we join up at Mutandawhe just prior to the strike. This does not seem like a good idea; why can’t we do it properly and get everybody here and hearing the same story? I’m told to wind my neck in. The impression is very much that the helicopter part of the deal is a side-show to the jet strikes and the parachute assault.

The aerial photos show firstly that the camp is hard to pick out of the flat bush of the area and, secondly, that there are some tasty anti-aircraft defences dug in around the perimeter. The whole complex is a network of trenches and bunkers. We are paying very close attention, but the jet drivers are very gung-ho. The Cans are going in first with their new alpha bombs. They have evolved a tactic where they drop whilst flying in close echelon, which gives carpet coverage of an area as large as this camp complex. The Hunters will use this strike as the marker for their own attack thirty seconds later, using their own photos to locate their specific targets around the perimeter of the devastation caused by the bomb strike.

Thirty seconds on from this the Dakotas will be running in for their para drop; the two K-Cars – me and whoever is flying the Chipinga gunship – will pull up over the top of the para drop for Robinson to organise his paratroops and deploy the heliborne troops as required.

Easy-peasy. OK, quick cup of coffee then we’re back to Sarum/Thornhill, we’ll be exactly on ToT so don’t you helicopters be late.

Questions? Oh, questions. Right.

I ask if any of the Hunters will be carrying frantan.

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