Operation Skerwe ( en, Operation Shards) was a

military operation A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...

conducted by the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

(SAAF) against

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) facilities based in the

Matola Matola is the largest suburb of the Mozambique capital, Maputo, adjacent to its westernmost side. It is the nation's second most populated city. Matola is the capital of Maputo Province and has had its own elected municipal government since 1998 ...

suburb of

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

city.

Background

On 20 May 1983, a car bomb exploded in the late afternoon in Church Street,

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. The target was the South African Air Force Headquarters timed to catch the staff leaving the building for home. The bomb had been set by the ANC based in Mozambique. The car bomb killed 19 and wounded between 188 and more than 200 people.

Operation

Planning for the operation begun on 21 May, a day after the bombing when Commandant Steyn Venter was directed to take four

Impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

strike aircraft with rocket pods to the airbase at

Hoedspruit Hoedspruit (Afrikaans for ''Hat Creek'') is a town situated at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg (Afrikaans for "Small Dragon Mountains" range), in the Limpopo province of South Africa, on the railway line from Tzaneen to Kaapmuiden. Economy The ...

. There he was joined by eight other Impala's from 4 Squadron and 8 Squadron. One

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

bomber, from the

Waterkloof Waterkloof (Afrikaans for "Water Ravine") is a upmarket suburb of the city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, located to the east of the city centre. It is named after the original farm that stood there when Pretoria was founded ...

airbase flown by Major Des Barker, would also take part in the operation. As the aircrew planned their mission based on reconnaissance photographs, video and models of the targets, ground crews readied the aircraft for the mission the following day. The plan called for a low level approach down the river into Maputo then climbing for the attack on the street in Matola in pairs, in line astern positions, attack only if the targets were visible, before climbing left and the returning to a low level formation back to South Africa. The mission for Sunday 22 May, after initial issues with the aircraft and low cloud, was called off after taxiing to the runway. On Monday 23 May, the aircraft took off at 06h40 for Maputo. The Canberra bomber contacted the Maputo control tower informing them of the raid and not to interfere. The Impala strike aircraft then lined up for the attack with most firing their rockets at the target houses in the street. The South African Impala aircraft arrived back safely at the airbase at Hoedspruit with little fuel to spare while the Canberra bomber returned to Waterkloof outside Pretoria.

Aftermath

The casualty figures are conflicting with the Mozambique government claiming that 6 people died including 2 children and 26 people wounded. The South African military claiming 64 people killed, 41 being ANC operatives, 17 Mozambican soldiers and 6 civilians while other sources claimed 8 civilians died. Western diplomats and journalists were given a three-hour guided tour of Matola by the Mozambican Information Ministry officials. They were shown minimal rocket damage to building's and a juice and jam factory with little to show that the ANC lived in the street with residents claiming the ANC residents had moved out three months earlier. The South African military claimed that the site had been sanitized before the visit and that they had attacked the planning offices of the ANC unit responsible for the Pretoria bombings. The South Africans also claimed they had neutralized an antiaircraft missile site.

Background

Operation

Aftermath

References

Further reading