Chain gun—A form of automatic cannon, the gun takes its name from the fact that a bicycle chain forms part of the drive mechanism. These rapid-fire, medium-bore cannon pack a terrific punch and are often capable of defeating lightly armored vehicles.
Claymore mine-Most land mines are buried in the ground and are tripped when a vehicle or soldier passes over them. The Claymore is different.
Spikes hold it upright on the surface of the ground. It is tripped electrically, on command, and sends out a fan-shaped pattern of steel balls that shred anything in their path. It is called a “directional” mine.
Company-A ground unit of one hundred to two hundred men, made up of three or four platoons of three or four squads
each. Normally three platoons will be of the same type infantry or armored vehicles, while the fourth platoon is made up of heavy support weapons or other specialized equipment. In the cavalry, a company-sized unit is called a troop.
DivisionA large ground unit, often containing three brigades or nine maneuver battalions, plus separate support units-engineers, artillery, supply and maintenance personnel, and others. A division will have between ten and twenty thousand troops, hundreds of vehicles, and dozens of helicopters.
Eland-An older armored car still in service with the South African Army.
Designed and built in South Africa, it is based on a 1950s-vintage French design and mounts a 90mm, high velocity gun on a very small chassis. Like all armored cars, it is lightly armored, but its wheels make it faster over flat terrain than many tanks.
F-14 Tomcat-A twin-engine, two-seat, swing-wing fighter used by the
U.S.
Navy for fleet air defense. It carries a powerful radar and very long range missiles.
F/A-18 Hornet-A twin-engine, single-seat jet designed to replace the
A-7
Corsair 11. The F/AI 8A is a multi role aircraft intended to be equally adept as either an attack aircraft or an air-superiority fighter. Very maneuverable, it is designed to be launched from carriers.
G-5 guns-The best artillery piece in the world, the G-5 was designed and built in South Africa using technology stolen from several sources, including the United States. It can fire a 155mm, (six-inch) shell twenty-four and a half miles with phenomena] accuracy. The G-5 is towed behind a truck or logistics vehicle. The related G-6 mounts the same gun on a six-wheeled, lightly armored chassis.
Gun-Artillery pieces are classed as either “guns” or “howitzers.” Guns have longer barrels, which give them higher velocity and longer range, but at a cost in weight. A howitzer ha~ a shorter range, but can also fire at higher angles of elevation, making it possible to drop shells into “dead zones” behind obstacles that a gun could not hit.
Homelands—An integral part of the 1948 apartheid plan, each major tribe in Africa was assigned a geographic area that was~ ostensibly its traditional region. For the most part, they have little to do with the actual location of the tribe and are often on barren, undeveloped land.
Every black in South Africa was assigned a tribe, and thus a homeland, of which they were automatically a citizen.
The fact that an individual had never seen their particular homeland and had no desire to live there was irrelevant.
HUD-Heads Up Display-Projects important information onto a clear plastic plate directly in front of the pilot’s eyes, making it possible to avoid going “heads down” to look at cockpit instruments. The HUD is a vital aid during a fastmoving air combat. The data displayed on the windscreen includes speed, altitude, weapons status, g forces, target data, and fuel status.
IFF-Identification Friend or Foe-An airplane or ship sends a coded electronic signal out to an unknown contact. A black box on an aircraft, if it receives the proper code, responds with a signal of its own, telling the observer that the aircraft is friendly. Aircraft without the proper codes are the enemy. The codes are changed daily.
11-76 Candid-An Ilyushin-designed cargo plane, it is the Soviet analogue to the U.S. C-141 Starlifter. It has four engines and a rear cargo ramp, like the Starlifter. It can carry about forty metric tons.
Inkatha-A political party made up almost entirely of Zulus, with the majority of its members in Natal Province. Inkatha is the primary rival of the ANC, another black opposition group within South Africa. Some of this rivalry is based on political differences, the rest on centuries-old tribal enmity.
IP-Initial Point-Refers to the geographic location used as the start point for an approach to a target.
Kukri-A heat-seeking missile designed and built in South Africa. While not as advanced as first-line missiles, it does have one advantage. When mounted on the Mirage F. 1, the pilot can use a special helmet-mounted sight to lock the missile’s seeker on targets off to one side. This is a tremendous advantage in a dogfight, since the plane’s nose must no longer be pointed exactly at a violently maneuvering enemy.
LAW-Light Antitank Weapon-A 66mm rocket in a fiberglass tube, this one-shot, throwaway weapon weighs about five pounds. It has a short range and limited penetrating power, but gives the individual soldier a powerful onetime “punch” against lightly armored vehicles, bunkers, or buildings.
LCAC-Landing Craft, Assault Cargo-A large Hovercraft used to ferry troops and equipment from naval ships to the beach. Because of its Hovercraft design, it can move at eighty knots and does not have to stop at the water’s edge.
M-1 tank-Arguably the best tank in the world, if the most expensive, the
M-l’s main advantage over other first-line fighting vehicles is its tremendous speed. While the exact figure is classified, the tank can easily move at fifty miles an hour or more over uneven terrain and is even faster on a road. It is heavily armored and its 120mm gun (in the latest models) is controlled by an advanced fire-control system that allows first-round hits even while the tank is moving at high speed.
M16-The standard U.S. Army infantry weapon, it is much lighter and smaller than its predecessor, the M14 rifle. The M16 weighs eight and a half pounds.
M60 machine gun-The standard U.S. Army machine gun, it is actually derived from a World War II German design, the MG 42. It weighs twenty-three pounds and is normally fired from a bipod.
Mark 82-One of a series of low-drag bombs used by the United States and other countries. The Mark 81 weighs 250 pounds, the Mark 82 weighs 500 pounds, the Mark 83 1,000 pounds, and the Mark 84 2,000 pounds.
Mi-24 Hind—An anno red gunship developed by the Russians, it carries a powerful rocket, missile, and gun armament. Although not as new or sophisticated as the Apache, it has a good record in Afghanistan.
MiGs-MiG stands for “Mikoyan and Gureyivich,” whose aircraft designs have been produced since World War II. Other design bureaus have also produced fighter designs, but the MiG series has been the most famous and the most successful. All Russian aircraft have been assigned code names by NATO, since the Soviets do not give their aircraft names such as “Falcon” or
“Eagle.” Fighter code names always begin with F, bombers with B, and special-purpose aircraft with M.
MiG-21 “Fishbed”-The MiG-21 is a single-engine, single-seat fighter designed by the Soviets, but widely distributed to their allies. Though an older design, it is still a fairly maneuverable aircraft and a dangerous opponent in a closein dogfight. It carries a primitive radar and heat-seeking missiles in addition to a cannon.
MiG.23 “Flogger”-The MiG-23 is a single-engine, swing wing single-seat fighter also distributed by the Soviets. Very fast, it is a notoriously poor dogfighter. It does have a fairly effective radar and radar-guided missiles to compensate for that fact.