#Koevoet personnel inspect a captured #SA-7 after a contact with SWAPO PLAN insurgents in southern Angola 1984.

Made in Russia. The 9K32 Strela-2 (Russian: C?????, “arrow”; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude surface-to-air missile system with a high explosive warhead and passive infrared homing guidance. Broadly comparable in performance with the US Army FIM-43 Redeye, which was designed in 1959, it was the first generation of Soviet man-portable SAMs, entering service in 1968.

Described by one expert as being “the premier Russian export line”,the Strela and its variants have seen widespread use in nearly every regional conflict since 1968.

The Koevoet – translated to mean “crowbar” in English was a major paramilitary Police organisation under South African-administered South-West Africa (now Namibia). It was an active belligerent in the Border War from 1979 to 1990 – “Crowbar” being a popular allusion to successful attempts at prying insurgents from the local population.

This controversial but highly effective Police force was created by South African Police Brigadier Hans Dreyer, a veteran of the Rhodesian Special Air Service, the unit’s initial directive was to conduct internal reconnaissance. however Koevoet quickly became one of the most effective combat forces deployed against the South West African People’s Organization’s (SWAPO) military wing PLAN during the war.

Image courtesy Arn Durant