5 Oct 1982 – The Officer Commanding #Ondangwa Air Force base – Colonel De Villiers pours champagne on the head of Cobus Toerien in a South African Air Force tradition to celebrate an air combat “kill”.

This ceremony was to celebrate the shooting down of Mig-21 by Major Johan Rankin on the same day, Kobus Toerien was Rankin’s wing man in the engagement and this was the second time Rakin had shot down a Mig 21 during the conflict.

Both Angolan and Cuban MiG-21s often had encounters with South African Air Force Mirages during the Bush War. On 6 November 1981, Major Johan Rankin, flying a Mirage F1CZ, scored the SAAF’s first kill since the Korean War, downing the #MiG-21MF of Lt. Danacio Valdez.

On this occasion – 5 October 1982, while escorting a Canberra of 12 Squadron on a photo-reconnaissance sortie, Major Rankin and his wingman Cobus Toerien engaged two MiG-21MF’s on an intercept course. Rankin fired two Magic AAMs at one of the MiGs, damaging the aircraft with the second missile. The MiG was able to recover back to base but sustained additional damage in a belly landing. Rankin then attacked the second MiG and destroyed it with cannon fire

Such was the nature of the conflict that there was little time to enjoy the champagne, according to Johan Toerien they were only able to have a small sip before going onto standby again a couple of hours later.

Thank you to Cobus Toerien. Richard Lambert and the SAAF ‘Lines Book” face book group for the background information #MirageF1