This is a SADF #Buffel Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) captured by #PLAN combatants (PLAN was the military arm of #SWAPO). Four Buffel APC’s were captured intact in different battles during the war. The picture was taken between September 1987 and March 1988 by Col K.A. Satenov, the Soviet military advisor to the 1st and 20th PLAN Brigade commanders (seen in the picture on the left). In the veteran circles it is generally understood that this is the Buffel captured during Operation Firewood on 31 October 1987, when South African forces experienced substantial resistance from the Northern Front PLAN HQ base which was attacked and very high SADF casualties were sustained (19 killed and 64 wounded) and it’s thought this is the 2 Recce Buffel which was lost fully intact in that battle.

Colonel Satenov wrote a book called “Army is my Destiny” and currently lives in Kazakhstan (the former Soviet Republic) – this picture is also in his book. Photo, thanks and caption courtesy and copyright to Igor Ignatovich who was also a Soviet military advisor to SWAPO