Operation Domino was a combined military operation in May 1981 that involved the South African 32 Battalion, the 44th Parachute Brigade, and Special Forces. The operation’s objective was to set up vehicle ambushes on the road between Xangongo and Lubango, and to destroy stormwater drains on the road from Xangongo to Ongiva in Angola.
On the Western Front, action against SWAPO intensified from the beginning of 1981, with regular ambushes and destruction of road links between specific towns. On the night of 26/27 May, a combined operation involving 32 Battalion, 44 Parachute Brigade and Special Forces was conducted to set up vehicle ambushes on the road between Xangongo and Lubango and destroy stormwater drains on the road from Xangongo to Ongiva.
An 18-man reconnaissance team led by Lieutenant Ratte was responsible for the ambushes, consisting of three TM 46 mines on the road surface, connected to one another with Cordex for detonation by the team leader. The first victim was a Star truck, which flew through the air and came to rest among the trees at the side of the road, where it was set alight with a white phosphorous grenade later that night. At 04h45, the driver of the next vehicle spotted the burning Star, but it was too late, and the recce team opened fire with small arms and an RPG 7 rocket launcher. The truck was loaded with fuel drums and exploded almost at once, killing all three SWAPO inside.
Ten kilometres north of Chiemba, the Special Forces team took out a single vehicle with an RPG 7 rocket just after 19h00. Meanwhile, one of two Sabre teams from 44 Parachute Brigade under command of Colonel Breytenbach spent the night rigging a culvert 30 km north-east of Ongiva with explosives, which left a four-metre wide gap in the road when detonated at 04h50.
The second Sabre team surprised a group of six SWAPO manning an observation post 12 km south-east of Cuamato, killing three and capturing two bicycles before moving on to their actual target, a culvert on the road between Xangongo and Mongua, which was blown up at 07h00.
From 32 Battalion – The Inside Story of South Africa’s Elite Fighting Unit | Piet Nortje