Lt Gen Peter Walls, who was Commander of the Rhodesian Combined Operations, at the time, died this morning. An extraordinary man, who was commander of the Rhodesian C Squadron, SAS during the Malaysian emergency, Mugabe asked him to stay on as head of the army after independence. At this time Gen Walls became famous for a quote
On 17 March 1980, after several unsuccessful assassination attempts Mugabe asked Walls, "Why are your men trying to kill me?" Walls replied, "If they were my men you would be dead."
EoR,
The helicopter in your post looks like a K car of Fireforce. Fireforce typically consisted of four Alouette III helicopters, each manned by a pilot and technician/gunner. Three were known as “G-cars,” and used for troop transport, while the fourth, called the “K (or kill)-car,” carried the Army unit commander, who directed the operations below. It could also be used as a gunship when required.
When I left the service of Her Majesty I was offered a job flying them, but after a few years mud marining I decided that I should get a civil licence so declined. I was in BCalH with Speechless and well remember feeling jealous that he was going! Of course, since then I've actually spent most of the last 32 years in Africa, but it seemed like such a great thing to be involved in at the time.