Layout Table~~~~11889~11889~~

South Africans Abroad~Exploits of South Africans abroad~~~11889~11890~~

Beaufighter Over the Balkans - Steve Stevens DFC~This is the wartime autobiography of one of South Africa’s most famous pilots. Steve joined the SAAF at the outset of World War II with the desire to become a fighter pilot and to fly in Europe to destroy the Nazi’s ambitions of power. However, he was too good a pilot and having gained his wings was posted to become a flying instructor in his native country. After two years he finally arrived in Europe and joined the RAF’s Balkan Air Force flying rocket-firing Beaufighters in support of the partisans who were endeavouring to evict the Germans from their homelands. He joined No 19 Squadron under the command of the legendary Don Tilley and flew many missions against enemy shipping, gun emplacements and tactical targets in low-level, surprise rocket attacks. After the war he returned to Africa, flying light aircraft in a variety of roles, but when Berlin was blockaded by the USSR he returned to fly DC-3 Dakotas throughout the Berlin Airlift. This is a story told with a compassion that belies the author’s bravery and piloting skills. Throughout the story, his strong Christian belief, as with Leonard Cheshire VC, occasionally surfaces from the heat of battle and narrow escapes from death.
ISBN: 1844154874~~Beaufighter Over the Balkans|ISBN 1844154874|~11889~11894~SAAF~

Eighth Army in Italy 1943-45: The Long Hard Slog - Richard Doherty~Eighth Army, Britain's most famous field army of the twentieth century, landed in Italy in September 1943 and fought continously until the defeat of the Germans in early-May 1945. This book studies the experience of Eighth Army in the Italian campaign, examining how a force accustomed to the open spaces of North Africa adjusted to the difficult terrain of Italy where fighting became much more a matter for the infantry than for the armour. It also compares the qualities of the commanders of Eighth Army in Italy: Montgomery; Leese and, finally, McCreery. The book uses official records at various levels, personal accounts - some never before published - and published material to present a picture of an army that, although defined as British, was one of the war's most cosmopolitan formations. Its soldiers came from the UK, Canada, India, Ireland, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland and South Africa as well as from Palestine - the Jewish Brigade - and from Italy itself.
ISBN: 9781844156375. Hardback~~Eighth Army in Italy 1943-45|ISBN 9781844156375|~11889~11891~eighth army~

In All Weather - Peter Chapman~No. 2 Squadron, South African Air Force served in Korea from late 1950 until late 1953. During that time they saw extensive active service, and were considered a valuable member of the United States Air Forces 18th Fighter Bomber Wing, to which unit they were attached. A number of books and articles have been written about the Squadron and its exploits in Korea, but almost all of these have been from the point of view of the pilots, and operations flown. This book is an attempt to redress that balance. It is the story of some of the men who served so faithfully, and without reward or renown, to see that the aircraft flew, and that the pilots returned safely to base whenever possible. This is the story of the ground crew. A brief history of events leading up to the war, and the war itself, are included, as well as an account of No.2 Squadrons exploits in Korea.
JDPublishing 2006. 141 pages.
Softback - ISBN-13 978-1-920169-16-9
Hardback - ISBN-13 978-1-4116-5430-3~~In All Weather (S/B)|ISBN-13 9781920169169|In All Weather (H/B)|ISBN-13 9781411654303|~11889~11900~No. 2 Squadron, South African Air Force, Korea~

Tunnel-master & Arsonist of the Great War - Tony Bridgland & Ann Morgan~Sir John Norton-Griffiths was one of a breed of adventurer, pioneer, entrepreneur and soldier whose like is very seldom seen. From mining rich seams in South Africa he went on to lead the gallant miners who burrowed deep under enemy lines during the Great War. Always a controversial figure, he died in mysterious circumstances. This is the story of a true maverick, a formidable force and legend wherever he went.
ISBN 0850529956. Hardback~~Tunnel-master & Arsonist of the Great War|ISBN 0850529956|~11889~11887~tunnels, tunnel master, tunnelling~

War Dog: Fighting Other People's Wars - The Modern Mercenary in Combat - Al J Venter~War Dog deals with mercenary action in a score of wars: Angola, Sierra Leone, El Salvador, the Congo Republic, Ethiopia, Lebanon and others. One of a handful of correspondents that saw action with the South African 'guns for hire' group Executive Outcomes, Al Venter's revelations about this organisation are remarkable. So are many of the 150 photos in this book. Having personally visited every locale he describes throughout Africa and the Middle East, Venter is the rare correspondent who had to carry an AK-47 in his research along with his notebook and camera. To him, covering mercenary actions meant accompanying the men into the thick of combat. In this book you get up close and personal with hardened pro's on the ground, joining them for missions where quick thinking and a will of steel are the only things separating them from success or failure, life or death.
664 pages. 32 pages color photos, maps.

ISBN-13: 978-1932033908, Apr 2008. Softback. With Introduction by Frederick Forsyth
ISBN-13: 978-1932033090, Jul 2003. Hardback.~Casemate Books, USA

ISBN-13: 978-1932033090
Jul 2003
Hardback
Cover photo on this page.

ISBN-13: 978-1932033908
Apr 2008
Softback
With Introduction by Frederick Forsyth
Cover photo on Catalogue page

644 pages. 32 pages color photos, maps.

---

Mercenaries have been with us since the dawn of civilization, yet in the modern world they are little understood. While many of today’s freelance fighters provide support for larger military establishments, others wage war where the great powers refuse to tread. In War Dog, Al Venter examines the latter world of mercenary fighters effecting decisions by themselves. In the process he unveils a remarkable array of close-quarters combat action.

Having personally visited every locale he describes throughout Africa and the Middle East, Venter is the rare correspondent who had to carry an AK-47 in his research along with his notebook and camera. To him, covering mercenary actions meant accompanying the men into the thick of combat. During Sierra Leone’s civil war, he flew in the front bubble of the government’s lone Hind Mi-24 gunship—piloted by the heroic South African chopper ace “Nellis”—as it flew daily missions to blast apart rebel positions. In this book the author not only describes the battles of the legendary South African mercenary company Executive Outcomes, he knew the founders personally and joined them on a number of actions. After stemming the tide of Jonas Savimbi’s UNITA army in Angola (an outfit many of the SA operators had previously trained), Executive Outcomes headed north to hold back vicious rebels in West Africa.

This book is not only about triumph against adversity but also losses, as Venter relates the death and subsequent cannibalistic fate of his American friend, Bob MacKenzie, in Sierra Leone. Here we see the plight of thousands of civilians fleeing from homicidal jungle warriors, as well as the professionalism of the mercenaries who fought back with one hand and attempted to train government troops with the other, in hopes that they would someday be able to stand on their own.

The American public, as well as its military, largely sidestepped the horrific conflicts that embroiled Africa during the past two decades. But as Venter informs us, there were indeed small numbers of professional fighters on the ground, defending civilians and attempting to conjure order from chaos. In the process their heroism went unrecorded and their combat skill became known only to each other.

In this book we gain an intimate glimpse of this modern breed of warrior in combat. Not laden with medals, ribbons, civic parades, or even guaranteed income, they have nevertheless fought some of the toughest battles in the post- Cold War era. They simply are, and perhaps always will be, “War Dogs.”

---

The Author

Al J. Venter has made a career of covering other peoples' conflicts. As a long serving Africa and Middle East correspondent for Jane's International Defense Review his reports over the past thirty years have spanned four continents. Twice wounded and now well into his sixties, he recently flew combat in Sierra Leone alongside Neall Ellis in an aging Russian Mi-24 gunship (that leaked when it rained) . He has also produced documentary television films on subjects from the wars in Africa and Afghanistan to sharkhunting off the Cape of Good Hope.

---

Reviews

"A disturbing insight into the ever growing world of unconventional private armies. Like it or not, Venter tells it to us the way it is." - John Le Carre

"In this work, Al Venter has delved into the real-life exploits of the War Dogs... to illuminate how the privateers have continued to conduct battle in the wake of the Colonial Age. The true stories in this work are more impressive than fiction, and in terms of Africa, this book should be on the must read list for the U.S. State Department and British Foreign Office." Frederick Forsyth

"…a gripping and hugely informative read. …highly recommended. …impressive and enlightening." - The Herald, 07/2008 ~War Dog (Softback)|ISBN-13 9781932033908|War Dog (Hardback)|ISBN-13 9781932033090|~11889~12156~~

Warriors of the Sky - Peter Bagshawe~This is a collection of fifty exciting short stories written by pilots of the South African Air Force. The majority concern World War II when, along with other Commonwealth air forces, the SAAF fought alongside the RAF in the war-torn skies over Europe. The book captures the esprit de corps that existed between all the nationalities that fought on the Allied side and creates a splendid record of the many heroic actions in which the Springbok pilots fought. Some of the other stories relate flying in the border wars that South Africa fought in post-war years, often against vastly superior and better equipped communist inspired regimes.
Pen & Sword 2008. ISBN 1844153371, hardback. ~~Warriors of the Sky|ISBN 1844153371|~11889~11902~SAAF, South African Air Force~