Battle of Cassinga

Battle of Cassinga
Part of the South African Border War
Date 4 May 1978 Location Cassinga, Angola Cassinga Battle of Cassinga (Angola) 15°7′3″S 16°5′11″E / 15.11750°S 16.08639°E / -15.11750; 16.08639 (SWAPO Base at Cassinga) Result South African victory
Belligerents
South Africa	SWAPO  Cuba
Commanders and leaders
Constand Viljoen Ian Gleeson	Dimo Hamaambo
Units involved
SADF	SWAPO: Unknown
Strength
370 soldiers 4 Canberra B-12 bombers 5 Buccaneer fighters 4 Mirage III fighters 4 C-130 Hercules transport planes 5 Transall C-160 transport planes 13 Aerospatiale Puma helicopters 6 Super Frelon helicopters	SWAPO: 300–600 guerrillas[1] 2 ZPU-4 AA guns 1 ZU-23-2 AA gun 1–2 ZSU AA guns 3,000–4,000 refugees [1][2] Cuba: 144–400 soldiers 4 T-34 tanks 17 BTR-152 APCs 7 trucks 4 AA guns
Casualties and losses
3 killed 11 wounded 1 missing	Cuba: 150 soldiers killed[2] 3 T-34 destroyed 17 BTR-152 destroyed SWAPO: unknown 40 captured
624 dead and 611 wounded in total (Angolan government claim)[2] 582 dead and 400 wounded in total (SWAPO claim)[1]

The Battle of Cassinga also known as the Cassinga Raid or Kassinga Massacre was a controversial^[3] South African airborne attack on a South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) military camp at the town of Cassinga, Angola on 4 May 1978. Conducted as one of the three major actions of Operation Reindeer during the South African Border War, it was the South African Army's first major air assault operation.