Battle for N'Djili Int. Airfield, Congo, 1998
Second Congo War 1998-2003

From Great Lakes Conflagration: The Second Congo War 1998-2003 (Helion & Co Publishing)

With Rwanda and Uganda failing to challenge their presence other than with ground-based air defences, the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Hawks remained in complete control of Congolese skies throughout the war. Total air supremacy meant that they were free to provide not only CAS support but act as strike aircraft deep behind enemy lines.

On 27 August 1998 Rwandan and ex-Zaiiran troops, with T-59 and T-62 tanks, pressed an attack on N'Djili Airfield from the south. AFZ aircraft spent all day taking off from the northern end of the airfield, circling back over the Congo River, and attacking the southern end of the airfield before landing again. Without time to eat, they were refuelled, rearmed, and sent up again. Each sortie lasted approx 5 minutes. Such was the intensity of flight operations, several aircraft became due for service during the attack, completed overnight. Such was the proximity of the attack that the Hawks (and Lynxes) were able to attack with maximum load-outs on each sortie, as fuel and time in-flight was not a consideration.

AFZ Hawk 610 (No.2 Sqn) was F/Lt Mike Enslin's aircraft and bore a personal insignia of Darth Vader on the port side. In 1999 Enslin was shot down by a proximity-fused missile (likely a french Mistral fired by South African or Israeli mercs) while attacking Rwandan MLRs in AFZ Hawk 604. He was injured on ejection but landed and evaded capture before joining up with Zimbabwean paras fighting a three-week withdrawal from the area.

Enslin returned to No.2 Sqn when fit. He later flew F-7s and took command of No.5 Sqn before emigrating to Australia.