It’s no wonder Soviet state was helping some sides in Angola war. Here are some photos of the Russian veterans from their private albums. Rare seen private photos of Soviet pilots, tank commanders and other officers who fought on Angolan ground.
Many soldiers from Angola were studying how to fight and how to use arms in Russia.
“People always ask me”, remembers one Soviet Angola war veteran, “did you fight in Angola yourself or was just acting as an advisor?”
“We were sent to Angola to advise, not to fight. However I would lie if I say that we were sending Angolan pilots to the attacks they were not ready to handle yet. We were performing these tasks ourselves, or as sidekicks with them”.
“We tried not to fly two more bombing sessions in a row in order to minimize the risks of us being shot down”
“Young Angolan pilots were respecting us and trusting us, even when I was shouting on them they understood I did this because I cared so much about their lives”.
Some of their Angolan friends now became leaders of Angola military.
Not all served as pilots, some were fighting on the ground. Performed different tasks, like guarding roads etc.
Angolan soldiers liked Soviet weapons a lot.
For Soviet soldiers and officers this was exotics. They were not allowed to leave USSR and see different countries and even in such way they could travel.
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