Angola - Revision history

Admin1 at 23:18, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T23:18:23Z

Admin1 at 23:14, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T23:14:38Z

Admin1: /* Camouflage of Insurgent Units in Angola */

2025-11-05T01:26:04Z

Camouflage of Insurgent Units in Angola

Admin1 at 01:24, 5 November 2025

2025-11-05T01:24:14Z

Admin1: /* Angolan Camouflage Patterns */

2025-11-05T01:21:21Z

Angolan Camouflage Patterns

Admin1 at 22:47, 27 October 2025

2025-10-27T22:47:45Z

Admin1: /* Republic of Angola */

2025-10-27T22:27:14Z

Republic of Angola

Admin1 at 23:22, 26 October 2025

2025-10-26T23:22:25Z

Admin1 at 23:13, 26 October 2025

2025-10-26T23:13:27Z

Admin1: /* Angolan Camouflage Patterns */

2025-10-26T23:02:30Z

Angolan Camouflage Patterns

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:18, 5 November 2025
Line 115:		Line 115:

	[[File:Rhodesia1.jpg\|200px]]		[[File:Rhodesia1.jpg\|200px]]
		+	[[File:unita-rhodesian.png\|200px]]

	* UNITA officers occasionally appeared wearing the [[France\|French]] [[lizard]] pattern, although most accounts indicate its use was generally for public image rather than combat & concealment value.		* UNITA officers occasionally appeared wearing the [[France\|French]] [[lizard]] pattern, although most accounts indicate its use was generally for public image rather than combat & concealment value.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 In 1961, prompted by Portuguese refusal to negotiate terms for Angolan independence, a series of attacks against white and black citizens in the north would shortly bring the nation into full civil war. Three distinct movements emerged, all aiming towards a free and independent Angola; these were the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) founded in 1956, the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola) founded in 1961, and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) founded in 1966. Following the 1974 coup d'etat in Lisbon which ousted the Portuguese military dictatorship and replaced it with a much more liberal democracy, Portugal's interest in keeping Angola as a colonial possession rapidly waned. Thus on 11 November 1975 Angola was granted full independence, while the leaders of the three revolutionary movements were faced with the challenge of how to organize and run their country without the Portuguese infrastructure.
 A transitional government was established in January 1975, but it was very short-lived, and soon the nation again found itself embroiled in another civil war. As the FNLA and UNITA forged a shaky alliance against the MPLA, the [[USSR|Soviet Union]] and [[Cuba]] channeled increasing military assistance to the ''Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola'' or FAPLA (the armed wing of the MPLA), aid that would continue well into the 1990s. The [[USA|United States]] initially countered by supporting Daniel Chipenda's FNLA, with [[South Africa]] offering its support to both the FNLA and Jonas Savimbi's UNITA. This overt military support, however, was short-lived, with US aid ending in December of that year and the [[South Africa|South African Defence Force]] leaving the country in February 1976. Yet as many as 11,000 Cuban "advisors" remained in Angola, along with a number of Soviet military personnel and a large assortment of war materiel. The MPLA became the de facto government of the nation, with UNITA and the FNLA continuing an insurgency campaign against the FAPLA. Although they would continue to receive covert support from several nations, including the [[USA|United States]], South Africa, and [[Zaire]], the FNLA eventually capitulated, leaving UNITA to continue waging its war against FAPLA. Many FNLA personnel would later be transformed into 32 Battalion of the SADF, a Portuguese-speaking special operations unit with a fierce reputation and more cross-border combat experience than any other unit of the SADF. As for UNITA, when its leader, Jonas Savimbi, was killed during combat operations in February 2002, the group negotiated a cease fire shortly thereafter and by August of that year had given up the armed struggle, declaring its intent to focus on political means of change. Approximately 4.28 million people were displaced over the course of the 27 year Angolan Civil War, with as many as 500,000 people killed.
@@ Line 119: / Line 121: @@
 [[File:unita-lizard.png|200px]]
 <html><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

@@ Line 109: / Line 109: @@
 [[File:rok13.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:mpla-rok.png|200px]]
 * Documentation of UNITA troops shows they did receive some surplus [[Rhodesia|Rhodesian]] camouflage uniforms. However, the stocks must have been used up rapidly, as their appearance on combat personnel seems to have been extremely limited.

@@ Line 67: / Line 67: @@
 [[File:angola18.png|200px]]
 [[File:angola17.png|200px]]
 * Although there are photographs of the ''Fuzileiros Navais'' or Naval Infantry wearing woodland camouflage in the 1990s, it appears the unit as a whole never discarded its use of the old Portuguese m63 vertical lizard design. Modern versions have slightly updated colorways and uniform styling, but the Portuguese tradition has nevertheless been retained by this one Angolan unit.

@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 [[File:angola10.jpg|200px]]
 * Additional woodland patterns from the 2000s retain the distinctive lime green base color, but appear to have shapes in the design not found in the original m81 [[woodland]] drawings. The color palette remains similar to those previously encountered, although the brown has a much more reddish tone, and the green is often a bit more vibrant (when not faded).
@@ Line 89: / Line 90: @@
 [[File:angola-police.png|200px]]
 == Camouflage of Insurgent Units in Angola ==

@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 [[File:Multicam.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:angola-multicam.png|200px]]
 == Camouflage of Insurgent Units in Angola ==

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 A transitional government was established in January 1975, but it was very short-lived, and soon the nation again found itself embroiled in another civil war. As the FNLA and UNITA forged a shaky alliance against the MPLA, the [[USSR|Soviet Union]] and [[Cuba]] channeled increasing military assistance to the ''Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola'' or FAPLA (the armed wing of the MPLA), aid that would continue well into the 1990s. The [[USA|United States]] initially countered by supporting Daniel Chipenda's FNLA, with [[South Africa]] offering its support to both the FNLA and Jonas Savimbi's UNITA. This overt military support, however, was short-lived, with US aid ending in December of that year and the [[South Africa|South African Defence Force]] leaving the country in February 1976. Yet as many as 11,000 Cuban "advisors" remained in Angola, along with a number of Soviet military personnel and a large assortment of war materiel. The MPLA became the de facto government of the nation, with UNITA and the FNLA continuing an insurgency campaign against the FAPLA. Although they would continue to receive covert support from several nations, including the [[USA|United States]], South Africa, and [[Zaire]], the FNLA eventually capitulated, leaving UNITA to continue waging its war against FAPLA. Many FNLA personnel would later be transformed into 32 Battalion of the SADF, a Portuguese-speaking special operations unit with a fierce reputation and more cross-border combat experience than any other unit of the SADF. As for UNITA, when its leader, Jonas Savimbi, was killed during combat operations in February 2002, the group negotiated a cease fire shortly thereafter and by August of that year had given up the armed struggle, declaring its intent to focus on political means of change. Approximately 4.28 million people were displaced over the course of the 27 year Angolan Civil War, with as many as 500,000 people killed.
-With a total strength of about 110,000 personnel, the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) consist of three divisions: the Army ''(Exército),'' Navy ''(Marinha de Guerra),'' and Air Force ''(Força Aérea Nacional).'' The FAA maintain strong connections to their Portuguese roots, employing many original or slightly modified military accoutrements of the old regime, including some camouflage designs.
+With a total strength of about 110,000 personnel, the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) consist of three divisions: the Army ''(Exército),'' Navy ''(Marinha de Guerra),'' and Air Force ''(Força Aérea Nacional).'' The FAA maintain strong connections to their Portuguese roots, employing many original or slightly modified military accoutrements of the old regime, including some camouflage designs. Law enforcement and internal security is the responsibility of the ''Polícia Nacional'' (PN) or National Police, a paramilitary entity of the Ministry of the Interior.
 == Angolan Camouflage Patterns ==

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 [[File:cameroon3.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:angola13.png|200px]]
 * It was also in the 1990s that variations of m81 [[woodland]] camouflage began to appear in use with the FAA, again in several uniform cuts and most likely produced by Asian companies for export. In the present era, although Angolan forces continue to wear a wide variety of camouflage patterns, the Angolan woodland pattern can be considered the "standard" combat design of the FAA.

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 [[File:angola5.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:angola-dpm.png|200px]]
 * It was also in the 1990s that variations of m81 [[woodland]] camouflage began to appear in use with the FAA, again in several uniform cuts and most likely produced by Asian companies for export. In the present era, although Angolan forces continue to wear a wide variety of camouflage patterns, the Angolan woodland pattern can be considered the "standard" combat design of the FAA.

@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 [[File:angola-cuban.png|200px]]
-* An interesting Chinese-made pattern incorporating swirling black, brown & green amoebic shapes on pale green background was also produced for the FAA at some point during the 1990s. Several fabric weights have been documented, as well as a few different uniform styles such as the French F1. Chinese-style uniforms (as issued to the PLA) were ''not'' worn by the FAA, although there are hobbyist sources out there making this claim.
+* An interesting Chinese-made pattern incorporating swirling black, brown & green amoebic shapes on pale green background was also produced for the FAA at some point during the 1990s. Several fabric weights have been documented, as well as a few different uniform styles such as the French F1, although not the Chinese-style uniforms which were worn by ANC insurgents operating in [[South Africa]]. This "swirl" design would disappear for a number of years, but must have been reintroduced in the early 2000s as we have examples of FAA-labeled uniforms and some photographs of the pattern still being worn at that time.
 [[File:angola9.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:angola11.jpg|200px]]
 [[File:angola-swirl.png|200px]]