Identity
Person No.
30037
Old ROH no.
337
Service No.
65654006PE
Last Name
First Name
Constant Daniel
Initials
C D
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
26
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
AA 1,737
Aircraft accident
Cause of Death
Died in Aircraft Accident, shot down by own AAA, in Aerospatiale SA3330 Puma C #122. The OC 2 Mil Area, scheduled a visit to Battlegroup Chicken, near Mussende, Angola. Unfortunately the Puma was painted green, similar to the colour of the enemy planes and flew off course over an AA battery that had not been informed of the flight. Thinking the enemy were attacking, the AA shot the chopper down
Military Service
Branch
Air Force
Rank
Captain
Regiment
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
"D" Squadron
Defence Force
SADF 3,823
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Operation
Operation
Dates
1975-10-14 to 1976-03-27
About
SADF intervention in the Angolan Civil War following Portugal's withdrawal, in support of UNITA and the FNLA against the Soviet/Cuban-backed MPLA. South African armoured columns (Task Force Zulu and others) advanced deep into Angola, reaching within striking distance of Luanda, before withdrawing by late March 1976 amid international and domestic political fallout. South Africa's first large post-WWII conventional deployment and the opening chapter of the Border War's Angola phase.
Unit History
Part of
Awards
South Africa · awarded 1976-01-04
Pro Patria Medal (original 1974 warrant, Government Gazette No. 4490, 8 Nov 1974, as amended by GG No. 4932, 19 Dec 1975) -- confirmed as one of the first 48 posthumous Pro Patria recipients on the official 1976 Roll of Honour, reproduced in P.F. Roos, "Pro Patria Medal: Types, Variants, Ribbon Accoutrements and Selected Recipients of Interest" (Section II, Part One). Gazette extracts: https://rohsa.co.za/award.php?id=24
Notes
Husband of Mrs. L. A. de Wit, of Weirda Park. ref. 85 years of SAAF
Research notes
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 04 Jan 2024: 65654006PE Captain Constant Daniel de Wit (Co-Pilot), 19 Squadron, Puma 122 friendly AAA, Ops Savannah, age 26. ROH cause already has friendly AAA / Puma 122; names Battlegroup Chicken. Graham: Battle Group Orange, SA 330C, 20mm scored 21 hits, Aircraft Commander not killed in the crash but could not be freed before the wreck burnt; Commandant Martin Verster only survivor (not on the roll).
5 Sep 2026: Unit "19 Squadron" (a squadron, SAAF's regiment-equivalent) promoted to Regiment, per John's decision. Corps (South African Air Force) unchanged.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 04 Jan 2024: 65654006PE Captain Constant Daniel de Wit (Co-Pilot), 19 Squadron, Puma 122 friendly AAA, Ops Savannah, age 26. ROH cause already has friendly AAA / Puma 122; names Battlegroup Chicken. Graham: Battle Group Orange, SA 330C, 20mm scored 21 hits, Aircraft Commander not killed in the crash but could not be freed before the wreck burnt; Commandant Martin Verster only survivor (not on the roll).
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), page 24 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 2
I was present where this person died after being shot down during ops Savannah in the Puma helicopter. His death was not due to crash. I tried pulling him out of the burning helicopter but was unable to do so due to heat and exploding ammunition. This was more than an aircraft crash which seems to be wrongly stated on the records. There was one survivor who was badly burnt and airlifted for treatment. hslab
Place of death - Dondo (200km South East of Luanda) hslab
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.