the seriously wounded as well as the repair of equipment and the assembly of newly trained insurgents on their way to bases in the East and West Cunene Provinces all took place in Cassinga." South African planning By the beginning of 1978 SWAPO had improved its organisation and gained strength in Owambo and the Eastern Caprivi, UNITA was under pressure from the MPLA, and it became increasingly difficult for the SADF to operate in Southern Angola. South Africa also feared the disruption of elections it planned to hold in South West Africa excluding SWAPO. The attack on Cassinga grew out of the plan for Operation Bruilof, wherein the SADF envisaged attacking six SWAPO targets around the town of Chetequera. During the intelligence-gathering portion of the planning for Operation Bruilof, the SADF concluded that the small town of Cassinga was the principal medical, training and control centre for the guerrillas in the region, and one of SWAPO's two regional HQ's (the other being further north at Lubango). The SAAF still held air superiority over Angola at the time, allowing 12 Squadron to conduct aerial photo-reconnaissance with Canberra B12s in spring of 1978. These photos showed newly built military infrastructure including concreted 'drive-in' bunkers for armoured fighting vehicles covering approach roads, zigzag trenches surrounding the base, foxholes for machine guns/mortar crews – and the highly characteristic 'star-shaped' concreted base structure for a SAM-3 missile battery and its radar/command vehicle. Also identifiable from the imagery was a civilian single-decker bus. PLAN combatants at Cassinga were aware of the overflights, and in a letter dated 10 April 1978, the camp's commander Hamaambo expressed concerns to his superiors about an "imminent invasion intention of our enemy of our camp in Southern Angola". In response to the reconnaissance flights, defenses were improved through the creation of a secondary camp north of the main camp, the addition of more trenches and the digging of holes for the protection of food provisions. The SADF shelved the plan for Operation Bruilof and planning for a new operation, Operation Reindeer, began. Reindeer was composed of three main actions; the airborne assault on Cassinga, a mechanised assault on the Chetaquera complex at – that also involved SAAF defence-suppression strikes – and an assault on the Dombondola complex at by a light infantry force. The planners for the operation were faced with a significant problem. While the Chetequera and Dombondola complexes were