An Cosantóir

APCs in the Congo 30 | AFTER NIEMBA: THE CAVALRY CONNECTION T BY: COL GEORGE KERTON (RETD.) PHOTOS:COURTESY OF MILITARY ARCHIVES & DF PRINTING PRESS 14 miles from Niemba village in what was then the Republic of the Congo caused the highest toll suffered by Ireland in the cause of world peace. The nine men from A Company, 33 he terrible events of 8th Novem- ber 1960 near the River Luwey- eye on a dirt road approximately Forces died in the Congo, seven of them cavalrymen, and three of those killed at Niemba, Sgt Gaynor, Tpr Fennell and Tpr Browne were mem- Inf Bn, ONUC (Opération des Nations Unies au Congo), who were killed by Baluba tribesmen in the Niemba Am- bush were Lt Kevin Gleeson, Sgt Hugh Gaynor, Cpl Peter Kelly, Cpl Liam Dou- gan, Pte Matthew Farrell, Tpr Thomas Fennell, Tpr Anthony Browne, Pte Mi- chael McGuinn and Pte Gerard Killeen. Two members of the patrol survived the attack, Pte Thomas Kenny and Pte Joseph Fitzpatrick. In the follow-up operation to recover the missing and to retrieve the bodies, Pte Patrick Davis died after he was shot accidentally on the night of 10th November 1960. Eight of the nine bodies were recov- ered quickly but it was almost two years to the day before Tpr Browne's body was recovered from the bush. Twenty-six members of the Defence bers of 2 Mot Sqn. Tpr Browne was awarded An Bonn Míleata Calmachta, le dearscnacht (The Military Medal For Gallantry, with distinction), which was presented to Tpr Browne's father, John, by Taoiseach Seán Lemass at a ceremony in Collins Bks on the first anniversary of the Ambush on 8th November 1961. On 13th November 1961, a year after no less than 400 miles on a variety of road and off-road surfaces and involv- ing hill climbing. The results confirmed 32 and 33 Inf Bns, did not have ar- moured vehicles but following Niemba the Quartermaster-General, Colonel Seán Collin-Powell, instructed the Director of Cavalry, Col James Cogan, to arrange reliability tests on Ford ar- moured cars and Beaverette armoured scout cars. The tests were conducted by 1 Mot Sqn, 4 Mot Sqn and 1 Tank Sqn over a 48-hour period on 24th and 25th November 1960. Each vehicle was tested over a run of the killings, five men from the Niemba area were tried at Elisabeth District Court for their part in the ambush. Two received sentences of three years and three received two-year terms of penal servitude. The first two Irish units with ONUC, that the Fords were superior mechani- cally but both vehicles had very poor performance cross-country and on unmetalled surfaces. Instead, Col Co- gan recommended that consideration be given to sending the Landsverk L180 armoured cars as they had been fitted with new engines; could be fitted with tracks for the rear wheels; and the armament (20mm Madsen and two Browning machine-guns), armour pro- tection, gun-control and observation, exceeded the Ford. The main reason this recommenda- Cavalry submitted a proposal to the Chief of Staff for an armoured car group for 34 Infantry Battalion. Eight Fords were prepared and airlifted from Baldonnel Aerodrome to the Congo in US military Douglas C-124 Globemaster II aircraft. By 15th January 1961 the Armoured Car Group, 34th Inf Bn was operational tion was rejected was that 1 Arm Car Sqn was the only unit with personnel trained on the Landsverk and as the unit was severely under strength it would not have been possible to sus- tain crews over a number of rotations or to train new crews if all eight AFVs were deployed to the Congo. In December 1960, the Director of Niemba Bridge An Cosantóir September 2012 www.dfmagazine.ie

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