Articles by Dr JRT Wood

Helicopter Warfare in Rhodesia: 1962-1980

A comprehensive account of Rhodesia's unique tactical contribution to counter-insurgency warfare in the form of vertical envelopment of insurgents from the air using helicopter-borne infantry and paratroopers.

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Four Tall NCOs of the Life Guards

Lord Mountbatten, Harold Wilson, and the Immediate Aftermath of UDI: The Proposed Mountbatten Mission

Showing Harold Wilson's penchant for cloak-and-dagger, this article recounts his plan to undo Rhodesia's rebellion immediately by despatching a royal figure to Rhodesia in November 1965.

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Counter-Punching on the Mudzi

D Company, 1RAR, on Operation Mardon, 1 November 1976

Operation Mardon was designed to weaken Robert Mugabe's position at the Geneva Conference of 1976 by attacking his forces in Mozambique. This article covers the overlooked contribution of D Company, 1RAR, in its successful attack on the ZANLA camp at Mudzi.

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The Pookie

A History of the World's first successful Landmine Detector Carrier

Rhodesia's secret anti-landmine weapon, the Pookie, was the world's first and only mine detecting vehicle. Built like a beach buggy with Formula 1 tyres, its footprint was so light that it would not crush a standard matchbox, let alone detonate any landmine. It cost less to build than to repair a mined vehicle, and it saved hundreds of lives in the Bush War from 1976 to 1980.

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Published Articles

Please note: some articles may reference URLs that are now defunct.

The reaction to Asian Migration on the Eve of Federation in British Central Africa : Gleanings from the Welensky Papers, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Pretoria, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 1982, pp. 329-348.
The roles of Diefenbaker, Macmillan and Verwoerd in the withdrawal of South Africa from the Commonwealth, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Pretoria, Vol. 6, Nos. 1/2, April/October, 1987, pp. 153-179. (published in January 1989).
Fire Force : Helicopter Operations, 1962-80, in Tim Newark (ed), Military Illustrated, London, Vol. 72, 1994, pp. 21-24.
Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Rhodesia : 1962-1980, Published in 1996 on the World Wide Web by the Army-Air Force Center for Low Intensity Conflict at http://server.clic.langley.af.mil/coin/rhodesia.htm. Republished in 1997 by Richard Allport, Allport Books, Oudeschip, Netherlands : http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rallport/insurgency.htm.
Fire Force : Helicopter Warfare in Rhodesia Published in 1997 on the World Wide Web by Richard Allport, Allport Books, Oudeschip, Netherlands http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rallport/insurgency.htm.
The "Pookie" Mine Detector, Marine Corps Gazette, Vol. 81, No. 1, January 1997, Marine Corps Association, Quantico, Virginia.
"Four Tall Guardsmen" Harold Wilson, UDI and the proposed mission of Lord Mountbatten to Rhodesia, November 1995, Published in 1998 on the World Wide Web by Richard Allport, Allport Books, Oudeschip, Netherlands http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rallport/insurgency.htm.
Counter-Punching on the Mudzi: D Company, 1st Rhodesian African Rifles, on Operation 'Mardon', 1 November 1976.' Small Wars and Insurgencies, Frank Cass, London, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Autumn 1998), pp. 64-82.
J.R.T. Wood, Pookie: A History of the World's first successful Landmine Detector Carrier, in Jon Guttman (ed), Military History, Leesburg Virginia, 1998.
J.R.T. Wood, Cave Clearing in the Rhodesian Bush War 1961-1980, The Lion & Tusk: The Magazine of The Rhodesian Army Association, Vol. 9. No. 2, March 2003.