Salisbury fuel depot attack

The Salisbury fuel depot attack was a raid on the fuel depot in Salisbury's Southerton industrial area on December 11, 1978, during the Rhodesian Bush War conducted by a ZANLA sabotage unit. The attack resulted in millions of dollars’ worth of damages and the destruction of more than a quarter of Rhodesia's fuel.

Attack

On the night of 11 December 1978, a unit of 8 ZANLA commandos led by a former bus driver-turned guerrilla, Member Kuvhiringidza, including comrades Nhamo, Lobo, Bombs, No Rest, America Mudzvanyiriri, Brian Chimurenga and Poison Waungana penetrated the outskirts of Salisbury and fired a volley of rockets and incendiary device rounds into the main oil storage depot. The storage tanks burned for five days, giving off a column of smoke that could be seen away. The fire destroyed 22 of the 28 giant storage tanks and wiped out about 17 million gallons of fuel, a quarter of Rhodesia's fuel reserves. After surveying the burnt out ruins, Ian Smith described the sabotage as being the one of Rhodesia's biggest setbacks since the war began.