Original Named and Worn Cuban made Angolan FAPLA Cap. Has some staining on the inside and on the inner brim, as well as slight soiling on outside. Inside is written “Comrade Mapodso”. The cap itself is a Olive Drab cotton herringbone twill material. Factory lined in "white" muslin type material. Soft, flexible multi-layer material visor with 9 rows of stitching. No labels, tags or stamps to be found. Fits size 56cm. Inside circumference is 22”. The People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (Portuguese: Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola) or FAPLA was the armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) from 1974 to 1993. Its major adversaries were the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), its armed wing, the Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FALA), and the South African Defence Force (SADF). The FAPLA fought the SADF and UNITA/FALA constantly from the 1970s, part of the Angolan Civil War and the South African Border War, including during Operation Savannah (1975-76), and Operation Sceptic (1980). The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale (1987-1988) was the largest land battle in Africa since the Second World War. After the Bicesse Accords in 1993, the FAPLA were transformed in the Angolan Armed Forces(Forças Armadas de Angola, FAA), by the integration of UNITA and FALA members. In January 1985 the CIA Directorate of Intelligence estimated that ".. in spite of intensive Soviet training and infusions of Soviet equipment, we believe the Angolan Army is still only a marginally capable fighting force and could not survive against any military threat--internal or external -- without Soviet backing and a Cuban military presence."
