# Neall Ellis > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Neall_Ellis > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Neall_Ellis.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neall_Ellis > Source revision: 1352248239 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Rhodesian/South African pilot}} {{Use South African English|date=April 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = [Colonel](/source/Colonel) | honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=ZAR|HC52}} | birth_name = Neall Ellis | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1949|11|24}} | death_date = | birth_place = {{nowrap|[Johannesburg](/source/Johannesburg), South Africa}} | death_place = | burial_place = | image = Neall Ellis.jpg | caption = | religion = | nickname = ''Nellis'', ''Gunship Ace'' | allegiance = {{plainlist| * {{flag|Rhodesia}} * {{flag|South Africa|1928}} * {{flagicon image}} [Executive Outcomes](/source/Executive_Outcomes) * {{flag|Sierra Leone}} }} | service_years = {{plainlist| * ?{{ndash}}1971 (Rhodesia) * 1971{{ndash}}1992 (South Africa) * 1996{{ndash}}2004 (Sierra Leone) }} | branch = {{plainlist| * {{flagicon image|Rhodesian Army flag late 1970s.png}} [Rhodesian Army](/source/Rhodesian_Army) * {{flagicon image|Air Force Ensign of South Africa (1982–1994).svg}} [South African Air Force](/source/South_African_Air_Force) }} | rank = {{plainlist| * border|35px [Colonel](/source/Colonel) }} | commands = | battles = {{plainlist| * [Rhodesian Bush War](/source/Rhodesian_Bush_War) * [South African Border War](/source/South_African_Border_War) * [Angolan Civil War](/source/Angolan_Civil_War) * [First Congo War](/source/First_Congo_War) * [Sierra Leone Civil War](/source/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War) * [Yugoslav Wars](/source/Yugoslav_Wars) * [Iraq War](/source/Iraq_War) *[War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)](/source/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001-2021)) }} | battles_label = Wars | relatives = | awards = {{MilAward Stack|HC75}} | other_work = | signature = }} '''Neall Ellis''' {{Post-nominals|country=ZAR|HC75}} is a South African military aviator and [mercenary](/source/Mercenary). Raised in [Bulawayo](/source/Bulawayo), he joined the [South African Air Force](/source/South_African_Air_Force) after a brief stint in the [Rhodesian Army](/source/Rhodesian_Army). As a helicopter pilot he was awarded the [Honoris Crux](/source/Honoris_Crux_(1975)) decoration in 1983 for his actions during [Operation Super](/source/Operation_Super), and later attained field rank. After retiring from the SAAF he contracted for various [private military companies](/source/Private_military_company), including [Executive Outcomes](/source/Executive_Outcomes) and [Sandline International](/source/Sandline_International). During the [civil war](/source/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War) in [Sierra Leone](/source/Sierra_Leone), he and his [Mi-24](/source/Mi-24) [armed](/source/Armed_helicopter) [attack](/source/attack_helicopter) [military](/source/Military_helicopter) [helicopter](/source/Helicopter) crew held off [Revolutionary United Front](/source/Revolutionary_United_Front) (RUF) forces almost single-handedly.{{Cite web |last=la Guardia |first=Anton |date=18 June 2000 |title=Airborne adventurer keeps Freetown free |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sierraleone/1343727/Airborne-adventurer-keeps-Freetown-free.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240130234757/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sierraleone/1343727/Airborne-adventurer-keeps-Freetown-free.html |archive-date=January 30, 2024 |access-date=2019-05-10 |website=The Telegraph}}''Combat & Survival'' magazine 12/06 September 2000 pp. 26–32 with photos He also provided fire support for British troops during [Operation Barras](/source/Operation_Barras). ==Freelance Career== Ellis' private military career under [Sandline](/source/Sandline) led him to deployment in [Sierra Leone](/source/Sierra_Leone), where he and his crew were hired by the British-backed government to support them in the civil war, providing government forces with air support against the RUF with [Mi-17](/source/Mi-17) and later Mi-24 [gunships](/source/gunship). Ellis' crew were seen as effective from a tactical and a psychological perspective, as their aircraft's presence was often sufficient to cause RUF forces operating in an area to flee. As the RUF advanced on the capital, [Freetown](/source/Freetown), [British military](/source/British_Armed_Forces) [garrison](/source/garrison) stationed in Sierra Leone were evacuated, leaving the city to be occupied by the rebel faction. Although they were attacking at night, where the air crew had no equipment that would provide [night-vision](/source/night-vision), Ellis issued a plan to fly out and meet them in an effort to drive them off. None of Ellis' crew agreed to the mission, however, prompting him to pilot his gunship in a combat mission against the RUF alone. Although Ellis was able to successfully drive off the RUF forces attacking Freetown on two successive occasions, his gunship suffered a mechanical failure and he was unable to continue flying, allowing the rebels to seize the city. Ellis and his crew continued to operate against the RUF, although due to the loss of the capital the government were unable to pay them. Anecdotally, when their ammo supplies were expended, Ellis would fly his gunship low to the ground in order to intimidate the RUF and cause their [armed trucks](/source/Technical_(vehicle)) to overturn due to the downdraft. Such was the impact on their morale that the RUF sent numerous death threats to Ellis and placed a price on his head, to which he and his crew responded by dropping thousands of leaflets with a picture of their helicopter and the words "RUF: this time we've dropped leaflets. Next time it will be a [half-inch](/source/YakB-12.7_machine_gun) [Gatling gun](/source/Gatling) [machine gun](/source/Machine_gun), or [57mm](/source/S-5_rocket) [rockets](/source/Rocket), or [23mm guns](/source/Gryazev-Shipunov_GSh-23), or [30mm](/source/AGS-17) [grenades](/source/Grenade), or ALL OF THEM!" These efforts would eventually draw the attention of British military command once more, who upon their decision to return to Sierra Leone agreed to provide his crew with support and work in conjunction with him in their operations. In September 2000, Ellis flew his helicopter in support of [Operation Barras](/source/Operation_Barras), a rescue mission of several soldiers from the [Royal Irish Regiment](/source/Royal_Irish_Regiment_(1992)) who had been captured by the [West Side Boys](/source/West_Side_Boys) and would provide [air support](/source/Close_air_support) to the [Special Air Service](/source/Special_Air_Service) in military operations.{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sierraleone/1343727/Airborne-adventurer-keeps-Freetown-free.html | title=Airborne adventurer keeps Freetown free | date=18 June 2000 }} Ellis and his crew would stay in Sierra Leone until the defeat of the RUF in 2002 - he later went on to operate in Afghanistan and Iraq in support of Coalition forces.{{cite book | url=https://www.amazon.com/Gunship-Ace-Neall-Ellis-Mercenary-ebook/dp/B006K14RDY | title=Gunship Ace: The Wars of Neall Ellis, Gunship Pilot and Mercenary | date=19 January 2012 | publisher=Casemate }} After that, Ellis seems to have vanished from the public view, other than rumours of him flying off to battle the [Islamic State](/source/Islamic_State).{{Cite web |last=Elphick |first=James |date=2020-10-20 |title=This colonel-turned-mercenary has been battling terrorism for decades |url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/this-colonel-turned-mercenary-has-been-battling-terrorism-for-decades/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241128171042/https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/this-colonel-turned-mercenary-has-been-battling-terrorism-for-decades/ |archive-date=November 28, 2024 |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=We Are The Mighty |language=en-US}} == References == {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/british-officer-advised-gunship-killers-699306.html |title=British officer advised gunship killers|website=[Independent.co.uk](/source/Independent.co.uk) |date=6 September 2000 }} * {{cite web|url=http://www.shadowcompanythemovie.com/about_featured3.html |title=Shadow Company : The Rules of War Have Changed}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2000/s229144.htm |title=Foreign Correspondent |website=[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation) |access-date=5 July 2010 |archive-date=26 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226002825/http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2000/s229144.htm |url-status=dead }} * {{cite web|url=http://www.cracked.com/article_19472_the-5-craziest-soldiers-fortune-to-ever-cash-paycheck.html |title=The 5 Craziest Soldiers of Fortune To Ever Cash a Paycheck|date=13 October 2011 }} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Neall}} Category:Living people Category:Foreign volunteers in the Rhodesian Security Forces Category:Helicopter pilots Category:Military personnel from Johannesburg Category:Rhodesian mercenaries Category:South African aviators Category:South African emigrants to Rhodesia Category:South African mercenaries Category:South African military personnel of the Border War Category:South African people of Dutch descent Category:South African people of British descent Category:South African anti-communists Category:University of Natal alumni Category:1949 births --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Neall Ellis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neall_Ellis) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neall_Ellis?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.