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South African Air Force
*** Shopping-Tip: South African Air Force
Image:SAAF roundel.jpg right|thumb|150px|The South African Air Force roundel
The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the
Air Force of
South Africa. Known in
Afrikaans as the '''Suid-Afrikaanse Lugmag''', it is the world's second oldest independent air force.
The SAAF's motto is ''Per Aspera Ad Astra'' (Through adversity to the stars).
History
The origin of the South African Air Force can be traced back to
1912, when the Union Defence Force (UDF) was formed. This formation included the South African Aviation Corps (SAAC), which was formed as part of the Active Citizen Force (ACF).
In April
1914 six pupils (with the probationary ranks of lieutenant in the ACF) were sent to England to undergo further training. Five of them eventually qualified.
When
World War I broke out in August
1914, these pilots were granted permission to join the newly formed
Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The number of South Africans in the RFC eventually reached approximately 3 000, with 260 active-duty fatalities. They took part in aerial reconnaissance and artillery spotting missions over France during the war.
On
1 February 1920 the South African Air Force was established with Col.
Pierre van Ryneveld as the Director Air Services.
Its first operation was in
1922, when it helped to crush the Rand Revolt, an armed uprising by white mineworkers. The SAAF bombed targets around
Johannesburg, and lost some aircraft to ground fire. Col Sir Pierre van Ryneveld himself was shot down, but survived.
In
1934 a significant increase in the defence budget was approved and in
1935 the Minister of Defence announced that the UDF was to be expanded.
Despite these expansions, the start of
World War II in
1939 caught the SAAF unprepared.
This caused the establishment of the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Joint Air Training Scheme (JATS) in order to train Royal Air Force, SAAF and other allied air and ground crews at 38 South African-based air schools. This expanded the number of military aircraft in the SAAF to 1,709 by September
1941, with a personnel strength of 31,204 (956 pilots).
The SAAF's full war record was as follows:
* Home defence (1939-45): patrols of South African waters, where German u-boats were often active
*
East Africa (1940-41): 2 Wing fought in British-led operations against Italian Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia
*
North Africa (1941-43): 3 and 7 Wings fought under RAF formations in operations in Egypt, Libya and Tunis
*
Madagascar (1942): a detachment took part in the British-led occupation of this French-ruled island
*
Atlantic (1943-45): two squadrons patrolled convoy routes off West Africa and Gibraltar
*
Sicily(1943): 3 Wing provided air support during the Allied seizure of the island
*
Italy (1943-45): 2, 3 and 7 Wings fought in operations to liberate Italy from German occupation
*
Yugoslavia (1943-44): 7 Wing supported partisan operations against German occupation forces
*
France (1944): a detachment took part in the American invasion of southern France
*
Balkans (1944-45): some squadrons served with the Balkan Air Force in operations over
Hungary,
Romania and
Albania
*
Warsaw (1944): 2 Wing air-supplied Warsaw while the city was under siege
*
Greece (1944): 2 Wing supported British operations to liberate Greece and suppress the communist coup.
In particular, the SAAF played a major role in
North Africa, where its fighter, bomber and reconnaissance squadrons enabled the allied desert air force to attain air superiority over the
Axis Powers Axis air forces by the beginning of
1942. Between April 1941 and May
1943 the eleven squadrons of the SAAF flew 33,991 sorties and destroyed 342 enemy aircraft.
Post-war, the SAAF also took part in the
Berlin airlift of
1948 with 20 aircrews flying
Royal Air Force Dakotas.
In the
Korean War, the famous
2 Squadron SAAF 2 Squadron ("The Flying Cheetahs") took part as South Africa's contribution. It won many American decorations, including the unusual honour of a
United States Presidential Unit Citation (US) Presidential Unit Citation in
1952.
When the Union Defence Forces were reorganised into individual services in
1951, the SAAF became an arm of service in its own right, under an Air Chief of Staff (who was renamed "Chief of the Air Force" in
1966). It adopted a blue uniform, to replace the army khaki it had previously worn.
The SAAF was scaled down in the
1950s, and rebuilt in the
1960s, after South Africa had become a republic, and diplomatic isolation and the United Nations arms embargo had begun to bite.
From 1966 to
1989, the SAAF was committed to the
South African Border War Border War, which was fought in northern South West Africa and surrounding states. At first, it provided limited air support to police operations against the
People's Liberation Army of
Namibia (the military wing of
SWAPO, which was fighting to end South African rule of South West Africa). Operations intensified after the defence force took charge of the war in 1974.
The SAAF provided air support to the army during the 1975-76
Angola campaign, and in the many cross-border operations that were carried out against PLAN bases in Angola and
Zambia from
1977 onwards. It was also heavily involved in the 1987-88 Angola campaign, which was followed by the peace settlement that ended the conflict.
After the first multi-racial elections were held in
1994, the SAAF became an integrated air force as part of the
South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
Order of battle
Image:SAAF_flag.png right|thumb|140px|SAAF flag
(The list below uses the following format: squadron number, base, type of aircraft flown.)
*
2 Squadron SAAF 2 Sqn, Louis Trichardt, Atlas Cheetah C/D.
*
15 Squadron SAAF 15 Sqn,
Durban, Atlas Oryx, BK117.
*
15 Squadron SAAF 15 Sqn - C Flight,
Port Elizabeth, BK117.
*
16 Squadron SAAF 16 Sqn,
AFB Bloemspruit,
Rooivalk.
*
17 Squadron SAAF 17 Sqn, Swartkop, Atlas Oryx, Alouette III.
*
19 Squadron SAAF 19 Sqn,
AFB Hoedspruit, Atlas Oryx, Alouette III.
*
21 Squadron SAAF 21 Sqn,
AFB Waterkloof, Boeing BBJ, Cessna Citation 550, Cessna Citation 551, Falcon 50, Falcon 900A.
*
22 Squadron SAAF 22 Sqn,
AFB Ysterplaat, Atlas Oryx, Alouette III.
*
28 Squadron SAAF 28 Sqn, Waterkloof, C-130B/BZ/F Hercules.
*
35 Squadron SAAF 35 Sqn, Ysterplaat, C-47TP.
*
41 Squadron SAAF 41 Sqn, Waterkloof, Cessna 208 Caravan, Pilatus PC-12, King Air 200/300.
*
44 Squadron SAAF 44 Sqn, Waterkloof, CASA 212-200/-300, CN235, Cessna 185.
*
60 Squadron SAAF 60 Sqn, Waterkloof, Boeing 707.
*
85 Combat Flying School SAAF 85 Combat Flying School, Hoedspruit, Atlas Impala MkI/II.
*
87 Helicopter Flying School SAAF 87 Helicopter Flying School, Bloemspruit, Atlas Oryx, Alouette III, BK117.
*
Central Flying School SAAF Central Flying School, Langebaanweg, PC-7 Mk II Astra.
*
Test Flight and Development Centre SAAF Test Flight and Development Centre, Overberg, various aircraft on test.
* SAAF Museum Flight, Swartkop/Ysterplaat/
Port Elizabeth, various historical aircraft including Dakota, Mustang, Harvard, Shackleton, Sabre, Vampire, Mirage III and Allouette II.
Notes:
# Squadron is abbreviated to "Sqn" in the list.
# In addition to the above squadrons there are many other units such as reserve squadrons (flying private aircraft), support units, air depots, security squadrons and training schools.
# The headquarters of the SAAF are situated in
Pretoria.
''See also:
List of squadrons of the South African Air Force''
Aircraft fleet
''Main article:
List of aircraft of the South African Air Force''
See also
*
List of air forces
External links
-
Official South African Air Force website
-
Unofficial South African Air Force website
{{SANDF}}
Category:Air forces
Category:South African Air Force
Category:Military of South Africa
fr:South African Air Force
it:South African Air Force
Category:Military of South Africa
Category:Air forces
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