Page 271 - Airpower in 20th Century - Doctrines and Employment

Sudafrica

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tHean PotGieter - derMot Moore
The South African Air Force:
Historical Notes and Involvement in the Korean War

th
he South African Air Force (SAAF) has celebrated its 90 birthday in 2010,
making it one of the oldest independent air forces in the world. The SAAF
Thas a long and celebrated history, while South African pilots have build up
a reputation as of the finest in the world. When the Union Defence Force (of South
Africa) was created in 1912 provision was made for a flying core, called the South
1
African Aviation Corps or Zuid-Afrikaanse Vliegenierskorps. In 1913 the first ten
South Africans underwent pilot training in Kimberley. Just before the outbreak of the
First World War, in 1914, five of them then went on to complete pilot training at the
Flying School of the Royal Flying Corps in Uphaven, Britain. During the First War
South African pilots performed exemplary service in the Royal Flying Corps and in
the Royal Naval Air Service. They participating in most phases of the war and served
in such diverse theatres as the Western Front, Southwest and East Africa, Russia,
the Western Dessert, Gallipoli and Palestine. In the process they achieved much
distinction – for example Captain A.W.B. Proctor is credited with 41 kills, while C.
(“Boetie”) Venter with 22 kills. 2
Even before an own air force for South Africa was created, South African pilots
have therefore made their mark. In the decades to follow the SAAF build up a good
record during various wars and conflicts, and when South Africa experienced a proc-
ess of political and military transition in the 1990s, the Air Force became a force the
new nation can be proud about. The purpose of this article is to briefly narrate the
history of the SAAF and to illustrate its commitment and operation proficiency with
reference to a brief period during its involvement in the Korean War.

Creation and founding years

The history of the South African Air Force (SAAF) dates back to 1920. Its ori-
gin is probably in a meeting between General J.C. (Jan) Smuts (SA Prime Minister
and member of the Imperial War Cabinet) and Lieutenant Colonel H.P. (Pierre) van
3
Ryneveld in London in 1919, where they discussed the need for an air force. The

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Prof Thean Potgieter, Director Centre for Military Studies, Stellenbosch University
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Military historian, University of Fort Hare
1
K.A. Maxwell and J.M. Smith, SA Air Force Golden Jubilee Book, SAAF, 1970, p. 14.
2
Ibid., pp. 18-19.
3
Ibid., p. 20.