Bob Kershaw
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Bob Kershaw
Robert H. C. (Bob) Kershaw (died 6 May 1998) was a fighter pilot and later businessman of South Africa, notable as the first South African recipient of the Distinguished Service Order in World War II, for his rescue of downed squadron leader John Frost. Kershaw and Frost were flying Hawker Hurricanes in the No. 3 Squadron of the South African Air Force when they were sent to Kenya in early 1941 as part of a campaign against Italian forces in Abyssinia. On 15 March, during an attack on Diredawa airfield, Frost's tank of glycol coolant was hit. Frost proceeded to land quickly before the overheating engine seized. Frost landed at a satellite airfield near Diredawa, and set his plane on fire to prevent its capture. Kershaw had seen Frost go down and followed, putting his plane down on the same field. Due to size constraints in the Hurricane, Frost discarded his parachute and sat in Kershaw's lap. With Kershaw working the rudder's foot pedals and Jack using the throttle and control ...
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John Frost (SAAF Officer)
John Everitt Frost, (16 July 1918 – 16 June 1942) was a South African fighter ace during the Second World War. He was the highest-scoring member of a South African Air Force squadron during the war, credited with the destruction of 15 Axis aircraft. South African pilots with higher numbers of kills, such as Pat Pattle and Adolph "Sailor" Malan, were members of the British Royal Air Force. War time service Frost joined the South African Air Force (SAAF) in 1936, at the age of 18. By 1940 he had achieved the rank of captain, and was a member of No. 3 Squadron. East African Campaign In early 1941, the unit—flying Hawker Hurricanes—was dispatched to combat Italian forces during the East African Campaign. On 22 February 1941, Frost destroyed four Fiat CR.42 fighters, an action for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On 15 March 1941, Frost was shot down by anti-aircraft fire while strafing Diredawa airfield. His wingman, Lieutenant Bob Kershaw landed ...
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Postage Stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover (e.g., packet, box, mailing cylinder)—which they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or Cancellation (mail), cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. Next the item is delivered to its address. Always featuring the name of the issuing nation (with the exception of the Postage stamps and postal history of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom), a denomination of its value, and often an illustration of persons, events, institutions, or natural realities that symbolize the nation's traditions and values, every ...
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Companions Of The Distinguished Service Order
Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregiver, such as a nurse assistant, paid to give a patient one-on-one attention Historically * A concubine, a long-term sexual partner not accorded the status of marriage * Lady's companion, a historic term for a genteel woman who was paid to live with a woman of rank or wealth * Companion cavalry, the elite cavalry of Alexander the Great * Foot Companion, the primary type of soldier in the army of Alexander the Great * Companions of William the Conqueror, those who took part in the Norman conquest of England * Muhammad's companions, the Sahaba, the friends who surrounded the prophet of Islam Film and television * ''Companion'' (film), a 2025 American film * Companion (''Doctor Who''), a character who travels with the Doctor in the TV ...
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South African Prisoners Of War
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European root that the word ''sun'' derived from. Some languages describe south in the same way, from the fact that it is the direction of the sun at noon (in the Northern Hemisphere), like Latin meridies 'noon, south' (from medius 'middle' + dies 'day', ), while others describe south as the right-hand side of the rising sun, like Biblical Hebrew תֵּימָן teiman 'south' from יָמִין yamin 'right', Aramaic תַּימנַא taymna from יָמִין yamin 'right' and Syriac ܬܰܝܡܢܳܐ taymna from ܝܰܡܝܺܢܳܐ yamina (hence the name of Yemen, the land to the south/right of the Levant). South is sometimes abbreviated as S. Navigation By convention, the ''bottom or down-f ...
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Shot-down Aviators
This is a list of aircraft shootdowns, dogfights and other incidents during wars since World War II. An aircraft shootdown occurs when an aircraft is struck by a projectile launched or fired from another aircraft or from the ground (anti-aircraft warfare) which causes the targeted aircraft to lose its ability to continue flying normally, and then subsequently crashing into land or sea, often resulting in severe injury or death of the occupants on board. This list does not cover aircraft destroyed during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or Gulf War. Military aircraft Cold War (1945–1991) * 9 August 1946 – A USAAF Douglas C-47 Skytrain was shot down by two Yugoslav Yakovlev Yak-3s over Slovenia, northern Yugoslavia and crash landed. All crew and passengers survived. * 19 August 1946 – A USAAF Douglas C-47 Skytrain was shot down by a Yugoslav Yakovlev Yak-3 over Slovenia, northern Yugoslavia. All five crew killed. * 9 February 1948 – Two Turkish Supermarine Spitfires were sho ...
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South African World War II Pilots
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European root that the word ''sun'' derived from. Some languages describe south in the same way, from the fact that it is the direction of the sun at noon (in the Northern Hemisphere), like Latin meridies 'noon, south' (from medius 'middle' + dies 'day', ), while others describe south as the right-hand side of the rising sun, like Biblical Hebrew תֵּימָן teiman 'south' from יָמִין yamin 'right', Aramaic תַּימנַא taymna from יָמִין yamin 'right' and Syriac ܬܰܝܡܢܳܐ taymna from ܝܰܡܝܺܢܳܐ yamina (hence the name of Yemen, the land to the south/right of the Levant). South is sometimes abbreviated as S. Navigation By convention, the ''bottom or down-f ...
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1998 Deaths
This is a list of lists of deaths of notable people, organized by year. New deaths articles are added to their respective month (e.g., Deaths in ) and then linked below. 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 Earlier years ''Deaths in years earlier than this can usually be found in the main articles of the years.'' See also * Lists of deaths by day * Deaths by year (category) {{DEFAULTSORT:deaths by year ...
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South African Air Force Personnel
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European root that the word ''sun'' derived from. Some languages describe south in the same way, from the fact that it is the direction of the sun at noon (in the Northern Hemisphere), like Latin meridies 'noon, south' (from medius 'middle' + dies 'day', ), while others describe south as the right-hand side of the rising sun, like Biblical Hebrew תֵּימָן teiman 'south' from יָמִין yamin 'right', Aramaic תַּימנַא taymna from יָמִין yamin 'right' and Syriac ܬܰܝܡܢܳܐ taymna from ܝܰܡܝܺܢܳܐ yamina (hence the name of Yemen, the land to the south/right of the Levant). South is s ...
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Knysna
Knysna (; ) is a town with 76,150 inhabitants (2019 mid-year estimates) in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the city of George on the N2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the Plettenberg Bay on the same road. Etymology A number of explanations exist for the origins of the name "Knysna" – including ''xthys xna'', purportedly from a Khoekhoe language term that might have meant "place of timber", "place of ferns", or even "straight down" (referring to the cliffs at The Heads). However, it is also likely that the name is related to, or a derivative of, similar place names that do or have existed in other parts of Africa. In colonial times Lake Malawi was known as Lake Nyasa (very similar to "Knysna"), while ''Webster's Universal Unabridged Dictionary'' defines the word "nyanza" as a noun: "(African): An expanse of water, as a lake or wide river" ...
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East London, South Africa
East London (; ) is a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa, in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, Province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. , East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area. History Early history John Bailie, one of the 1820 Settlers, surveyed the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River mouth and founded the town in 1836. There is a memorial on Signal Hill (Cape Town), Signal Hill commemorating the event. The city formed around the only river port in South Africa and was originally known as Port Rex. Later it was renamed London in honour of the capital city of the United Kingdom, hence the name East London. This settlement on the West Bank was the nucleus of the town of East London, which was elevated to city sta ...
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Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts. Around List of surviving Supermarine Spitfires, 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world. The Spitfire was a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell modified the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing (designed by Beverley Shenstone) with innovative sunken rivets to have the thinnest possible cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of several contemporary fighter aircraft, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine ...
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