Denis John Earp (7 June 1930- 19 May 2019) was a South African military commander, who held the post of Chief of the

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

Career

He attended Grey College,

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, Military College in 1948 and joined the SAAF in 1950. After qualifying as a pilot he served in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

with

2 Squadron SAAF 2 Squadron is a squadron in the South African Air Force which was formed in 1940. The squadron has a long history, having been involved in every single combat action in which the SAAF has taken part. During the Second World War it made a name fo ...

. He was forced to bail out over enemy territory and was a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

for 23 months. Released in September 1953, he was posted to 1 Squadron until January 1957. Then he spent two years as an instructor at Central Flying Service Dunnottar, before being appointed as a pilot attack instructor at the Air Operations School. In 1964 he spent time in England converting to Canberra light bombers and on his return served as a pilot at 12 (Canberra) Squadron at Waterkloof Air Force Base. In December 1967 he returned to 2 Squadron as commanding officer. Eighteen months later he was appointed commandant flying at Air Force Base Pietersburg and after that senior staff officer (air) of the Joint Combat Forces. His career took an unusual turn when he converted to helicopters and became officer commanding 17 Squadron at Air Force Base Waterkloof. After that he became senior staff officer operations at SAAF Headquarters, then director operations from 1 June 1976, to 1978 and director general operations at Defence Headquarters in the rank of major general from 19 June 1978. He served as Chief of the Air Force from 1984 to 1988 His son, Lieutenant Michael Earp, was a helicopter pilot who was killed in the Border War on 5 January 1982.

Aircraft flown

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kin ...

* SAF Dassault Mirage 20000

Honours and awards

Gen Earp received the following Awards and Decorations: * 1987 * 1986 * 1976 * 1973 * n.d. * 1953 * * * * * n.d. * n.d. * 1952South Korea Chungmu Medal

South Korean Order of Military Merit (Chungmu Cordon) with Silver Star (Korea, 1952) * 1952US * 1987 * n.d.ChileGran Cruz Al Merito Aeronautico * n.d.ParaguayAl Merito Miltar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earp, Denis 1930 births 2019 deaths Chiefs of the South African Air Force South African military aviators South African military personnel of the Korean War South African military personnel of the Border War South African Korean War pilots Bomber pilots Shot-down aviators Korean War prisoners of war South African prisoners of war Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (South Korea) Recipients of the Air Medal Military personnel from Bloemfontein Alumni of Grey College, Bloemfontein White South African people

Career

Aircraft flown

Honours and awards

See also

References