Douglas Haig Loftus (1917-1991) was a South African flying ace of World War II, credited with 4 'kills' and 1 shared.
After joining the
Permanent Force he served with the Coastal Artillery before moving to the South African Air Force, joining
1 Squadron SAAF. He was part of the squadron that formed the basis of
2 Squadron SAAF in Kenya, flying Hawker Furies. He scored his first victory on 24 October in a
Hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
loaned from 3 Squadron.
In May 1941 he led a detachment of the squadron to fly Hurricanes in the Western Desert. In June they converted to Tomahawks and he was appointed Officer Commanding on 21 August. He was awarded the DFC in September 1941 and he returned to South Africa where he formed
7 Squadron SAAF as first Commanding Officer. The squadron flew Hurricane I's in the Western Desert in July 1942. He was promoted Lieutenant Colonel in July and in August appointed Wing Leader of 7 SAAF Wing.
He was awarded a DSO in June 1943
In April 1944 he returned to South Africa as OC of
11 OTU Squadron SAAF until September 1945 before taking over 7 Wing again at
AFB Waterkloof
Air Force Base Waterkloof is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is situated on the outskirts of Pretoria, and is the SAAF's busiest airbase. The base's name means "water ravine" in Afrikaans and in Dutch. Despite the name, this base i ...
. He was appointed the first Commandant of the
South African Air Force College.
References
South African World War II flying aces
1917 births
1991 deaths
South African military personnel of World War II
South African recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
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