Lieutenant-General Roelf Beukes is a retired South African military commander. He joined 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 ...

in 1969 and later served as Chief of the Air Force.

Military career

Beukes attended the

South African Military Academy The South African Military Academy is based on similar principles to that of the military academy system of the United States ( United States Military Academy United States Naval Academy United States Air Force Academy). The academy is a militar ...

from 1966 to 1969. He completed the at the Chilean Air War Academy,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, from 1979 to 1980. He remained in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

to serve as a pilot instructor.

Aircraft Flown

During his career he flew the following aircraft: *

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

De Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

Sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

Impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'', lit. 'black-footed high-horn' in Ancient Greek) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'', and tribe Aepycerotini, it ...

Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

* Cheetah D

Awards and honours

* * * * * * * * * Chilean Air Force Merit Medal *

References

, - Living people White South African people South African military personnel of the Border War Chiefs of the South African Air Force Year of birth missing (living people) {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub