Southern Air Command was a

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

of the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

, active from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Throughout its existence, it had its headquarters at

Silvermine Silvermine is a word used in numerous place names around the world. Hong Kong * Silvermine Bay, a bay in Mui Wo, Lantau Island *Silver Mine Bay Beach, also known as Silvermine Bay Beach Ireland *Silvermine Mountains, a mountain range in County T ...

, in the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

Coastal Command

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a predecessor formation had been Coastal Command. 27 Squadron was formed from 33 Flight at St Albans in Port Elizabeth on 1 July 1942 and was deployed as a torpedo bomber / coastal reconnaissance squadron patrolling the South African coast flying aged

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ...

s as part of Coastal Command. The command consisted of 27 Squadron SAAF at

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The c ...

and Rooikop and a detachment at Aus;

6 Squadron SAAF 6 Squadron was a South African Air Force unit first formed just before World War II. It was disbanded and re-created a number of times, until finally disbanded in October 1990. The squadron was formed in Cape Town in April 1939 and was equipped ...

at Eerste River;

23 Squadron SAAF 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

at Darling; 25 Squadron SAAF at Port Elizabeth and East London;

22 Squadron SAAF 22 Squadron is a Squadron (aviation), squadron of the South African Air Force. It is currently a maritime helicopter squadron operating Lynx and Oryx helicopters for the South African Navy. Originally formed in 1942, the squadron is the only ...

at Lombazi and Matubatuba;

29 Squadron SAAF 29 Squadron was one of the Coastal Command SAAF of the South African Air Force during the Second World War. It was assigned the role of maritime patrol and shipping escort and operated Venturas from Lombazi on the Pondoland Pondoland or M ...

also at Lombazi and

10 Squadron SAAF 10 Squadron was a squadron of the South African Air Force. It was formed as a fighter bomber unit on 1 April 1939 and was deployed in a coastal defence role as part of Coastal Command SAAF until 1943. It was disbanded after the threat of Japanes ...

at Durban and Isipingo. By the end of World War II, SAAF aircraft in conjunction with British and Dutch aircraft stationed in South Africa, had intercepted seventeen enemy ships, assisted in the rescue of 437 survivors of sunken ships and attacked 26 of the 36 enemy submarines that operated around the South African coast and had flown 15,000 coastal patrol sorties by August 1945.

Maritime Command and Southern Command

After a reorganisation in the early 1980s that ended the existence of

Maritime Air Command SAAF Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Pr ...

, the command was created. It included nine squadrons (three reserve), based at

AFS Port Elizabeth Air Force Station Port Elizabeth is a South African Air Force facility situated on the north-eastern side of the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport main runway. It was downgraded from an Air Force Base in the early 1990s. It is home to C ...

Cape Town Airport Cape Town International Airport is the primary international airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the second-busiest airport in South Africa and fourth-busiest in Africa. Located approximately from the city center, the airport wa ...

, and

AFB Ysterplaat Air Force Base Ysterplaat is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is located in Cape Town suburb Ysterplaat, on the southwestern coast of South Africa. The name ''Ysterplaat'' is Afrikaans from the Dutch "Ijzerplaats", meaning "Iron P ...

. These squadrons included two of Aermacchi MB.326s, 35 Squadron SAAF (

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

), 27 Squadron SAAF ( Piaggio P.166),

of Wasps and Alouettes, 30 Squadron SAAF of Super Frelons and Pumas,

16 Squadron SAAF 16 Squadron SAAF is an attack helicopter squadron of the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was originally formed in World War II as a maritime patrol squadron, however, over the course of the war it was disbanded and reformed a number of times, ...

(Alouettes), 25 Squadron SAAF flying Dakotas from Ysterplaat, and

88 Maritime Training School 88 may refer to: * 88 (number) * one of the years 88 BC, AD 88, 1888 CE, 1988 CE, 2088 CE, etc. * "88", a song by Sum 41 from '' Chuck'' * "88", a song by The Cool Kids from ''The Bake Sale'' * The 88, an American indie rock band * ''The 88'' ( ...

(Ysterplaat). By the early 1990s the command had shrunk to four squadrons - two of Dakotas (25 and 35 Squadrons), 27 Squadron with Piaggio P.166As, and a squadron of

Aérospatiale Alouette III The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a relatively popular ...

s.Lindsey Peacock, 'The World's Air Forces,' p.152.

Notes

References

* {{cite book, last=Martin, first=H.J. (Lt-Gen), title=South Africa at War: Military and Industrial Organisation and Operations in connection with the conduct of War: 1939-1945 (South African Forces World War II: Volume VII), year=1979, publisher=Purnell, location=Cape Town, isbn=0-86843-025-0, author2=Orpen, N.D., page=282 * Peacock, Lindsay, and Bob Munro. The World's Air Forces: An Illustrated Review of the Air Forces of the World. Salamander Books, 1991. Air force units and formations of South Africa Disbanded military units and formations in Cape Town Military units and formations established in the 1980s Military units and formations disestablished in 1993

Coastal Command

Maritime Command and Southern Command

See also

Notes

References