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The start of the 5km walk. Some of these eager walkers were no longer so eager after the event!

March 2012 Volume 3, Number 1

FLYING SPIRIT The Official National Newsletter of the SAAF Association

NPO 083-072

Contents

SAAFA Fun Day Fund Raiser 1 Syd Cohen 2 Sunday Paper 4 Leonard Horatio Slatter 4 Heroes Remembered 5 Our Readers say…… 6 SAAF/SAAFA Garden……….. 8 Ebo vier kom huis toe! 9 ‘Ek móés gaan veg het 10 Zwartkop Air Show 11 SAAF Fund or SAAFA 11 Chappie Flemington 12 New leadership 12 Timeline – SA Air Force 13

Contact Us

The Editors SAAFA NHQ P.O. Box 21223 Valhalla 0137

Tel: 012 651 5921 or 012 351 2116 Fax: 086 218 4657 Email: nationalhq@icon.co.za Website: www.saafa.co.za

SAAFA holds it’s first successful Fun Day Fund Raiser On 17 March 2012 the first of the envisaged annual SAAFA Fun Day Events was held. This was a trial run to see if it can work and then to possibly extent the event to other parts of the country.

If we could only draw 100 participants for the first event, we would be grateful! The next event could draw more participants and then increase with every similar event thereafter.

With the go-ahead in our pocket, a contract was signed with an online registration company, sponsorships were sought, flyers were designed, printed and distributed, medals were ordered, advertisements were emailed to as many running/walking and cycling clubs possible, details of volunteers to assist on the day were gathered, route markers were made, refreshment stall owners were invited, T-shirts to be able to stand out from the participants were received for the volunteers, the base was put on alert and then…. We were ready for the “crowds”.

The weather played the fool on us and days before the event we had constant rain and miserable weather. On Saturday 17 March, the day of the event, we had clear skies and a most beautiful sunny day.

The participants started to arrive and soon it was clear that the 100 participant mark was reached in minutes! The Mountain Bikers started the event, followed by the walkers and the runners.

The more eager walkers and runners no longer looked all that eager at the finish and some of those who registered for the 5km walk and run couldn’t believe that they had to do another round after the first round was covered! “Vasbyt, almost done!” were the words most heard during the last lap.

One very eager mountain biker that enrolled for the 7,5km ride but was so enthusiastic that he kept going when the marshal showed the 21km riders to carry on for the second lap! After he almost completed the second lap, he realised that he should have stopped ages ago!! Now that is what I call “dedication”!

NOTE The editors extend their thanks for all contributions received. Opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the Editors or SAAFA National Executive. The Editors reserves the right to amend or reject any editorial matter submitted for publication. No part of this newsletter may be copied or reproduced in any form without the consent of the editors or management of SAAFA.

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A very happy “customer” receiving his special SAAFA

Medal.

The National President, Neville Greyling, awaits the

first runners in to hand them their medals.

Our National President joined us for the event and we quickly gave him a choice, participate or hand out medals. You can see in the photo on the right which option he chose!

While the athletes “struggled” along, Karl Jensen, our MC for the day, together with Jeff Earle, entertained the crowd with some aviation related tales, jokes and most interesting history lessons squeezed in between. Thank you guys, you created a great atmosphere!

Medals were handed out as the athletes finished and a bottle of flavoured water, sponsored by aQuellé was available to every participant. Indeed refreshing after the strenuous events.

Soon the day was over and after counting the beans, it was found that we had 420 participants and banked almost R10 000 profits for the day!

Congratulations for a well organised event were received from all over and we were asked when the next event would be held.

We thank our sponsors for the bottled water, prizes, cash donations and T-shirts received. Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted where needed the day and a very special thank you to everybody that assisted in planning and executing this event.

Most importantly; thank you to AFB Zwartkop and in particular to Col Itel Zurich and his staff members who assisted in placing the barriers, dedicated place for the stalls, supplied the sound system and helped where ever hands were needed. SAAFA really appreciated the effort.

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying. - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, 1844 - 1900

Syd Cohen : 1921-2011 as described by Smoky Simon, chairman of the World Mahal. Sydney (Syd) Cohen was a mensch in the best sense of the word, and his name is engraved in the pantheon of the Israel Air Force.

Syd Cohen grew up in a small village in South Africa called Bothaville, named after a famous Boer general. After school, he attended the School of Medicine at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and disrupted his first year of medical studies in 1940 to join the South African Air Force in World War II. He served in the South African Air Force right up until the end of the war in 1945, and was a member of a well-known squadron, Squadron No. 4. Initially they flew aircraft called Kitty Hawks, and afterward Spitfires. Even in those days, he was a colourful character. He had a tremendous beard and a handlebar moustache, and was known in the air force as “the flying rabbi”. He also had a wonderful sense of humour.

I was on a bomber squadron, and they used to be protected by the fighter squadrons. On one of the flights, two ME 109s (German fighter planes) jumped him, and he couldn’t shake them off. He called his formation leader and asked him: “How did these Jerrys know that I’m the only Jewish boy in this formation?” After the war, he resumed his medical studies, and then disrupted them again in 1948 to come fly here as the war clouds were gathering over Palestine.

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Lions? Where?

We started recruiting in South Africa when war looked inevitable. There were 4,800 Mahalniks (foreign volunteers) who eventually came from 58 countries to serve here. With 834 volunteers, South Africa had the largest single number of Mahalniks.

Syd arrived in July 1948 to serve in the IAF, flying in the first combat aircraft, Avia S-199, which was a Czechoslovakian-built aircraft – a version of the ME 109, though it was very inferior. The pilots had tremendous trouble, but Syd was an experienced pilot and handled it extremely well. He was assigned to the now famous 101 Squadron. The officer commanding of the squadron was an Israeli by the name of Modi Alon. In October 1948, Alon was unfortunately killed in a crash, and Syd was appointed commanding officer of 101 Squadron. Then 101 Squadron was really building up its muscle, because it started getting the Spitfires, which were also bought from Czechoslovakia and had to be flown to Israel.

Until then, we had the air transport command, which would fly that route. However, because of tremendous pressure on the Czech government from the US and British governments, this airline was cancelled. At the time there was a boycott of war materiel to the Middle East, and Israel was in a particularly difficult position because the British had supplied the Jordanians, the Egyptians and the Iraqis with aircraft, artillery and tanks. Israel was virtually defenceless when the War of Independence started, which was why America, Britain and the Arabs were convinced that the war would be over in 10 days. The 101 Squadron was getting Spitfires and the B-51 Mustang, but everything had to be smuggled into the country because of the United Nations arms embargo.

When the air force acquired the Avia S-199, the planes were dismantled in Czechoslovakia, flown in crates to Israel and reassembled here, and then became operational once they were tested. But we couldn’t do this with the Spitfire, which, according to the British manufacturer, had a maximum flying time endurance of one-and-a half hours. So an American pilot engineer by the name of Sam Pomerantz took everything out of the Spitfire – the armoured plating, the guns, the radio and navigation equipment and the cameras – and fitted fuel tanks under the belly, under the wings and within the aircraft itself. The aircraft had to fly from Czechoslovakia to Yugoslavia, and then to Israel, which was a six-hour flight, and the first three that came over were flown by Pomerantz, Syd Cohen and Jack Cohen. (The Cohens had been in the same squadron in the South African Air Force, but were not related.) This was an epic event in aviation history. No one could believe it was feasible – including the manufacturer.

When Syd was appointed commanding officer of 101 Squadron, the fighter pilots were an amazing bunch of guys – many of them aces in World War II – with strong personalities and from Anglo-Saxon countries such as South Africa, Canada, the USA and Britain. They needed someone with a strong personality to lead them. Syd had this. But he was also a first-class pilot who was respected as a fighter and as a leader, and a guy with a wonderful sense of humour. He led the squadron during Operation Yoav, which was when we liberated the Central Negev and Beersheba.

Then came the big battle in December 1948, Operation Ayin, to expel the Egyptian forces back into Sinai, and there was tremendous air activity with all the squadrons involved. The War of Independence actually ended on January 7, 1949, when Syd’s squadron shot down four RAF aircraft and damaged a fifth. Another RAF aircraft was shot by a Mahal tank crew in Sinai. The final cease-fire went into effect at 4 p.m. that day.

After the war, the emphasis moved to training Israeli pilots. We had an outstanding bunch of instructors. The first wings parade was taken by Syd as commander of the squadron and the Hatzor base, on March 4, 1949, when the first six pilots got their wings. They included Moti Hod, who later became the IAF’s commander in the Six Day War, and famous test pilot Danny Shapiro. In March 1949, President Chaim Weizmann was going to meet the president of the US, and his nephew, Ezer Weizman, was commander of 101 Squadron after Syd. I said to Weizman, “This is the first visit in 2,000 years. Let’s give the President a fighter escort.” Weizman started telling me that he had all kinds of maintenance problems, though, and we weren’t able to do it. But when Syd left Israel in April in a Dakota from Tel Aviv to Johannesburg, lo and behold, there was an escort of four Spitfires doing aerobatics and putting on quite a show. When the aircraft landed, I phoned Weizman and asked him

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to explain this asymmetrical situation. He said: “Did you imagine that Syd would leave the Israel Air Force without a fighter escort?” In this situation, camaraderie overtook protocol.

Syd returned to South Africa to resume his medical studies and qualified as a doctor, practicing in Durban and Brakpan. He remained close with Weizman, who adored him. Weizman once said that everything he’d learned about fighter operations, he’d learned from Syd Cohen. One day, Weizman telephoned him and said, “Uncle Syd, you’ve got to come back to Israel.” So Syd and his wife and three lovely daughters came on aliya in 1965. Syd did a specialization in aviation medicine, so he was well qualified when he became a physician to El Al air crews and to the Civil Aviation Authority. In the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War, he was a physician on helicopters evacuating the wounded. By then, he was also practicing as a family doctor. He was an excellent one, and his patients adored him. Unfortunately he was stricken with Alzheimer’s, and to see a lion like that eroding was heartbreaking.

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." ~ Dave Barry

Sunday Paper

"WHERE is my SUNDAY paper?!" An irate customer called the newspaper shop and loudly demanded to know where her Sunday edition was.

"Madam" said the shop keeper, "Today is Saturday. The Sunday paper is not delivered until tomorrow, on SUNDAY".

There was quite a long pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a ray of recognition as she was heard to mutter.........."Well, that explains why no one was at church either.

Leonard Horatio Slatter Originally from South Africa, Leonard Horatio Slatter, a civil engineer, joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916. Later that year, after serving as an observer, he was selected for pilot training.

Flying Sopwith Pups and Camels, he scored seven victories and became an instructor in July 1918.

After the war, he remained in the Royal Air Force, serving with 47 Squadron in Russia.

During World War II, he served in Iraq, commanded the Royal Air Force in the Eritrea-Abyssinia campaign, directed operations against Nazi U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic and served as Commander in Chief of the Coastal Command from 1945 to 1948.

Air Marshal Sir Leonard Horatio Slatter, 66, died at Uxbridge. He was survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. (Taken from www.theaerodrome.com)

Len Chiazzari (Pietermaritzburg Branch) wrote a biography, on his uncle. He sells the book for R120 each.

Orders can be placed at this office or with Arrie de Klerk at aranco@worldonline.co.za .

Wisdom from Aviators Fighter Pilots:

o Cold, steely eyed, weapons systems managers who kill bad people and break things. However, they can also be very charming and personable.

o The average Fighter Pilot, despite sometimes having a swaggering exterior, is very much capable of such feelings as love, affection, intimacy and caring. These feelings just don't involve anyone else.

Flying is a hard way to earn an easy living.

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the airplane; the pessimist, the parachute.

If helicopters are so safe, how come there are no vintage helicopter fly-ins?

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Sgt Leon Becker

Real planes use only a single stick to fly. This is why bulldozers and helicopters (in that order) need two.

The ideal pilot is the perfect blend of discipline and aggressiveness.

The medical profession is the natural enemy of the aviation profession.

Before each flight, make sure that your bladder is empty and your fuel tanks are full.

Flying is a great way of life for men who want to feel like boys, but not for those who still are.

It's not that all airplane pilots are good-looking. It's just that good-looking people seem more capable of flying airplanes.

There are only two types of aircraft - fighters and targets.

Do you know why we wear the Poppy? I’ve been wearing a poppy for the first 10 days of November in all situations.

Worst comment received: “That’s cute! Is it for Aids?”

Best comment received: “Do you also support Man United? I saw Alex Ferguson wearing one of those on the TV the other day. Is it their new logo?”

Smile, but contemplate how much has been lost over the years. We’ve a lot of catching up to do. (Mike Hardisty; Secretary: Military Associations of Gauteng)

And while we are on the subject of Poppies;

Every year during the Memorial Services held in London on 11 November, we “buy” a plot and plant a cross for every Branch of SAAFA and the SAAF. This is arranged by Derrick Page on our behalf and overseen by the Defence Attaché in London on our behalf. On the right is a photo taken on the day with the crosses planted for SAAFA in the foreground.

Thank you, to our representative in London and to Derrick Page in particular who ensures that we are not forgotten. Ed

Heroes Remembered (Frikkie, President, SA Forces Club - www.samagte.co.za) LT TREVOR OWEN TROUP, 17 SQUADRON AND SGT LEON BECKER, 86 FLYING SCHOOL

Boertjie, alias Leon Becker, was flight engineer on board an Alouette, and Engelsman was the nickname he had privately given to his pilot and mate, Trevor Owen Troup. Together the two must have seen their fair share of fighting. He describes his pilot friend as a brave man and a believer, who, when ever they were being shot at, would say: “Don’t worry, Boertjie. I have prayed and the Good Lord will provide — you just stay on the lookout.”

Of his friend Engelsman says: “He always remained calm when under fire and was a good shot; we worked well as a team because the one always knew what the other was going to do.”

It was when another man was substituted for Boertjie that Troup had the most disconcerting experience of his life.

They were called out to assist in an attack on the enemy and were suddenly shot at from below. Bullets were typewriting past their chopper, some closer than the others and with a more distinct tak-tak-tak; tracers were flying to within six inches of the plane — and there was no sign of the enemy. In the midst of this the newcomer lost his head and kept on shouting, “Get away! Get away! Get out of here!” Even the army commander with them got all worked up and was pointing here, there and everywhere shouting, “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!”, but there was no one to shoot at.

“I just said, ‘Look, relax!’ and being a strong believer in God myself, I told him, ‘Listen, the Lord has got this job in His hands, therefore, just relax,’ and it was quite amazing that just after I had said that, everybody calmed down.”

That was the only time, he says, that he considered leaving the contact area.

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Of all the many contacts Engelsman and Boertjie have shared, the following stands out.

It was a big operation against two enemy camps. Ground-troops had infiltrated the enemy area during the night and by first light the next morning the camps were blasted with mortars, then bombed by jets with missiles and 30 mm fire and then only did the chopper force enter the attack. As they were coming in at tree-top level, they passed over a ridge at a moment when, way down below, a Russian truck with 122 mm ground-to-ground missiles exploded under the attack. One of these, about six foot in length, went sky-wise.

“All of a sudden we saw this mass of flame coming straight towards us as we were running in. And a-a-a, well . . . I just banked the helicopter to one side like mad, but as soon as I did that I realised, well, look, if it’s going to hit us, there is no way we can miss it, so I levelled the helicopter off again and we just saw this big thing going past . . . It missed us by about fifty feet.”

After this lucky escape they flew over the position of their own ground-troops, climbed to a height of 800 ft. and started circling, only to find that their troops had mistakenly infiltrated to a position between the two enemy camps. This was evident from heavy fire coming from the camp on their blind side. Boertjie quickly had his sights on this camp and was firing doe-doe-doef, doe-doe-doe-doe-doef, when suddenly his gun jammed. This happened because the wire of the army commander’s earphones got caught in the ammunition gear. There they were, virtually a sitting duck at 800 ft and at a very low speed after the climb, with bullets ticking past. At that moment two SAM-7 missiles were also fired at them, but fortunately they were flying so low that the attack was ineffective.

Troup dropped to tree-top level for Boertjie to mend his jammed gun, then they climbed back to 800 ft and continued for the rest of the day, directing the troops in the clearing-up operations and firing rounds into the camps. Throughout those remaining nine hours in the fighting zone, with intervals for refuelling and rearming, they were under sporadic fire, but in the end the battle was won, and a huge haul in armaments and ammunition was made.

Several other nerve-racking experiences in which Engelsman and Boertjie were involved, either as a team or individually with others, must of necessity be ignored in a brief sketch like this. They are worthy recipients of the Honoris Crux, yet both were adamant that they had only done their duty.

Our Readers say…… 7 Squadron members

I am the son of Norman Reginald Savage. My dad passed away 15th July 1983 aged 58. I'm trying to obtain his full service record from here in Melbourne Australia. I'd also like to make contact any surviving members of his squadron. They would be in their late 80's if they are still alive today! I think he served as an airman in the 7th Squadron in North Africa and Foggia in Italy based on my memory and his service medals.

Rodney Savage roddersau@gmail.com

Angolese Vlugtelinge langs die Skedelkus

Tony Fernandes wat navorsing doen oor die Angolese vlugtelinge wat gedurende Oktober 1975 langs die Skedelkus gevlug het probeer om die gebeure met betrekking tot die SAW se hulpverlening aan hulle, op skrif te stel. In die verband wil hy, indien moontlik, in verbinding tree met:

a. Lede van die lugbemanning, wat tydens ‘n kuspatrollie vanuit ‘n Shackelton vliegtuig, die vlugtelinge by die Cuneneriviermond waargeneem het.

b. Hoofkwartier staf wat betrokke was by die opdrag aan wyle Maj Max Kessler wat met sy privaatvliegtuig by die vlugtelinge geland en aanvanklike bystand aan hulle verleen het.

c. Die SAW Kapelaan wat vir een van die vlugtelinge se leiers, Mnr Rogério, bygestaan het om sy gesin in ‘n vlugtelingkamp te Tsumeb op te spoor en hom daarheen geneem het.

Daar kan met Tony in verbinding getree word by vegeworth@icon.co.za. Selfoonnommer: 082 975 3663; Kantoor: 011 902 3816; Woning: 011 902 3208.

Ons soek na Bazil Newham

Het enige iemand die kontak besonderhede van Bazil Newham wat as 'n majoor gedurende 1976 “choppers” vanaf Ondangwa gevlieg het? 'n Ou vriend van hom, Tony Banana in Portugal, wil graag met hom in verbinding tree.

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Gert van Niekerk

Gert kan gekontak word by E-pos: gert21151@gmail.com. Telefoon nommer: 012 660 2122 of 018 285 1033

Ons soek na Pikkie Siebrits

Koos van Rensburg is opsoek na enige besonderhede van Pikkie. As jy kan help, kontak asseblief vir Koos by E-pos: jp@reprorisk.co.za of by 082 466 3157.

Katima Mulilo (Mpacha) and Rooikop Airports

I am a civil engineer-geologist with a particular interest in the use of local, low-cost materials such as calcretes for the construction of roads and airports in the Kalahari where rock is scarce or non-existent.

During the 1980s I advised someone from the SAAF or GENIE on the use of calcrete for concrete work at Katima, but did not get any feedback. On later visits to the area since 2000 for the Namibia Dept of Transport I noticed that there are experimental panels of concrete pavement hard standing in which various grades of calcrete were used. This is a useful piece of research which deserves following up. I understand that calcrete and silcrete were also used for other concrete work in the area. However, nobody I have consulted in Namibia or currently in the SAAF or with BKS (who were the consultants for much of the work in the Caprivi) knows anything about this.

If anyone knows anything about this please contact me.

I also had involvement with Rooikop airport and would also be interested in following up my advice on how to rehabilitate the salt damage there.

Dr Frank Netterberg

Telephone: 012 846 7051, Fax: 086 2708 137/8, Cellphone: 072 179 7589 or email: fnetterberg@absamail.co.za

Maureen the Little Queen

Liberators "Q" of 31 Squadron - SAAF (in Italy) had painted on the left side of the nose these words: “Maureen the Little Queen". This was the name of Sgt. W. J. Nienaber's baby daughter in Port Elizabeth. After the war Sgt Nienaber moved to Johannesburg.

It is requested that any information regarding Sgt Nienaber, his family or Maureen be forwarded to Colin Trader to assist in research regarding 31& 34 Squadrons SAAF.

The contact e-mail address is trader@lantic.net or fax 086 575 6634

Colin Trader

Vampires in the SAAF

I have been asked by my publisher to consider a re-write of my history of the de Havilland Vampire; the book was published in 1997 and is badly in need of an update? The original book covered the development of the Vampire and I thought that any revised edition should include a more detailed coverage of the many air arms that operated the aircraft.

The SAAF operated a number of Vampire FB.9s and Vampire T.55s, the first of which was delivered in January 1950. These aircraft were operated by No.1 (City of Pretoria) and No.2 (Flying Cheetah) Squadrons at Waterkloof / Swartkop, together with the AOS at Langebaanweg as operational fighter trainers. Following their withdrawal in 1967, some airframes were sold to Rhodesia.

My chapter on the SAAF Vampires is rather incomplete and I would be most grateful if anyone would care to contact me with further information on these aircraft?

David Watkins

E-mail: vampiredave@btinternet.com

At the source of every error blamed on a computer, you’ll find at least two human errors, including the error blaming it all on the computer.

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SAAF/SAAFA Garden of Remembrance

Who Qualifies

To qualify for use of a niche in the Air Force Memorial Garden of Remembrance, a user must have served as a bone-fides member of the South African Air Force or is a member of the South African Air Force Association, excluding an honorary or associate member. The spouse(s) or partner(s) of a user may also use an adjoining niche.

Niches can only be used for the storage of the cremated mortal remains or remain empty but can be engraved in memory of a loved one. Niches are not for the storage of personal items or for use as a time capsule as it is not in keeping with the Garden of Remembrance.

Engraving of the granite face cover is included. A contracted single engraver is used for standardisation and aesthetic appeal. An application form for engraving is available from the SAAF Association National Headquarters, Zwartkop.

The storage period is unlimited. This implies a long-term maintenance plan, in fact “for eternity”.

A title certificate with an allocated niche number is issued to the Applicant. This certificate is for safekeeping amongst the last will and testament documents.

Frequently Asked Questions

QUESTION ANSWER

What do I get if I buy a niche? A 250mm x 170mm x 170mm niche for the storage of a box of the cremated mortal remains of one person, with a black/grey granite face cover which can be engraved to specifications. The niche is for use over an unlimited period.

Can I buy a niche even if I have no ashes to store therein?

Niches can be kept for an unlimited period before being used to store the ashes. Niches are often purchased just to use empty in memory of a loved one.

Who places the ashes? The Custodians only provide the facility - that is the allocated niche and the granite face cover. It is the function of the client/next of kin to place the ashes. Arrangements must be made with the SAAF Association National Headquarters at Zwartkop to remove the granite face cover and to reseal the cover after the ashes have been placed.

What of the engraving work? Engraving is to be done prior to the placing of the ashes in the niche. An Engraving Form, obtainable from the SAAF Association National Headquarters at Zwartkop, is completed and accepted. The granite face cover is removed and taken with the engraving form to the contracted engraver for engraving.

Who pays for the engraving? Payment for the initial engraving costs is included in the purchase costs.

Is there free access to the Garden of Remembrance?

The Air Force Memorial site, where the Garden of Remembrance is, is open from 09:00 to 15:00 Monday to Sunday except Good Friday and Christmas Day. Entrance is free.

Can I select a specific niche? If the specific niche has not yet been sold, it can be allocated to a

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Kaptein D.J. Taljaard- SA Leër Kavalier N. Lombard – SA Leër

client. Records of the niches sold/allocated are available to view at the SAAF Association National Headquarters at Zwartkop.

What confirmation do I receive that I have purchased a niche?

A title certificate with an allocated niche number is issued to the client.

Can I exchange a niche? A niche can be exchanged provided that the criteria/conditions laid down by the Custodians are met and before the niche is in use.

Can I change a niche position? Position can be changed provided the niche is not in use. Requests for changes are to be administratively handled by the SAAF Association National Headquarters at Zwartkop.

Must I use the niche immediately after purchase?

Niches can be kept for an unlimited period before being used to store the ashes.

Can I place personal items and mementos in the niche?

The niche can only be used for the storage of ashes or remain empty.

Can I purchase more than one niche and group them together?

If adjoining niches are available.

Can I visit the Garden of Remembrance before a decision is made?

The Air Force Memorial site, where the Garden of Remembrance is, is open from 09h00 to 15h00 Monday to Sunday except Good Friday and Christmas Day. Entrance is free.

Can I use the Air Force Memorial Chapel for a memorial service?

The Air Force Memorial Chapel can be used. This must be co-ordinated through the SAAF Association National Headquarters at Zwartkop.

How do I contact the SAAF Association National Headquarters at Zwartkop?

The SAAF Association National Headquarters is manned working days, Monday to Friday half-day, 08h00 to 16h00. Telephone 012 651 5921 and fax 086 218 4657. E-mail nationalhq@icon.co.za

What is the cost of a niche? A once off payment of R2 500 including initial engraving costs, is required. No further payments are expected. Donations are welcome.

Members interested in purchasing a niche are welcome to arrange to pay a niche over instalments. A certificate will then only be issued when the full amount has been settled.

Don’t wait; purchase one today!

Ebo vier kom huis toe!

Graag word die blye tyding aan u oorgedra dat die Angolese owerhede ook nou goedkeuring verleen het dat voortgegaan kan word met die opgrawing en terugbring van die oorskot van die Ebo Vier. Sleutelrolspelers het bymekaar gekom om die detail te bespreek, gevolg deur ’n besoek deur myself en die skakellid van die professionale span aan Angola oor die tydperk 7 – 12 Februarie 2012. Die doel van die besoek was om die detail van wat gedoen moet word, met die Angolese owerhede te bespreek en ook om weer ’n verkenning ter plaatse by die grafte te Ebo te doen. Die professionale span van drie kundiges sal uiteindelik vir die opgrawing, identifikasie en terugbring van die oorskot

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2 Luitenant K.A. Williamson –

SA Lugmag

2 Luitenant E.B. Thompson – SA Lugmag

Woolfie Tobiansky (90) wys die medaljes wat hy as soldaat gedurende die Tweede Wêreldoorlog gekry het.

Foto: Jody nel

verantwoordelik wees. As alles volgens beplanning verloop, sal ons waarskynlik weer vroeg in Mei 2012, na afloop van die reënseisoen, na Angola terugkeer om die opgrawing self te doen. Dit word vertrou dat die oorskot terug en gereed sal wees om voor of op 3 Junie, die datum van die jaarlikse herdenkingsdiens by die SAW Muur van Herinnering, in die reeds gegraveerde nisse geplaas te word.

Die aanvanklike fondsinsameling vir die projek het uitstekende resultate opgelewer en almal wat tot dusver bygedra het, word nogeens opreg daarvoor bedank. Ongelukkig het die lang tydsverloop van meer as ses jaar sedert daar met die projek begin is, terwyl gespook moes word om die Suid-Afrikaanse en Angolese owerhede se goedkeuring te kry om sonder staatsfondse met die projek voort te gaan, verdere fondsebehoeftes geskep. Daarom neem ek die vrymoedigheid om alle belangstellendes te nooi om dit te oorweeg om ’n verdere bydrae te maak, indien moontlik, asb.

Graag word u geheue met die oog daarop soos volg verfris:

Kavalleris Niel Lombard is op 23 November 1975 in die geveg by die Massabarivier-brug buite Ebo in ‘n pantserkar gedood. Sy oorskot kon nie afgevoer word nie, omdat die SA magte verplig was om Suidwaarts terug te trek.

Die volgende oud-kamerade is in ‘n gesamentlike graf begrawe. Hulle is op 25 November 1975 gedood toe hul Cessna 185 vliegtuig agter vyandelike linies deur Kubaanse lugafweer in die Ebo-distrik afgeskiet is:

- Kaptein Daniël Jacob Taljaard, SA Leër - Tweede Luitenant Keith Arthur Williamson, SA Lugmag - Tweede Luitenant Eric Bryan Thompson, SA Lugmag

Gert Opperman, Voorsitter Ebo Trust.

Telefoon nommer: 012 - 326 6770; Selfoon: 083 300 4580; Faks: 086 615 9587; E-pos: www.erfenisstigting.org.za

The focus and the concentration and the attention to detail that flying takes is a kind of meditation. I find it restful and engaging, and other things slip away. - Harrison Ford

‘Ek móés teen Hitler gaan veg het’ Beeld 11 November 2011 geskryf en foto deur Jody Nel

’n 90-jarige sakeman van Edenvale aan die Oos-Rand het op Wapenstilstanddag ’n medalje ontvang ter erkenning van sy deelname aan die Tweede Wêreldoorlog.

Woolfie Tobiansky spog nou met ses medaljes wat hy as soldaat gekry het. Boonop dra hy ook twee medaljes wat sy oorlede pa, Julius Tobiansky, vir sy eie militêre diens ontvang het. Woolfie het in 1940 as 19-jarige by die weermag aangesluit.

“Ek het hoofsaaklik om twee redes aangesluit. Ek is Joods. Hitler was besig om al die Jode in Europa uit te wis. Ek móés aansluit. Die ander rede was dat ek by die King Edward School (in Houghton) was. Lojaliteit aan ons land is by ons ingewortel.”

As lid van 24 Eskader is hy onder meer na Noord-Afrika ontplooi.

“Gedurende my tyd in die oorlog was ek van El Alamein in Egipte tot wat vandag Libië is, tot Tunisië en selfs Malta, Sicilië en Italië.”

Hy was drie jaar lid van dié eskader. Woolfie was doenig met die ingenieurskant van die weermag en het hoofsaaklik aan vliegtuie gewerk. Gevolglik was hy nooit self in ’n veldslag nie.

“Ek is in 1945 gedemobiliseer. Ek het toe die rang van korporaal gehad.”

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Tobiansky vind dit moeilik om sy tyd in die weermag te beskryf.

“Ek was nog jonk. By tye was dit ’n avontuur, maar ons het ook swaargekry. Baie mense is dood.”

Hy het gesien hoe ’n skoolvriend doodgeskiet word.

“Ek is nie spyt oor my tyd in die weermag nie. As ons nie geveg het nie, sou Duitsland die wêreld uitgeroei het.”

In 1952, sewe jaar nadat hy uit die weermag is, het Tobiansky en twee vriende Duro Pressings, ’n maatskappy wat onder meer motorhuisdeure, staalrame vir behuising en rame vir deure en vensters maak, begin. Hy is steeds aktief betrokke in die maatskappy en is elke dag op die vloer by een van sy fabrieke. Hy en sy vrou, Kay, het twee kinders, vyf kleinkinders en drie agterkleinkinders.

Woolfie Tobiansky is nog ‘n baie aktiewe lid van die Johannesburg tak en ‘n gereelde kongresganger wanneer kongres in Gauteng aangebied word. Hy woon ook gereeld die Johannesburg en Pretoria Tak Bankette by. Baie geluk Woolfie! Ons is trots op jou! Red

Zwartkop Air Show – 12 May 2012

The SAAF Museum has once again planned an action packed Air Show for 12 May 2012 which will be held at the AFB Zwartkop. Gates open at 07h00.

To avoid a rush and long queues, why not purchase your ticket beforehand online at ww.ticketbreak.co.za?

SAAFA Pretoria Branch will take up their usual position under the Shackleton with the normal refreshments available to purchase. And this year they have an even larger area to accommodate the members.

Remember this facility is for SAAFA Members and their families only. Please bring your membership card with you to allow you entrance to the “special” area.

And don’t forget your hat/cap and cream for protection against the sun.

Enquiries can be directed to the SAAFA Pretoria Branch Office at 012 651 5922.

New definition for S.O.S

A C-130 was lumbering along when a cocky F-16 flashed by. The jet jockey decided to show off.

The fighter jock told the C-130 pilot, 'watch this!' and promptly went into a barrel roll followed by a steep climb. He then finished with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. The F-16 pilot asked the C-130 pilot what he thought of that?

The C-130 pilot said, 'That was impressive, but watch this!' The C-130 droned along for about 5 minutes and then the C-130 pilot came back on and said: 'What did you think of that?'

Puzzled, the F-16 pilot asked, 'What the heck did you do?'

The C-130 pilot chuckled. 'I stood up, stretched my legs, walked to the back, took a leak, then got a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll.'

When you are young & foolish - speed & flash may seem a good thing!

When you get older & smarter -comfort & dull is not such a bad thing! Us older folks understand this one, it's called.

S.O.S. - Slower, Older and Smarter.

SAAF Fund or SAAFA

We get many ex-SAAF members calling the National Office wanting to book for the holiday flats we sometimes advertise on behalf of the SAAF Fund. The callers get annoyed when we state that they are at the wrong office for the bookings. We also get enquiries meant for the SAAF Fund where the callers are very adamant that they are members of SAAFA and almost demand that we assist them.

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Chappie at his 100th birthday celebration

Chappie photographed in his

SAAF Uniform

Please note that SAAFA is not the SAAF Fund. These are two totally separate entities. Our SAAFA members however qualify for the same discount benefit SAAF Fund members does.

Note and spread the word, that you are not automatically a SAAF Fund member if you are a SAAFA Member and vice versa.

Chappie Flemington celebrates his 100th birthday

Chappie Flemington was born on 22 December 1911 into and grew up with Aviation in South Africa. Chappie flew Avro Avions, Gypsy Moths and Tiger Moths as a civilian pilot in 1931. He joined the Royal Air Force but in 1939, with the start of World War II, he joined the South African Air Force. He was stationed at Youngsfield but was transferred to 43 Air School in Port Alfred where he assisted in the training of Air Gunners. Chappie took over the reigns as Flight Commander when Flight Lieutenant Gladstone left the Air Base in Port Alfred. In 1943 he was posted to 28 Squadron and in 1945 he joined 5 Wing, flying our boys back, in DC 3’s, from Cairo.

He left the Air Force in 1946 and became a Crop Sprayer until he joined a friend, Glin Davies at Owen Air in the Cape. They decided to move to the then called “Suid Wes Afrika, and started Oryx Aviation. To be able to be in on this deal, Chappie sold all his possessions and became a partner. He flew Cessna

182’s and a Tripacer while part of the business. In 1963, Chappie joined Anton Lombard and they started Namibair as a charter company, mainly flying Aztecs and a Twin Commanche. Chappie spent most of his civilian flying career in Namibia.

In 1971 Chappie and his wife, Elsabé was badly injured in a serious car accident which forced him to stop flying. Chappie and Elsabé are to date still regular faces at the SAAFA Outeniqua Branch Lunches where they have retired. Chappie is a member of SAAFA for 53 years – longer than many of us are old!

Congratulations Chappie on your 100th Birthday and thank you for your part played in aviation.

Gardening Rule:

When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it was a valuable plant.

Registration as Military Veterans

The national office has a published list of veterans registered up to November 2011.

If you have registered before this date and want to check if you are on the list, please contact the office via email only and we will gladly check and reply at our convenience.

Those members that still haven’t registered; we will send you a registration form on request or complete it online

New leadership within SAAFA

The following SAAFA Branches are under new leadership for the coming year.

Cape Town Branch – Chairman: John Heath; Vice Chairman: Piet Visser

Durban Branch – Chairman: Steve Bekker; Vice Chairman: Gavin Farquhar

East Rand Branch – Vice Chairman: Chris Boshoff

Johannesburg Branch – Chairman: Hennie van der Walt; Vice Chairman: Trevor Slade

Kimberley Branch – Chairman: Graham Smith;

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Marmaduke Pattle

John Everitt Frost

Church Street Bomb

Laeveld Branch – Chairman: Hugh le Roux; Vice Chairman: Gys van Staden

Outeniqua Branch – Ola Grinaker; Vice Chairman: Hartog Blok

Pietermaritzburg Branch – Vice Chairperson: Winks Stening

Pretoria Branch – Chairman: Philip Weyers; Vice Chairman: Hugh Paine

We wish these new, and old, “leaders of the pack” a great and successful year ahead.

How is it that one careless match can start a bushfire, but it takes a whole box to start a camp fire?

Timeline – SA Air Force 1920 to 2006 from SA History Online

1 February 1920 the South African Air Force is established.

In January 1920 the London Times offered a prize for the first person to fly from London to Cape Town. Lt.Col van Ryneveld and Flight Lieutenant Quintin Brand left London on 4 February 1920 in the Vimy named the Silver Queen.

12 May 1920 Basil Gerald Stapleton, World War II fighter pilot, is born in Durban.

10 October 1920 The South African National War Memorial outside Longueval, France next to Delville Wood is opened.

20 April 1941 Marmaduke Pattle, the highest scoring fighter pilot of the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Air Forces is shot down and killed over Greece.

17 September 1941 Newell Orton, fighter pilot is killed in action.

5 May-6 November 1942 South African 7th Motorized Brigade and South African Air Force join the allied forces to capture Madagascar.

16 June 1942 John Everitt Frost, World War II fighter pilot reported missing in action in North Africa.

6 July 1943 Alexander Coultate Rabagliati, fighter pilot, is reported missing in action after bailing out of his Hawker Typhoon over the North Sea.

19 September 1944 Johannes Jacobus le Roux, World War II fighter pilot, is killed in an aircraft accident in France.

Post-war tension rose with the Berlin Blockade of 1948-1949. On 26 June 1948 Allied aircraft began bringing supplies into the city - the Berlin Airlift became operational.

5 August 1950 a South African Air Force squadron departs for the Korean War.

26 March 1951 the present Chief of the Air Force Lt Genl Carlo Gagiano is born.

8 August 1963 Shackleton 1718 crashes in the Steynskloof Mountains after encountering bad weather.

25 November 1975 a South African Air Force Cessna 185 is shot down south of Ebo.

4 May 1978 the South African Defence Force launches an airborne raid on Cassinga.

20 May 1983 a car bomb explodes outside the South African Air Force Head Quarters, opposite the building housing military intelligence personnel in Pretoria.

23 May 1983 the South African Air Force attacks African National Congress facilities in Maputo, Mozambique.

1 March 1988 an explosion in Benoni causes extensive damage to a bus transporting South African Air Force personnel.

In 1989 the Klippan Radar Station in the Western Transvaal comes under mortar attack.

5 March 1994 weapons are stolen from 10 Air Depot at Voortrekkerhoogte.

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Magdalena Oldendorff

18 March 1998 an ex-Rhodesian Royal Air Force Percival Provost Mk 52, which had only recently been restored to flying condition crashes.

16 September 1998 an Impala I crashes at AFB Bloemspruit.

2 September 1999 an Alouette III helicopter crashes near Port Elizabeth.

23 October 1999 an Oryx helicopter crashes near Kroonstad.

9 February 2000 the South African Air Force airlifts foreign tourists cut off by floodwaters in the Kruger National Park.

22 February 2000 the full force of tropical Cyclone Eline hits Mozambique. The South African Air Force sends in 5 helicopters to aid to people trapped by floods.

5 April 2000 South African Air Force Museum's Supermarine Spitfire MkIX "5553" is destroyed in an emergency landing at AFB Swartkop during an airshow.

21 August 2000 a MB-326K Impala II crashes during a routine night training flight.

27 November 2000 an Atlas Cheetah C crashes on finals to AFB Makhado.

26 April 2002 an Impala jet crashes near the Albasini Dam.

27 June 2002 two Atlas Oryx helicopters flying from the South African research ship Agulhas took emergency food supplies and evacuated 21 Russian scientists from the Magdalena Oldendorff which was trapped in ice off Antarctica.

22 September 2002 the South African Air Force Museum's only flying T-6G Harvard crashes into power lines during a flypast at the Africa Aerospace and Defence 2002 being held at AFB Waterkloof, Pretoria.

24 January 2003 the Inkwazi, while on a flight taking President Thabo Mbeki to Paris, France develops technical problems during its inaugural flight and had to turn back.

April 2003 a Cheetah C fighter jet crashes near Louis Trichardt.

5 June2003 a Denel Oryx helicopter crash lands at Durban International Airport.

14 August 2003 South Africa signs for four Super Lynx helicopters for operation from the new naval corvettes.

28 August 2003 three parachuted pallets dropped by a Casa 212 during a training mission are blown off course and land in a residential suburb of Gauteng.

17 October 2003 the first South African Air Force BAE Hawk 120 arrives in South Africa inside an Antonov An-22.

12 November 2003 an Impala MKI jet trainer crashes next to the N4 highway between Nelspruit and Komatipoort.

1 July 2004 an Atlas Oryx helicopter crash lands near the Johannesburg International Airport with no fatalities.

6 July 2004 a SE-316B Alouette III helicopter crash lands at Grahamstown.

9 September 2004 the first locally assembled Agusta A109LUH makes its first flight at Denel's Kempton Park facilities.

15 February 2005 the South African Air Force issues a stop-flying instruction for the 7 C-130BZ Hercules transport aircraft because of cracks in the wingspans.

18 March 2005 an Alouette III helicopter crashes next to the N3 highway in Harrismith.

9 April 2005 a Pilatus PC-7 Mk2 Astra training aircraft crashes near Lichtenburg.

22 June 2005 four of the South African Air Force C-130BZ Hercules transport aircraft are released for flying operations.

On 4 July 2005 a MB-326K Impala II jet crashes just after take-off from Hoedspruit when it hit two vultures.

4 April 2006 the first of four Super Lynx 300 helicopters flies at AgustaWestland’s Yeovil factory in England.

16 July 2006 the first 2-seat SAAB JAS 39D Gripen arrives in South Africa.

Not to have an adequate air force in the present state of the world is to compromise the foundations of national freedom and independence. - Winston Churchill

Till next time folks! Ed.