those events shifted to become more sombre commemorations only, the triumphant aspects removed to create something that could be shared with former enemies and friends alike. We need to do something similar for the history of the South African National Defence Force’s constituent services and units, so as to create a way for us all to be able to commemorate their long histories, and the proud moments within them, while also making space to recognise that for most of the times those institutions actively excluded the majority of the population, and were at times responsible for severe hurt and harm to many who now form part of them. We can’t expect those to commemorate
Australian Air Force’s Air Power Development Centre once issuing a pamphlet claiming that van Ryneveld’s appointment did not create an air force truly separate from the army, and therefore the RAAF is older than the SAAF. It’s not the most credible argument as it doesn’t properly account for the loose structure of the Union Defence Force at the time, but it’s a great example of how even seemingly established facts can be open to legitimate challenge. Yet the SAAF is nonetheless one of the oldest air forces in the world, with a history that contains many proud moments such as its mammoth contribution in the East African, North African, and Italian campaigns of the Second World War,
the sterling performance of 2 Squadron during the Korean War, and numerous remarkable rescues and humanitarian aid missions ranging from the Berlin Airlift, through to the Oceanos rescue, and the response to devastating floods in Mozambique. It would be wrong of us though to ignore the moments that were less proud. The very first action of the SAAF, for instance, was to drop bombs on striking miners in Johannesburg, an action that would be considered unspeakably terrible today. And while for the most part, the SAAF’s actions during the Border War were legitimate, it did take part in several actions that were morally questionable such as reportedly playing a role in Dr Wouter Basson’s experiments on prisoners as part of Project Coast. For some countries, resolving that sort of a difficult history is considered more effort than it’s worth, and they’ve opted for clean breaks from the past and starting all over again. This means they have no obligation to celebrate or commemorate any history but that of the modern and untainted
The very first action of the SAAF was to drop bombs on striking miners in Johannesburg an uncomplicated and sanitised history of those institutions, just as we can’t expect those who were part of those services in the past to accept an overly simplistic view of their actions. THE SAAF’S FIRST HUNDRED YEARS
1 February 1920 is generally accepted as the formation date of the South African Air Force, as that was the date on which General Sir Pierre van Ryneveld was appointed as the Director Air Service with the task of creating an air force. Aptly enough, even this has been contested by some, with the Royal 20
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