AFS Port Elizabeth
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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 Flight of 15 Squadron which currently operates four BK 117 helicopters. Their primary role is maritime and landward search and rescue. Conversion to AgustaWestland AW109 The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to ... helicopters has been postponed due to delays in developing emergency flotation equipment for the type, thus precluding its use in a maritime environment. Units hosted *C Flight of 15 Squadron * 108 Squadron - Territorial Reserve Squadron operating various civil light aircraft in the utility transport role. See also * Port ...
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South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * World War I * World War II East African campaign (World War II), East African Campaign North African campaign, North African Campaign Battle of Madagascar, Madagascar Italian campaign (World War II), Italy Balkans campaign (World War II), Balkans * Korean War * South African Border War * Angolan Civil War, Angolan Bush War , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website = , commander1 = President of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa , commander1_label = Commander-in-chief#South Africa, Comman ...
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Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa's second-largest metropolitan district by area size. It is the sixth-most populous city in South Africa and is the cultural, economic and financial centre of the Eastern Cape. The city was founded as Port Elizabeth in 1820 by Sir Rufane Donkin, who was the governor of the Cape at the time. He named it after his late wife, Elizabeth, who had died in India. The Donkin memorial in the CBD of the city bears testament to this. Port Elizabeth was established by the government of the Cape Colony when 4,000 British colonists settled in Algoa Bay to strengthen the border region between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa. It is nicknamed "The Friendly City" or "The Windy City". In 2019, the Eastern Cape Geographical Names Committee recommended ...
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Eastern Cape Province
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England and some from Scotland and Ireland. Since South Africa's early years, many Xhosas believed in Africanism and figures such as Walter Rubusana believed that the rights of Xhosa people and Africans in general, could not be protected unless Africans mobilized and worked together. As a result, the Eastern Cape is home to many anti-apartheid leaders such as Robert Sobukwe, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Wal ...
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South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ...
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Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport is an airport serving Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), a city in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. It was formerly known as H. F. Verwoerd Airport and Port Elizabeth International Airport. The airport is owned and operated by the Airports Company South Africa which also operates nine other airports around South Africa. The airport is located approximately two miles south of the city's central business district. In 2017, the airport served 1,620,705 passengers. The name of the airport was changed from Port Elizabeth International Airport to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in February 2021. History A historical highlight was the first flight from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth in 1917, made by Major Allister Mackintosh Miller. At that time, this was considered a long-distance flight, and it heralded the start of the civil aviation industry in Port Elizabeth. This flight and many more has been captured on canvas by Ron Bell ...
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15 Squadron SAAF
15 Squadron SAAF is a squadron of the South African Air Force. It is currently a transport/utility helicopter squadron. History The squadron was formed on 18 September 1939 as a SAAF Coastal Command squadron based at Cape Town. During the war it flew Junkers Ju-86, Bristol Blenheim and Martin Maryland aircraft. The squadron suffered a tragedy in May 1942, when eleven out of twelve personnel perished when three Blenheims encountered a sand storm and lost their bearings during a training flight and had to make an emergency landing in the desert. The squadron flew Baltimore 5 Light Bombers in May 1945 as part of 253 Wing of the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force. Other aircraft flown during and after the war included Bristol Blenheims, and Martin Baltimores. Notable Second World War members include Harry Schwarz, who in 1984 was made honorary colonel of the squadron. Post Second World War Aircraft flown after the war included the Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon and the A ...
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MBB/Kawasaki BK 117
The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined medium Utility helicopter, utility–transport helicopter. It was jointly developed and manufactured by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki of Japan. MBB was later purchased by Daimler-Benz and eventually became a part of Eurocopter, which was later rebranded as Airbus Helicopters. On 25 February 1977, MBB and Kawasaki signed a cooperative agreement to abandon their independent efforts to design twin-engined general purpose helicopters in favour of a collaborative venture to development of a new rotorcraft for that role. While the programme's costs were shared equally, the workshare was divided into certain areas of the design. MBB utilised their expertise with the rigid rotor system used on the earlier MBB Bo 105, Bo 105 to develop the majority of the dynamic systems and flight controls, while Kawasaki focused on the airframe, structural elements, and various other components. On 13 June ...
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Search And Rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water. International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) is a UN organization that promotes the exchange of information between national urban search and rescue organizations. The duty to render assistance is covered by Article 98 of the UNCLOS. Definitions There are many different definitions of search and rescue, depending on the agency involved and country in question. *Canadian Forces: "Search and Rescue comprises the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are fear ...
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AgustaWestland AW109
The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to be mass-produced."Law Enforcement: Italy."
''Police Aviation News'', No. 175. November 2010.
Its production has been continued by Agusta's successor companies, presently Leonardo S.p.A. (formerly , merged into the new

108 Squadron SAAF
108 Squadron is a territorial reserve squadron of the South African Air Force. The primary squadron operations include coastal reconnaissance flights, as well as command, control, and telstar communications in crime prevention operations alongside the South African Police and the South African Army. The squadron is based in Port Elizabeth. Main operations include coastal reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ... flights, command and control and telstar in crime prevention operations in co-operation with the police and Army. References {{SAAF navbox Squadrons of the South African Air Force Territorial Reserve Squadrons of the South African Air Force ...
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South African Air Force Museum
The South African Air Force Museum houses exhibits and restores material related to the history of the South African Air Force. The museum is divided into three locations, AFB Swartkop outside Pretoria, AFB Ysterplaat in Cape Town and at the Port Elizabeth airport. Exhibits AFB Swartkop AFB Swartkop is home to the headquarters and largest of the three museum locations, occupying at least five hangars. It contains a number of Dassault Mirage IIIs, Dassault Mirage F1s, Atlas Cheetahs and various other historical aircraft as well as aviation-related items on display such as ejection seats, uniforms, aircraft engines, aircraft weaponry and a Cheetah C flight simulator. Image:SAAF-RSA3-001.jpg, LEO deployment rocket at Swartkop Image:Patterson No2 Biplane-Replica-001.jpg, Replica Patterson Number 2 Biplane at Swartkop Image:SAAF-Avro Shackleton-002.jpg, Avro Shackleton at Swartkop Image:SAAF-Cheetah-001.jpg, Cheetah C at Swartkop Image:South_African_Air_Force_Mustang_in_AFB_Swartk ...
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South African Air Force Bases
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European root that the word ''sun'' derived from. Some languages describe south in the same way, from the fact that it is the direction of the sun at noon (in the Northern Hemisphere), like Latin meridies 'noon, south' (from medius 'middle' + dies 'day', cf English meridional), while others describe south as the right-hand side of the rising sun, like Biblical Hebrew תֵּימָן teiman 'south' from יָמִין yamin 'right', Aramaic תַּימנַא taymna from יָמִין yamin 'right' and Syriac ܬܰܝܡܢܳܐ taymna from ܝܰܡܝܺܢܳܐ yamina (hence the name of Yemen, the land to the south/right of the Levant). Navigation By convention, the ''bottom or down-facing side'' of a ...
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