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Douglas Loftus
Douglas Haig Loftus (1917-1991) was a South African flying ace of World War II, credited with 4 'kills' and 1 shared. After joining the Permanent Force he served with the Coastal Artillery before moving to the South African Air Force, joining 1 Squadron SAAF. He was part of the squadron that formed the basis of 2 Squadron SAAF in Kenya, flying Hawker Furies. He scored his first victory on 24 October in a Hurricane loaned from 3 Squadron. In May 1941 he led a detachment of the squadron to fly Hurricanes in the Western Desert. In June they converted to Tomahawks and he was appointed Officer Commanding on 21 August. He was awarded the DFC in September 1941 and he returned to South Africa where he formed 7 Squadron SAAF as first Commanding Officer. The squadron flew Hurricane I's in the Western Desert in July 1942. He was promoted Lieutenant Colonel in July and in August appointed Wing Leader of 7 SAAF Wing. He was awarded a DSO in June 1943https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Springs, Gauteng
Springs is a former independent city that is now part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, City of Ekurhuleni, based in the east of Johannesburg East Rand, (East Rand), in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It lies 50 km (31 mi) east of Johannesburg and 72 km (45 mi) southeast from Pretoria. Its name derives from the large number of spring (hydrosphere), springs in the area, and its estimated population is more than 121,610 in 2011. It is situated at 1628 m (5,340 ft) above sea level. Springs was divided during the Apartheid era into the middle- and upper-income white suburbs around the city centre and the Indian area of Bakerton east of the CBD; while black people were relocated to KwaThema, southwest of the CBD. History The town of Springs, east of Johannesburg, is on the East Rand, or what is now known as the Metropolitan area of Ekurhuleni, in the Gauteng Province. It was founded as a coal and gold mining town in 1904, but its history can b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2 Squadron SAAF
2 Squadron is a squadron in the South African Air Force which was formed in 1940. The squadron has a long history, having been involved in every single combat action in which the SAAF has taken part. During the Second World War it made a name for itself in the battles for East Africa, before distinguishing itself in North Africa as part of the Desert Air Force, and later in Italy. World War II The squadron was established on 1 October 1940, when the two flights of 1 Squadron SAAF that were operating in Kenya against the Italians in the East African campaign, were formed into a new squadron. The Kenya-based flights had operated independently from the remainder of 1 Squadron, based in the Sudan for several months, and two shootdowns of Italian aircraft made by the Kenya-based flights were retrospectively credited to the new squadron. Initial equipment of the new squadron was nine Hawker Furys fighters, nine Gloster Gladiators and five Hawker Hurricanes. In November, the Squadron's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1991 Deaths
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, 1991 Russian presidential election, elected as Russia's first President of Russia, president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet Union, Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, erupts in the Philippines, making it the List of large historical volcanic eruptions, second-largest Types of volcanic eruptions, volcanic eruption of the 20th century; MTS Oceanos sinks off the coast of South Africa, but the crew notoriously abandons the vessel before the passengers are rescued; Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Flag of the Soviet Union, Soviet flag is lowered from the Kremlin for the last time and replaced with the flag of the Russian Federation; The United States and soon-to-be dissolved Soviet Union sign the START I Treaty; A tropical cyclone 1991 Bangladesh cyclone, strikes Bangladesh, killing nearly 140,000 people; Lauda Air Flight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1917 Births
Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's Desert Column. * January 10 – Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition: Seven survivors of the Ross Sea party were rescued after being stranded for several months. * January 11 – Unknown saboteurs set off the Kingsland Explosion at Kingsland (modern-day Lyndhurst, New Jersey), one of the events leading to United States involvement in WWI. * January 16 – The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million. * January 22 – WWI: United States President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Germany. * January 25 ** WWI: British armed merchantman is sunk by mines off Lough Swilly (Ireland), with the loss of 354 of the 475 aboard. ** An anti- prostitution drive in San Francisco occurs, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African World War II Flying Aces
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, 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 language, Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz'' ("south"), possibly related to the same Proto-Indo-European language, 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AFB Waterkloof
Air Force Base Waterkloof is an airbase of the South African Air Force. It is situated on the outskirts of Pretoria, and is the SAAF's busiest airbase. The base's name, ''Waterkloof'', is Afrikaans. It means ''Water Ravine'' in English. Despite the name, this base is not located in Waterkloof, Pretoria, but lies to the south of Pretoria, to the northeast of Centurion, Gauteng and from AFB Swartkop, at an elevation of 1506 metres (4940 ft). The base motto is ''Acquirit Qui Tuetur'' (He Obtains Who Defends). Units currently hosted * 2 Squadron – Fighter, attack, reconnaissance * 21 Squadron – VIP transport * 28 Squadron – Medium transport * 41 Squadron – Light transport * 44 Squadron – Light transport * 60 Squadron – In-flight refuelling, transport, EW/ELINT/AEW * 111 Squadron – Light transport (reserve) * 140 Squadron – Light transport (reserve) * 504 Squadron – Security * 5 Air Servicing Unit – Maintenance support * Central Photographic Institut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
11 OTU Squadron SAAF
Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'', a 2004 children's novel in The Winnie Years by Lauren Myracle *''Eleven'', a 2008 children's novel by Patricia Reilly Giff *''Eleven'', a short story by Sandra Cisneros Music *Eleven (band), an American rock band * Eleven: A Music Company, an Australian record label *Up to eleven, an idiom from popular culture, coined in the movie ''This Is Spinal Tap'' Albums * ''11'' (The Smithereens album), 1989 * ''11'' (Ua album), 1996 * ''11'' (Bryan Adams album), 2008 * ''11'' (Sault album), 2022 * ''Eleven'' (Harry Connick, Jr. album), 1992 * ''Eleven'' (22-Pistepirkko album), 1998 * ''Eleven'' (Sugarcult album), 1999 * ''Eleven'' (B'z album), 2000 * ''Eleven'' (Ream ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60 percent of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the campaign, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War. The Hurricane originated from discussions between RAF officials and aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm about a proposed monoplane derivative of the Hawker Fury biplane in the early 1930s. Despite an institutional preference for biplanes and lack of interest by the Air Ministry, Hawker refined their monoplane proposal, incorporating several innovations which became critical to wartime fighter aircraft, including retractable landing gear and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Air Ministry ordered Hawker's ''Int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1 Squadron SAAF
1 Squadron SAAF was an air force squadron of the South African Air Force and was formed at Air Force Station Swartkop in February 1920, equipped with De Havilland DH.9's part of the Imperial Gift donation to South Africa by Britain. On 31 August 1939 the squadron was re-designated as 1 Bomber/Fighter Squadron and this was then changed to 11 (Bomber) Squadron in December 1939. The squadron was resurrected in February 1940 by the renumbering of 6 Squadron, equipped with four Hurricane Mk 1's and six Furies. 1 Squadron saw active service in East Africa in 1940, the Western Desert, Malta, Sicily and ended their war service in Italy in 1945. In 1950 the squadron's Spitfires were replaced with Vampires and these in turn were replaced by Sabre Mk6's in 1956. In 1976 the squadron received Mirage F1AZ attack aircraft and it was disbanded when the F1AZ's were retired on 25 November 1997. History Establishment There had been no official squadron designations in the South African Air For ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Permanent Force
The Permanent Force was an integral part of both the South African Defence Force and the South West Africa Territorial Force which consisted of all the full-time volunteers, volunteers of Auxiliaries and national servicemen. South Africa The Defence Act (No. 13) of 1912 established a Union Defence Force (UDF) that included a Permanent Force (or standing army) of career soldiers, an Active Citizen Force (ACF) of temporary conscripts and volunteers as well as a Cadet organization. Library of Congress Country Studies: South Africa, Early Development of the South African Military, 1996 Commonwealth The Permanent Force forms a part of other British Commonwealth militaries such as Australia. References {{reflist See also *Military history of South Africa The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Afric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against the enemy". History The award was established on 3 June 1918, shortly after the formation of the Royal Air Force (RAF), with the Royal Warrant published on 5 December 1919. It was originally awarded to RAF commissioned and warrant officers, including officers in Commonwealth and allied forces. In March 1941 eligibility was extended to Naval Officers of the Fleet Air Arm, and in November 1942 to Army officers, including Royal Artillery officers serving on attachment to the RAF as pilots-cum-artillery observers. Posthumous awards were permitted from 1979. Since the 1993 review of the honours system as part of the drive to remove disti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
