3 Squadron SAAF was a
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
of the
South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars"
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. It was formed in January 1939 at
Air Force Base 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 ...
and was equipped with
Hawker Hartbees I and
Hurricane Mk II aircraft. The squadron was moved to Port Elizabeth in September 1939 after which it was disbanded. It was again reformed at Waterkloof on 9 September 1940 equipped with Hurricane Mk 1s.
History
The squadron was involved in fighting in
East Africa flying Hurricanes and
Gladiator Mk IIs, In December 1942 the squadron was sent to the Middle East and flew fighter defence over the port of Aden with Hurricane Mk IIc and
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
V aircraft, coastal patrols were also flown from North Africa. In August 1944, 3 Squadron was sent to Italy top join
No. 8 Wing SAAF and was re-equipped with Spitfire IXs. The squadron was disbanded following the end of the Second World War.
Three Squadron was again reformed at Baragwanath Airport on 6 September 1952 as a part-time citizen force unit flying
Harvards, but disbanded once again in 1957. In August 1966 the squadron was reformed at AFB Waterkloof as a unit under the control of 2 Squadron, equipped with
Mirage IIIEZs.
In February 1970 the unit received squadron colours and in the same year, was supplied with Mirage IIIDZ's and Mirage F1CZ's in April 1975 when its Mirage IIIEZ, DZ and D2Z aircraft were transferred to
85 Advanced Flying School. The squadron continued to operate the Mirage F1CZ from Waterkloof AFB with frequent deployments to
South-West Africa during the
Namibian War of Independence
The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and An ...
. Three Squadron was disbanded when the Mirage F1CZs were retired on 30 September 1992.
World War II deployment
* January – December 1941: Fighter squadron, East Africa
* 1942: South Africa
[
* January 1943 – August 1944: Shipping patrols, North Africa][
* August 1944 – September 1945: Ground attack, Italy][
]
Aircraft
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Squadrons of the South African Air Force
Disbanded military units and formations in Pretoria
SAAF3
Military units and formations established in 1939
Military units and formations disestablished in 1992
Military units and formations in Aden in World War II