Air Force Base Waterkloof is an airbase of the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. It is situated on the outskirts of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

, and is the SAAF's busiest airbase. The base's name, ''Waterkloof'', is

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

. It means ''Water Ravine'' in English. Despite the name, this base is not located in

Waterkloof Waterkloof (Afrikaans for "Water Ravine") is a upmarket suburb of the city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, located to the east of the city centre. It is named after the original farm that stood there when Pretoria was founded ...

, but lies to the south of

, to the northeast of

Centurion, Gauteng Centurion (previously known as Verwoerdburg and before that Lyttelton) is an area with 236,580 inhabitants (2011 census) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, between Pretoria and Midrand (Johannesburg). Formerly an independent municipality, ...

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 Institute – Photographic services * JARIC, (Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre) The SANDF National Imagery Exploitation Centre – Strategic Imagery Intelligence ( IMINT) support * Mobile Deployment Wing – Emergency response * SAAF Telecommunications Centre – Communications * Ditholo Training Area is managed as an external component of AFB Waterkloof

History

The base was officially opened on 1 August 1938 as Waterkloof Air Station. Since that time it has always been in the service of the SAAF. It was upgraded to Air Force Base during World War II.

Aviation

Non-directional beacon A non-directional beacon (NDB) or non-directional radio beacon is a radio beacon which does not include directional information. Radio beacons are radio transmitters at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. NDB are ...

– WL315.0 *

VHF omnidirectional range Very high frequency omnirange station (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network ...

– WKV116.9 * Tower – 124.1

Controversy

A flight full of Indian citizens who had come to attend a wedding of the Gupta family landed at Waterkloof airbase. This was in contravention of South African law since the airbase is classified as a National Key Point. It was later alleged that former president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-apart ...

is the one who ordered the flight to land.

References

Notes

External links

Waterkloof page on the unofficial website of the South African Airforce
Checked 29 March 2012 South African Air Force bases Airports in South Africa Transport in Gauteng City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub