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" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

. 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