21 Squadron SAAF is 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, de ...

of the South African Air Force. It was formed as a bomber squadron in

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and became a VIP transport squadron in the 1960s, a role which it performs to this day. The squadron currently flies two Dassault Falcon 50s, two

Cessna Citation I The Cessna 500 Citation I is a small business jet produced by Cessna, the basis of the Citation family. The Fanjet 500 prototype was announced in October 1968, first flew on September 15, 1969, and was certified as the 500 Citation on September ...

s, a Dassault Falcon 900 and a Boeing

BBJ Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) are versions of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing's Jet airliner, jet airliners with modifications to serve the private, head of state and corporate jet market. In 1996, Phil Condit, president of The Boeing Company, ...

aircraft. 21 Squadron is one of the most active squadrons in the air force with 606 VIP transport flights being made between 2009 and 2012. The

Boeing BBJ Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) are versions of Boeing's jet airliners with modifications to serve the private, head of state and corporate jet market. In 1996, Phil Condit, president of The Boeing Company, and Jack Welch, chairman and CEO of Genera ...

is used as the presidential aircraft when the

President of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Nationa ...

travels.

History

World War II

21 Squadron SAAF was first formed on 8 May 1941 in

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...

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, as a bomber squadron flying Martin Maryland medium bomber aircraft. The squadron consisted of pilots from Squadrons 11, 15, and 16 of the SAAF. From November 1943 to February 1944, the 21st Squadron was based at Totorella in the province of Foggia, Italy. Baltimore, Anson, and DC3 planes were flown on bombing raids mainly over central Italy and into Yugoslavia. On 21 February 1944 the squadron moved from Tortorella to Campomarino, south east of Termoli, where bombing continued, mainly of railways and marshalling yards. 21 Squadron SAAF was disbanded on 10 September 1945.

VIP Squadron

In 1968, the squadron was reformed at AFB Swartkop flying a

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...

and three Douglas Dakotas. The squadron acquired Hawker Siddeley HS-125 in 1970 and

Swearingen Merlin The Swearingen Merlin or the Fairchild Aerospace Merlin is a pressurized, twin turboprop business aircraft first produced by Swearingen Aircraft, and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas. Design and development The Merlin was an ...

in 1975. In 1985 the squadron moved to AFB Waterkloof. In 1983 the Viscount was transferred to 44 Squadron and the Merlins were sold in 1985. Two Beech KingAir 200Cs were acquired, but one was later sold and the other aircraft transferred to 41 Squadron. The HS-125s were disposed of in 1999. The squadron currently flies a fleet of jet aircraft. The two Dassault Falcon 50s were acquired in 1982 and 1985, the two Cessna 550 Citation IIs in 1983 and the Dassault Falcon 900 in 1992. In January 2003 the squadron received the new presidential Boeing BBJ. The Boeing 737 BBJ is known as "

Inkwazi Inkwazi is a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ / Boeing 737) aircraft used as the air transportation for the President of South Africa and operated by 21 Squadron South African Air Force. It has seating for six ministers and ten significant others. It c ...

", meaning "Fish eagle" in the Xhosa and Zulu languages. The aircraft is based on the

Boeing 737-700 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boein ...

and has an upgraded interior. It arrived in South Africa on 21 October 2002.

VIP flight usage

The following information was revealed when then Minister of Defence and Military Veterans

Lindiwe Sisulu Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu (born 10 May 1954) is a South African politician, member of parliament since 1994, and member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress currently serving as Minister of Tourism since August 20 ...

responded to a question posed by the Democratic Alliance's Sheik Shahid Esau in Parliament.

Number of flights made by politicians on 21 Squadron

Jacob Zuma

Boeing 737-7ED(BBJ), South Africa - Air Force JP7550504

Kgalema Motlanthe

Thabo Mbeki

Lindiwe Sisulu

The following information was disclosed in response to another question posed to Sisulu by Advocate L H Max of the Democratic Alliance. All VIP flight information has since been made classified for security reasons.

Shadow aircraft incident

In 2012 it was found that two aircraft had followed Jacob Zuma's Boeing BBJ flight into

John F Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the New ...

. The aircraft were using SAAF

callsign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

s. The aircraft were a Bombardier Global Express and a

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destin ...

Airbus A340. In response to the reports, then Chief of the Air Force, Lieutenant General

Carlo Gagiano Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano (born 26 March 1951, Bonnievale, Western Cape) was a South African military commander and former Chief of the South African Air Force. He joined the South African Air Force in 1968, and served in the Bord ...

said that the aircraft followed to ensure that the president could make it to an important meeting after his New York visit. The Democratic Alliance said that Sisulu should take responsibility and explain why the aircraft were used.

Acquisition of new aircraft

In 2012 plans were announced to acquire a new Boeing 777 VIP aircraft for the SAAF in a R2 billion deal. The order was cancelled after the offer had lapsed. In 2015, Armscor opened the tender process for a new VIP aircraft for use by the president. Analysts speculated that an aircraft meeting Armscor's specifications could cost R4 billion.

Accidents and incidents

* On 26 May 1971, during a practice flypast for the Republic Day celebrations (31 May), three HS-125s crashed into Devil's Peak. All on board were killed. The accident was attributed to low visibility due to bad weather conditions. * In 2009, the aircraft carrying Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe made an emergency landing in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

as it was running low on fuel. There were no injuries. * In 2011, the aircraft carrying Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe made a precautionary landing in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

due to a warning light activating, caused by a faulty sensor in the aircraft. Also in 2011, mechanical difficulties on an aircraft intended to be used by the Deputy President caused the planned official visits to Finland, Sweden and Denmark to be cancelled.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:21 Squadron Saaf Squadrons of the South African Air Force Military units and formations in Pretoria Military units and formations established in 1941