National Experiences - British Commission for Military History

276 ai r p o w e r in 20 t H Ce n t u ry do C t r i n e s a n d em p l o y m e n t - nat i o n a l ex p e r i e n C e s
former Bophuthatswana Air Wing and the non-statutory forces received their wings
and completed training and advanced SAAF training. Women also benefited in the
new dispensation and have qualified to perform most tasks within the SAAF on an
equal footing with their male counterparts.
Since 1994 the SAAF have participated in numerous search and rescue and humanitarian
support missions in South Africa and in the region. SAAF helicopters
and aircraft have rescued people from burning buildings, searched for and rescued
lost mountaineers, mariners and have provided disaster relief in the region. Regional
missions included a rescue and supply mission to Rwanda in July 1994; SAAF assistance
to Mozambique during the elections in October 1994; disaster assistance to
Tanzania in February 1998; and assistance to Mozambique after the massive floods
in February and March 2000. During this mission more than 14 000 people were
rescued and 2 647 tonnes of supplies and medical aid was flown into the worst affected
areas. 19
In 1998 forces from South Africa and Botswana entered Lesotho in an effort to
restore order to the mountain kingdom after the Lesotho government approached the
SADC for assistance. The SAAF participated in the operation (Operation Boleas)
and a SAAF contingent was based in Maseru for its duration. During the first decade
of the twenty-first century South Africa forces participated in various UN peace support
operations in Africa. The SAAF played an important role during these operations
as it supported SANDF units deployed in Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of Congo with helicopter crews, by flying supply missions and by participating
in support of Joint Operations.
By the end of the twentieth century the SAAF aircraft and equipment was old and
outdated, mainly as a result of the arms embargo in the 1970s and 1980s. As South
Africa was now a respected member of the international community, the SAAF embarked
on a re-equipment programme in 1998/1999. 16 Squadron was reactivated
and became the home squadron for the locally produced Denel Rooivalk Attack
helicopter (at the Bloemspruit base) in October 1998. As part of the acquisitions
programme the SAAF is set to receive SAAB Gripen fighters, BAE Systems Hawk
Mk120 trainers, Agusta A109 helicopters and Agusta/Westland Lynx helicopters between
2005 and 2012. 20
Case study: SAAF in action in Korea, 22 april to 24 june 1951 21
For more than three years the Korean War was fought on the Korean peninsula with
the belligerents first being engaged in a war of rapid movement across the peninsula.
19
L. Steyn, South African Air Force, pp. 3-4.
20
Ibid., pp. 3-5.
21
The section on the SAAF in Korea between April and June 1951 is based on an article by D.M.
(Dermot) Moore, SAAF in Korea, published in Militaria, Vol 10, Nr 4, 1980, pp. 24-34.