South Africa’s military aviation fraternity, from those currently in the SA Air Force (SAAF) to those who previously wore the blue uniform, is gearing up for anniversaries later this month (January).
First up is the SAAF Association which marks its 80th anniversary on 25 January, seven days ahead of the Air Force commemorating it 105th year of existence.
The Association will mark the anniversary in what the SAAFA 80th organising committee terms a “notable manner” on Sunday, 26 January. The date coincides with the inaugural meeting forming the Association at the Inanda Club on 26 January 1945. The Association has its national office at what is now the Air Force Mobile Deployment Wing (AF MDW), previously Air Force Base (AFB) Swartkop, the oldest still active base in the SAAF.
The annual SAAFA congress and banquet, set down for 15 to 18 May at the Centurion Hotel (previously the Centurion Lake Hotel), will be another anniversary event. It will be co-hosted by SAAFA Gauteng branches (in alphabetical order) East Rand, Johannesburg and Pretoria. Marking the end of congress will be the combined SAAF/SAAFA memorial service at the Bays Hill SAAF Memorial, immediately north of AF MDW runway 02/20.
Other anniversary events will take place throughout the year at SAAFA branches across the country. SAAFA groups in Dubai, UAE (United Arab Emirates), and Shenzhen, China, are also expected to mark the anniversary.
This year’s SAAF anniversary will be its 105th and as has become the norm, it is marked as part of SAAF Prestige Week with the majority of events planned for AF MDW from 27 to 31 January.
Topping the list is the Prestige Parade at what is the longest serving base in SAAF history, presumably on Friday, 31 January, the working day closest to 1 February generally acknowledged as its founding date. The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC) has it other “activities” around Prestige Week will be a flypast during the Friday parade and “a short display” before the prestige gala evening, usually held the day before the parade in AF MDW hangar 5, as well as the SAAF sports awards and Chief Air Force golf day.
