50 Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | 1939-? |
Country | South Africa |
Branch | South African Air Force |
50 Squadron SAAF was a South African Air Force squadron during World War II.
History[]
50 Squadron was formed on 1 December 1939 by amalgamating the SAAF's 17, 18 and 19 Squadrons.[2] During the East African Campaign 50 Squadron operated a 'shuttle service' between the warzone in East Africa and South Africa as part of 1 Bomber Transport Brigade. The Brigade was re-designated 5 Wing in February 1941, and continued to fly 'shuttle service' flights between the Mediterranean and South Africa until after the war.[3]
The squadron operated Junkers F.13FE, Ju-86Z/K-1 and Ju52/3M aircraft which had been requisitioned from the South African Airways at the outbreak of war. The eleven Ju52's were assigned to 51 Flight, operating a shuttle service from Nairobi to Egypt, Middle East and South Africa.
References[]
- Footnotes
- ↑ Aviation Pictures ZA. "SAAF - A pictorial history". http://www.aviationpics.co.za/morenews.asp?filename=6112010102858.txt.
- ↑ Potgieter and Steenkamp (1981), p. 119
- ↑ "History of the South African Air Force". South African Air Force. http://www.af.mil.za/about_us/history.html. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- Bibliography
- Potgieter, Herman and Steenkamp, Willem (1981). Aircraft of the South African Air Force (2nd ed.). Cape Town: C. Struik. ISBN 0-86977-133-7.
The original article can be found at 50 Squadron SAAF and the edit history here.