AFB Ysterplaat
Encyclopedia
Air Force Base Ysterplaat is an airbase of the South African Air Force
. It is located in Cape Town
, on the southwestern coast of South Africa
.
The name Ysterplaat is Afrikaans
; it means Iron Plate in English.
The base's motto is Fortiter In Re (Resolute in Deed).
s, 154 Miles Master
s, 148 Avro Anson
s, 79 Harvards
, 78 Fairey Battle
s, 63 Martin Baltimore
s, nine Bristol Beaufort
s and five de Havilland Dominies
. Curtiss Kittyhawks
and Hawker Hurricane
s were also assembled at a later stage, but by the end of the war, the depots were now disposing of aircraft for scrap or exporting them. In 1946, the first jet aircraft to reach South Africa, a Gloster Meteor III
, was assembled and flown at Brooklyn. On 1 April 1949, AFS Brooklyn was renamed AFS Ysterplaat.
More jets were assembled at Ysterplaat from 1950 in the form of the de Havilland Vampire
FB Mk.5s, which were the SAAF's first operational jet fighters. Unit status was upgraded to an Air Force Base (AFB) on 1 February 1968.
Although the base has long been the centre of the SAAF's maritime patrol activities along the Cape coast, due to increased budgetary restrictions, the base was scheduled to be downgraded to an Air Force Station (AFS Ysterplaat) on 1 April 2003, but as of August 2004, this had not yet happened. The SAAF is considering converting the base into a civilian airport with a military presence, but no decisions have been taken as yet.
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
. It is located in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, on the southwestern coast of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
The name Ysterplaat is Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
; it means Iron Plate in English.
The base's motto is Fortiter In Re (Resolute in Deed).
Units Hosted
- 22 Squadron22 Squadron SAAF22 Squadron is a squadron of the South African Air Force. It is currently a maritime helicopter squadron operating Lynx and Oryx helicopters for the South African Navy.-History:...
- Helicopter squadron - 35 Squadron35 Squadron SAAF35 Squadron SAAF is a squadron of the South African Air Force. It is currently a maritime patrol and transport squadron.-History:The squadron was formed on 15 February 1945 when 262 Squadron Royal Air Force, an anti-submarine squadron, operating the Consolidated Catalina, was transferred to the...
- Transport/Maritime patrol squadron - 110 Squadron - Light transport (reserve)
- 505 Squadron - Security services
- 80 Air Navigation School
- 2 Air Support Unit detached - Maintenance support
- South African Air Force MuseumSouth African Air Force MuseumThe South African Air Force Museum houses, exhibits and restores material related to the history of the South African Air Force. The Museum is divided into three locations, AFB Swartkop outside Pretoria, AFB Ysterplaat in Cape Town and at the Port Elizabeth airport.-AFB Swartkop:Swartkop is the...
- Historical (detached from HQ at AFB SwartkopAFB SwartkopAFB Swartkop is an air force base in South Africa. It is managed as part of AFB Waterkloof and houses one of the three branches of the South African Air Force Museum...
). Home to the last flying Avro ShackletonAvro ShackletonThe Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force. It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber with a new fuselage...
.
History
The site of AFB Ysterplaat was originally used as a civilian airfield, known as Maitland Aerodrome, from as early as 1929. African Air Transport (AAT) opened at Maitland in 1938, and was involved in training pilots for the Union Air Training Group's pupil pilot training scheme. With the coming of World War II, AAT moved to Tempe and Maitland was taken over by the SAAF. On 24 October 1941 AFS (Air Force Station) Brooklyn, as it was then known, opened as an SAAF unit. 3 and 9 Air Depots were transferred to Brooklyn for the repair and assembly of aircraft. In the first year of its existence, 790 aircraft were assembled at Brooklyn, consisting of 254 Airspeed OxfordAirspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
s, 154 Miles Master
Miles Master
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Amos, Peter and Don Lambert Brown. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
s, 148 Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
s, 79 Harvards
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
, 78 Fairey Battle
Fairey Battle
The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed...
s, 63 Martin Baltimore
Martin Baltimore
The Martin 187 Baltimore was a two-engined light attack bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company in the United States, originally ordered by the French in May 1940 as a follow-up to the earlier Martin Maryland, then in service in France. With the fall of France, the production series was...
s, nine Bristol Beaufort
Bristol Beaufort
The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber....
s and five de Havilland Dominies
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...
. Curtiss Kittyhawks
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
and Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s were also assembled at a later stage, but by the end of the war, the depots were now disposing of aircraft for scrap or exporting them. In 1946, the first jet aircraft to reach South Africa, a Gloster Meteor III
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
, was assembled and flown at Brooklyn. On 1 April 1949, AFS Brooklyn was renamed AFS Ysterplaat.
More jets were assembled at Ysterplaat from 1950 in the form of the de Havilland Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
FB Mk.5s, which were the SAAF's first operational jet fighters. Unit status was upgraded to an Air Force Base (AFB) on 1 February 1968.
Although the base has long been the centre of the SAAF's maritime patrol activities along the Cape coast, due to increased budgetary restrictions, the base was scheduled to be downgraded to an Air Force Station (AFS Ysterplaat) on 1 April 2003, but as of August 2004, this had not yet happened. The SAAF is considering converting the base into a civilian airport with a military presence, but no decisions have been taken as yet.
See also
- List of airports in the Cape Town area
- South African Air ForceSouth African Air ForceThe South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...
- South African Air Force MuseumSouth African Air Force MuseumThe South African Air Force Museum houses, exhibits and restores material related to the history of the South African Air Force. The Museum is divided into three locations, AFB Swartkop outside Pretoria, AFB Ysterplaat in Cape Town and at the Port Elizabeth airport.-AFB Swartkop:Swartkop is the...