SAAF Museum Open Day October 2023

SAAF Open Day October 28, 2023

The SAAF Museum at Swartkops is always a great place to visit and I always try to time my trips to SA to coincide with the flying days held on the first Saturday of each month. However, at the end of October the museum held an Open Day that allowed the general public access to hangars and an insight into the work that goes on behind the scenes.

Much quieter than a flying day, the open day nevertheless saw a steady stream of people enter through security at the base’s main gate. They were greeted by the row of historic hangars that house most of the museum’s collection. These impressive structures were part of the Imperial Gift to South Africa for their contribution to the Great War and are over 100 years old.

Inside these are a varied collection of aircraft that cover the range of SAAF activities. Perhaps the Paterson No.2 replica is a good place to start. This aircraft is an accurate reconstruction of the first aeroplane used for instructing young South Africans to fly for military purposes, starting in 1913 and with the first batch of graduates being shipped to the Royal Flying Corps in the UK for advanced training in 1914, during the first year of the First World War. The surprising thing about the aircraft is its size - it has the largest wingspan of any of the indoor exhibits. Given the relatively small output of its engine, it must have been interesting to fly.

The Korean War is exemplified by a P-51 in the colours of ‘Patsy Dawn’, the machine flown by Tubby Singleton in which he became the youngest recipient of the American DFC. Another machine that traces its origins back to that conflict is the Sabre. This aircraft is one of a number of ongoing restoration projects. Matthew Oliver, one of the Friends of the SAAF Museum volunteers has been involved in this - being of the digital generation he was shocked to find during the restoration the decal designs for the roundels were originally created by hand on huge sheets of heavy paper! These have now been digitised, allowing modern vinyl prints.

Matthew was then kind enough to give myself and my daughter a guided tour of the PC-7 cockpit - something we both enjoyed.

More volunteers were busy manning the Buccaneer cockpit. This impressive product of the 1950's British aviation scene is still a wonder to behold. Like many carrier-borne aircraft it has a distinctive design which in its case also suited a low level land based strike aircraft. Buccaneer 421 Restoration Project team hopes to get this machine back into a ground running state.

Given the bush wars that the SAAF were involved in, the number of helicopters on display should come as no surprise. The one that caught my eye though was the enormous Super Frelon. The massive French machine is truly remarkable, but apparently was a little disappointing in service as despite its three engines putting out a combined 4,500 shaft horsepower it still struggled in hot and high conditions.

The Rooivalk attack helicopter is a South African designed and built attack helicopter along the lines of the AH-64 Apache. Dating back to the early 1980’s the concept and systems were developed through the Atlas XH-1 - an unrecognisable Alouette III.

Perhaps the aircraft family most associated with the SAAF is the Mirage. The Mirage III was the original aircraft, with the delta winged aircraft later joined by various variants of the F.1. The Mirage III was then developed, with Israeli input into the canard equipped Atlas Cheetah.

A whole cluster of these aircraft live at the top of the apron, protected from the African sun but not the dust. This Saturday was their turn for a thorough clean as Friends of the Museum volunteers give them a thorough rub down.

Indeed it is the work of the Friends of the SAAF Museum that is integral to the museum’s operation. They meet on the last Saturday of every month to clean and restore exhibits and more often before major events, such as the Museum’s airshow. They also have several projects underway, including the Spitfire Restoration Project (for more see https://www.jonathanlaverick.com/flying/saaf-spitfire-restoration-hangar-milestone).

The museum also has several buildings behind the hangars that tell the full story of the SAAF over its 101 year history. These house several aircraft, including a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch. Unfortunately, persistent issues with power have delayed public access to the newly refurbished displays.

For more information on the work of the Friends, if you wish to volunteer your time, or if you can contribute towards a restoration project then please see https://www.fsaafm.com/

For more pics from the Open Day see https://www.flickr.com/photos/119086573@N02/albums/72177720312290256

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