by Nico Henning
Early Days
In
1903, Orwell Wright became the first man to take to the skies in a controlled
and powered aircraft. Aviation has since become one of the most sophisticated
means of travel and also the safest. South Africa was not left in the dark…
The birth of
Aviation in South Africa
On 28 December 1909 French Aviator,
M. Albert Kimmerling flew his Voisin bi-plane over the Nahoon raceway in East
London. Although his flight only reached an altitude of 6 metres and an average
speed of 48 km/h it was the first powered flight in South Africa
and the beginning of a very interesting and successful history of Aviation.
The
1910’s saw a lot of aviation records being broken and also the First World War
where aircraft was used for the first time dropping bombs, intercepting other
aircraft and reporting enemy movements. John Weston broke the South African
non-stop flight record in 1911 with a flight time of 8 minutes and 30 seconds
in his Weston-Farman bi-plane. He established the Aeronautical
Society of South Africa later that year as well as the John Weston Aviation
Company promoting Aviation in South Africa.
The
very first South African designed and built aircraft was also flown in 1911 by
Cecil Bredell, a wealthy timber merchant from Johannesburg. His aircraft’s
design was based on Louis Bleriot’s aircraft flown across the English Channel
and it was built by Alfred Louis Raison.
In
December of 1911, Bok Driver flew the first airmail in South Africa from
Kenilworth Racecourse to Oldham’s field in the Cape. His Bleriot monoplane took
about 8 minutes to fly the distance of 12 km.
The Great War
10
candidates were selected for military pilot training in 1913. They were trained
by Cecil Compton Paterson, founder of the Paterson Aviation Syndicate in
Kimberly. A Paterson bi-plane (No.36) was used to train the candidates. It
could reach a speed of 80km/h and was powered by a 50hp Gnome engine. One of
the students, Kenneth van der Spuy, crashed the aircraft with Paterson on board
but no one was hurt. After the plane was rebuilt, Paterson’s co-instructor,
Edward W. Cheeseman crashed the aircraft obtaining serious injuries. He later
died in a Kimberley hospital. Paterson acquired a new aircraft to continue the
training. 8 out of the 10 original candidates qualified in December 1913. They
continued their military training and 6 of them were sent to Britain in April
of 1914 where they joined the Royal Flying Corps for further training but one
pilot was unsuccessful. The remaining 5 were still in England when World War I
broke out and they immediately applied to join the RFC. They were sent to
France where they participated in the first aerial reconnaissance and artillery
spotting missions of the war in late 1914.
A replica of the Paterson Bi-plane in the SAAF Museum at Swartkops AFB in Pretoria.
The
South African Aviation Corps was established 29 January 1915. The 5 South
African Pilots fighting with the RFC in France was recalled to join the SAAC
for deployment to German South West Africa. The SAAC was equipped with 2 Royal
Aircraft Factory B.E.2C’s and 6 Henri Farman F-27’s. Kenneth van der Spuy flew
the first sortie of the SAAC on 6 May 1915 from Walvis Bay reporting enemy
ground movements to the ground forces of Gen. Louis Botha. More reconnaissance
and bombing sorties where flown until the end of the campaign in July 1915.
After
the German South West Africa campaign most of the SAAC pilots volunteered to
join the RFC and continue their contribution in the war resulting in the
establishment of 26 (South African) Squadron. They flew bombing, reconnaissance
and communication missions in East Africa.
Major
Allistar Miller convinced more than 2000 South Africans to join the RCF between
1916 and 1917. These recruits joined several RCF squadrons and was known as
“Miller’s Boys”.
The
war ended in 1918 and South Africa went home with 15 Aces. Andrew Weatherby
Beauchamp Proctor became the first South African pilot to receive the Victoria
Cross for shooting down 38 enemy aircraft and 16 air balloons. South
Africa received 113 aircraft from England which they used to form the South
African Air Force at Zwarkops in Pretoria on 1 February 1920.
Records and
competitions
The
South African Government offered a prize for the first flight from London to
Cape Town in 1919. The London times also offered a prize of £10
000 by 1920. In January 1920, sponsored by the times, Capt. S.
Cockerell, Capt. F. C. Broome and Dr. Chalmers Mitchell left London in a
Vickers Vimy for the flight to Cape Town.
Gen. Jan C. Smuts
wanted a South African to win the prize and he decided to buy a Vickers Vimy
for £4 500. On 4 February 1920, Lt. Col.
Pierre van Ryneveld and Fl. Lt. Christopher Joseph (Flossie) Quintin-Brand took
off from Brooklands Aerodrome in Surrey. They had to fly at night to catch up
with the competitors and their aircraft where written off in the Sudan during a
forced landing by night. A new Vimy was loaned from the Royal Air Force and
their flight continued from Cairo on 22 February 1920. The Times’ aircraft also
crashed on 27 February in Tanganyika. The South Africans had another crash,
this time in Bulawayo. A de Havilland D.H.9 of the South African Air Force
where flown up and handed over to them to continue their journey. After 45
days, flying for 109 hours and 30 minutes, van Ryneveld and Brand reached
Young’s field in Cape Town on 20 March 1920. They were both knighted for the
achievement.
Another air race,
this time between London and Johannesburg was announced in 1936 with a prize
money of £ 1 000 000. The race started on 29 September 1936. The winners reached Johannesburg 2 days, 4
hours and 56 minutes later. They were Charles W. A. Scott and Giles Guthrie
flying a Percival Vega Gull, the only participants to complete the race. Maj.
Allistar Miller also competed in the race but had to retired at Bulgrade due to
a fuel feeding problem.
In 1939, Alex
Henshaw set a new flight time record from London to Cape Town in a Mew Gull. He
completed his flight in 39 hours and 23 minutes and flew back to London in 39
hours and 36 minutes. This was the fasted method of traveling between England
and South Africa by the time. Today, a flight from Cape Town to London will
take approximately 11 hours.
