Kenneth van der Spuy

Major-General Kenneth van der Spuy CBE MC was a South African Air Force officer. He saw service with the Royal Flying Corps in World War I.

Kenneth Reid van der Spuy
Born(1892-03-18)18 March 1892
Died26 May 1991(1991-05-26) (aged 99)
Service/branch South African Air Force
RankMajor General
Battles/warsWorld War I

In 1913 the South African government started a flying school and advertised for prospective pilots in the Government Gazette. Van der Spuy was one of only 10 selected.[1]

Six of the original group of pilots were chosen to undergo further training in Britain and Van der Spuy was part of this group. When he passed his final examination on 2 June 1914, and was granted the certificate of the Royal Aero Club, he was South Africa's first qualified military pilot [2]

Early in 1915, van der Spuy was part of a group who were asked to establish a South African Aviation Corps in England and go to South-West Africa to assist the South African forces under General Louis Botha

Van der Spuy later became the first South African Air Force pilot, when he attested on 1 April 1921.[3]

References
  1. Ward, E. H. (1982). "SWIFTER THAN EAGLES: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE 1912-1982". South African Journal of Military Studies. 12 (2).
  2. Mahncke, J.E. "Military History Journal Vol 12 No 3 – June 2002". The South African Aviation Corps (SAAC). South African Military History Society. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  3. Tidy, D. P. (December 1982). "They Mounted up as Eagles (A brief tribute to the South African Air Force)". Military History Journal. 5 (6).
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