No. 1 Squadron and the Spitfire Legacy

No. 1 Squadron and the Spitfire Legacy 1940 to 1954 Written by Buskruit (Willie) Burger Introduction – East Africa A LEGACY is a gift, left or handed down by a predecessor, to those who appreciate it and what it stood for. It serves as a reminder of deeds and hardships endured by those who first […]

“We Will Remember Them” – Remembrance Day

In Flanders Fields BY JOHN MCCRAEIn Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lie,In Flanders fields. […]

The Mk IX Spitfire

About the Mark IX Spitfire The graceful and majestic yet potent Supermarine Spitfire, designed by Reginald J. Mitchell, first flew on March 5th, 1936 and become operational in August 1938. Nineteen different Marks and 52 variations of Spitfire’s were produced between 1936 and 1948, totalling 22,759 (of which 2,408 were Seafires). The Supermarine Spitfire Mk. […]

A state of confusion – Mk IX or Mk XVI?

A State of Confusion – MK IX OR MK XVI? Article by Phil Scallan. The Spitfire Mk XVI and why was SAAF 5518/TE213, an MK IX HFIX, often mistaken for one? The late production MK IX Spitfires are externally very similar to the MK XVI Spitfire. Still, those late production MK IX’s fitted with the […]

Our Motivation, Our Heritage

The SAAF, the Museum and our Heritage. Swartkop in the late 1940s: Spitfires and Harvards in the foreground, with Dakotas and then Venturas behind them. Note how bare the landscape was. Heritage is a word which has many strings to its bow. Its meanings include birthright, inheritance, patrimony, bequest & estate, endowment, objectives & qualities, […]