Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF)

First formed in 1935 and then re-established in 1947.

• General Topics
• History
• Organisations
• Aircraft Used
• Markings
• Facilities
• Miscellaneous

General Topics

History

'Rhodesian Air Force, A Brief History 1947-1980'
by W. A. Brent
Published by Freeworld Publications, South Africa, 1987 ISBN: 0 620 11805 9
* Concise history of the RhAF, with some aircraft and unit details.

'Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from The Air In Rhodesia 1965-1980' [Order this book from UK]
by Roy Nesbit & Dudley Cowdery with Andrew Thomas
Published by Grub Street, UK, 1998 ISBN: 1 902304 05 5
* Detailed history of the 1965-1980 period.

'A Pride of Eagles - The Definitive History of the Rhodesian Air Force 1920-80' [Order this book from UK]
by Beryl Salt
Published by Covos-Day Books, South Africa, March 2001 ISBN: 1 91987 429 1(pb)/ 0 62023 759 7(hb)
* 450 pages covering Rhodesian military aviation in great detail.

Organisations

Orders of Battle:
'Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from The Air In Rhodesia 1965-1980' includes a few orders of battle, but not many.

Squadron Histories:
None published.

Some limited information on squadron histories is also included in 'Rhodesian Air Force, A Brief History 1947-1980' (see above).

Support Units:
None published.

Aircraft Used

Aircraft Types Used:
'Canberra in Southern Africa Service (African Aviation Series No.3)'
by Michael Hamence & Winston Brent
Published by Freeworld Publications, South Africa, 2002 ISBN: 0 9583880 4 0
* Detailed history of the Canberra in Rhodesian AF and SAAF service.

Some limited information on aircraft types used is included in 'Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from The Air In Rhodesia 1965-1980' (see above).

Aircraft Serial Numbers:
The changes in aircraft serial numbering systems are well explained in 'Rhodesian Air Force, A Brief History 1947-1980'.

'African Military Aviation' [Order this book from USA]
by Winston A. Brent
Published by Freeworld Publications, RSA, 1994 ISBN: 0-9583880-1-6
* Post 1945 only, but includes a good section on the Rhodesian Air Force/Air Force of Zimbabwe serials.

Additional serial information is included in 'Rhodesian Air Force, A Brief History 1947-1980' and 'Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from The Air In Rhodesia 1965-1980'

Ground Instructional/Maintenance Serials:
Numbering system not known.

Individual Aircraft Histories:
The three sources listed under Aircraft Serial Numbers include one-line individual aircraft histories.

Current Disposition:
Not applicable.

Accidents & Operational Losses:
Both 'Rhodesian Air Force, A Brief History 1947-1980' and 'Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from The Air In Rhodesia 1965-1980' listed above include a list of aircraft losses - although they don't always agree with each other on the details.

Markings

Camouflage and Markings:
No source known.

Unit Insignia:
The back cover of 'Rhodesian Air Force, A Brief History 1947-1980' features drawings of the official unit insignia.

Unit codes:
Not used.

Facilities

Overseas Air Bases:
No source known.

Miscellaneous

Aces:
Not applicable.

Leading Personalities:
No biographies/autobiographies known.

Aerobatic Teams:
No source known.

The RhAF became the AFZ in 1980.

General Topics

History

'Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from The Air In Rhodesia 1965-1980', listed above, includes a chapter on the AFZ up until 1998.

Organisations

Orders of Battle:
'Britain's Rebel Air Force: The War from The Air In Rhodesia 1965-1980' includes two orders of battle for the AFZ.

Aircraft Used

Current Disposition:
'World Air Forces Directory 2002/03'
by Ian Carroll
Published by Mach III Plus, July 2002 ISBN: 1 898129 75 4
* Listing of current types by serial, plus order of battle.

Monthly updates to the above title are given in various spotters magazines.

Markings

Facilities

Miscellaneous

No source known.