7 Squadron
	Motto:	Caelorum Domini
	Meaning:	Lords of the skies

No. 7 Squadron can boast of being the first South African unit to serve outside Africa in World War II, albeit only briefly and, strictly speaking, illegally.

It has seen hard times and known bitter  its career, which stretches back (with some interruptions) to January 12,1942, when it was formed at Swartkop air station as a fighter unit and equipped with Harvards and Mohawks. On April 2,1942, it passed the Mohawks on to No. 6 Squadron before embarkation for Egypt, where it arrived in May and converted to Hurricane Mk Is which, events were soon to show, were no improvement. By June 1942 the bulk of the squadron was at Haifa in Palestine for patrol duties. This excursion did not last long, since at this time South African forces were limited to service in Africa only and before the month was out it had been quietly pulled back to Egypt. On July 2,1942, it joined No. 243 Wing at Landing-Ground 154 in the Western Desert, but the limitations of its aged Hurricane  Mk Is confined its pilots to meteorological and local-defence flights. Soon, however, the squadron entered a more active phase when it became the only SAAF squadron in the new No. 7 Wing SAAF, based at LG 89, and the Squadron's first patrol was flown by  four Hurricanes on July 4.

The following day one flight of No. 7 Squadron was re-equipped with Hurricane Mk IIBs and asked to act as top cover for the  Mk Is in the fighter-bomber operations. The squadron's first brush with Bf-109s took place soon afterwards, on July 11, but its  activities until September 1942 have grown shadowy because part of its records have been lost. By that month, however, No. 7 Squadron was taking part in fighter-bomber operations and also providing top cover for RAF Hurricanes, including the tank-busters of No. 6 Squadron. Now it fell on hard times. On September 3 its pilots went  through its first recorded major combat incident when Bf-1 09s `bounced' them. Thanks to the pilot's inexperience and poor equipment, it was a savage defeat, the Germans shooting down four Hurricanes with - out suffering any losses. Three days later the Germans again pounced, shooting down five of six aircraft that the squadron  had  sent on a mission and killing the squadron commander.

On September 9 the remnants of No. 7 Squadron were withdrawn and by the end of the month had begun converting to the Hurricane Mk IID `tank-buster' and receiving specialized training in the use of the IID's two 40mm cannon. In October it was paired with No. 6 Squadron RAF as the Desert Air Force's `Flying Can-openers' of No. 211 Group, and on the night of the great El Alamein barrage (October23 and 24,1942) the South Africans flew interdiction sorties behind enemy lines. These were continued after dawn, and several vehicles were knocked out by the potent 40mm cannon. Now Rommel's Afrikakorps was on the retreat, and the squadron harried the withdrawing Germans on the long road that ended in final capitulation in Tunisia, suffering losses from flak and  fighters. In January 1943 the squadron moved to Benima, flying Hurricane Mk II Cs and a few Spitfire Mk Vs on shipping and coastal  reconnaissance patrols for several months before returning to the front lines with new Hurricanes.The war in Africa ended, the squadron was attached to No. 212 Group, (Air Defence Eastern Mediterranean), and in July 1943 received new Spitfire Mk Vs, with which it flew convoy escorts and fighter-interception sorties.  

But great and terrible things awaited No. 7 Squadron. On September 10 that year six of its pilots and a Dakota with ground staff were suddenly ordered to Cyprus to set up an advanced base. From there, it transpired, they and their six  Spitfire Mk Vs were to supply the total air cover at the start of the ill-fated British move into the Dodecanese Islands. On September 13 they landed on the island of Kos, where they were joined next day by two more of the squadron's Spitfires. Dawn-standing patrols began on September 15, while more of the squadron's men and equipment moved to Cyprus. A few days later the Kos detachment made its first interception, and soon afterwards the squadron found itself involved in  evermore furious fighting, scoring several victories but also suffering losses; soon the OC No. 7 Squadron, Major Corrie van Vliet, found himself becoming Senior Air Officer on Kos after the previous incumbent, and RAF group-captain, was injured. Late in September, Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron RAF (the legendary A. G. `Sailor' Malan's old unit) arrived as reinforcement. But the Luftwaffe onslaughts on Kos had begun to tell; the primitive airfields had been badly bombed and by October 1 there was only one serviceable Spitfire in all of No. 7 Squadron.

On October 3 German landing operations started and the grounded SAAF personnel had to make their escape by whatever means could be found. Lieutenant Cecil Golding - formerly of No.1 Squadron SAAF - crossed to Turkey in a tiny native coracle. The squadron reassembled in North Africa and counted the cost of its brief but bloody excursion. Six officers had been killed and 15 other ranks were missing; on the other hand 12 enemy aircraft had been shot down. The squadron remained in Egypt for a few months, and then in April 1944, equipped with Spitfire Mk lXs, rejoined No. 7 Wing in Italy. Here it took part in fighter-bomber operations and also flew armed reconnaissance (with 30-gallon drop tanks) and bomber escorts (with 90-gallon drop tanks). By the end of 1944 the squadron had flown 808 missions - a total of 4000 sorties - for the loss of 17 pilots (some of whom, however, managed to make their way back). Among the latter was the commanding officer, Major Bob Kershaw, the hero of the Diredawa rescue while a pilot in No. 3 Squadron in Abyssinia. At the end of the war in Europe the squadron embarked for the Far East, where the Japanese were still resisting, but the fighting there ended before it arrived and it was turned back at Ceylon.

No.7 Squadron arrived in South Africa on September 10,1945, and was promptly disbanded. In August 1951 it was re-formed at Cape Town's Ysterplaat air station, flying Harvards, but was disbanded again in 1959. On August 1,1961, it was re-formed for the second time at Youngsfield, on Cape Town's outskirts, and again equipped with Harvards. On October 31, 1969 it moved to Ysterplaat (which was an air force base by now), receiving its squadron colours on October 30, 1967. It is classed as a Citizen Force squadron, its commanding officer and some of its pilots being regulars and the others part-time. In 1977 the squadron received Impala Mk Is, and moved to D.F. Malan Airport in 1978.

The sqdn later moved AFB Langebaanweg and was disbanded in November 1992. All the 'Impala' MkIs & MkIIs were moved to either 8 sqdn or 85 CFS.

• Info from Aircraft of the SAAF, H. Potgieter, W. Steenkamp
• Additional A. Dyason.