"To fly is heaven, but to hover is devine...."  - SAAF Chopper Boy, (anonymous)

Info from Aircraft of the SAAF - H. Potgieter, Ad Astra, additional A. Dyason.

Rivalry between the "Vlammies" (burning backside - referring to the afterburner section, all fast jet pilots are called "Vlammies" or "Vlangat" in the SAAF) and "Chopper Boys" have always been a characteristic of the SAAF's aviators - ever since fast jets and helicopters became part of the SAAF. In most cases this is rather a case of mutual respect for each other, since both perform an important function within the SAAF.

	19 Squadron
	Motto:	Fama Ex Factis.
	Meaning:	Fame from deeds.

The mother unit of the SAAF's Oryx pilots.

This squadron is the mother unit of all the SAAF's Oryx pilots - being responsible for all conversion training of the Oryx. This squadron was also responsible for testing and implementing the "Bambi" water bucket - a cone shaped water scoop, made of heavy duty canvas. Before the Oryx, this squadron was synonym with the Puma.

The squadron first appeared on the SAAF scene on September 1, 1939, as part of the so-called `Airways Wing' at Swartkop air station, which was equipped with hastily militarized Junkers Ju-52/3ms. The squadron lasted only a few months before being disbanded on December 1, and did not reappear on the scene until August 12, 1944, when No.227 Squadron RAF -which had had a SAAF detachment for some time - was renumbered and South Africanized at Biferno in Italy. The new squadron immediately commenced operations, flying BeaufighterVls on bombing and strafing attacks on German lines of communication in Greece and Yugoslavia. There was no lack of work on hand for No. 19 Squadron, which was eventually converted to Beaufighter Xs. Targets included trains, vehicles, radio-stations, barracks and oil-dumps; ships were also attacked on occasion, and No. 19 Squadron flew in the  anti-flak role for No. 16 Squadron's Beaufighters on several joint operations.

September 1944 saw the squadron introduced to the 60-lb rocket projectile, which it used to devastating effect in support of  Yugoslav partisans, even when the coming of winter reduced the number of sorties that could be flown. The squadron never quite shook off the after-effects of the peculiar way in which it was re-formed, and during all this time some British aircrew remained with it, so that some Beaufighters' two-man crews were all-British, while others were totally South African and still others an amicable mixture of the two. The squadron fought hard through to the last months of the war: in January 1945, for instance, it flew 90 sorties in spite of  persistent cloud cover and snow. The sort of tenacity with which the squadron pressed home its attacks can be seen in the records for February 24, 1945, when it attacked a 4 260-ton minelayer in Fiume harbour which had survived all previous attempts to sink it. Four of the squadron's Beaufighters, each armed with six 25-lb armour-piercing rockets, made a low-level approach, diving down a mountain-slope and then turning out sharply over the water. They scored numerous hits below the waterline and raced out to sea at extremely low level before the German flak could stop them, leaving the diehard minelayer sinking at last.

The busiest month of No. 19 Squadron's war was yet to come, however; in April 1945, with the war nearly over, its Beaufighters logged 836 hours in the air, hitting bridges, strong-points and even an E-boat base in the/course of 38 missions - a total of 263 sorties. Early May 1945 brought the end of hostilities in Europe, and No. 19 Squadron's comparatively brief but heroic wartime career came to an end when it was disbanded. It was not until the dawn  of the 1970s that the unit's honoured name was resurrected and granted to a new squadron formed from a flight of No. 17 Squadron and equipped with Pumas. The proud traditions of World War II have been maintained and members of the squadron have won several awards for gallantry. No. 19 Squadron's Pumas were as heavily engaged in the Namibian operational area as its Beaufighters were in Italy and Yugoslavia. A number of the squadron's members have received the Honorus Crux medal for bravery and or other awards.

With the cessation of hostilities in the Bush War, the squadron's Pumas were gradually replaced by the new modern Oryx. In '92 the squadron moved to the ultra-modern AFB Louis Trichardt (Makhado) in the far Limpopo Province. During 2004 the Sqdn moved to Hoedspruit.