85 Combat Flying School SAAF

85 Combat Flying School is a unit of the South African Air Force. It is currently a jet flight-training and combat operations school. The school also has a wartime reserve role, although it has publicly been stated that the school will not be used operationally unless a very urgent need arises.

  • Motto: Detrimento Sumus (Destruction is our Business)
  • First formed: 1 August 1972 (at AFB Pietersburg)
  • Historic aircraft flown: Mirage IIIEZ/DZ/D2Z, Canadair Sabre Mk.6, Atlas Impala Mk.I/II.
  • Current aircraft flown: BAE Hawk Mk.120
  • Current base: AFB Makhado, Louis Trichardt

The School was recently relocated to AFB Makhado from AFB Hoedspruit into a new purpose built facility with state-of-the-art computer-aided flight training instruments. The school shares this facility with the SAAF Gripen community.

During October 2007 there were several pilots that went solo on the Hawk Mk.120.

The squadron also participated in the annual SANDF force preparation exercises and fired live cannon rounds and dropped live bombs. They also had a successful weapons deployment exercise to AFB Bloemspruit in 2007.

South African Air Force
Active Squadrons
  • 2
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 19
  • 21
  • 22
  • 28
  • 35
  • 41
  • 44
  • 60
Training and Development Units
  • 68 Air School
  • 80 Air Navigation School
  • 85 Combat Flying School
  • 87 Helicopter Flying School
  • Central Flying School
  • Test Flight and Development Centre
  • South African Air Force College
  • SAAF Museum Historic Flight
Territorial Reserve Squadrons
  • 101
  • 102
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 110
  • 111
Disbanded Squadrons
  • 1
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 14
  • 18
  • 20
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 40
  • 42
  • 43
  • 50
  • 103
  • 109
  • 112
  • 114
  • 120
  • 86 Multi-Engine Flying School
  • 88 Maritime Training School
  • 89 Combat Flying School
WW2 Wings of the SAAF
  • 2
  • 3
  • 5
  • 7
Bases
  • AFB Bloemspruit
  • AFB Durban
  • AFB Hoedspruit
  • AFB Langebaanweg
  • AFB Makhado
  • AFB Overberg
  • AFB Swartkop
  • AFB Waterkloof
  • AFB Ysterplaat
  • AFS Port Elizabeth
Related
  • History of the South African Air Force
  • South African Air Force Museum
  • South African Air Force Memorial
  • Military history of South Africa
  • List of current and historical SAAF aircraft
  • List of obsolete weapon systems of the South African Air Force
  • SAAF squadron identification codes
  • Official Website: www.af.mil.za
  • Unofficial Website: www.saairforce.co.za

Famous quotes containing the words combat, flying and/or school:

    “In any combat between a rogue and a fool the sympathy of mankind is always with the rogue.”
    —H.L. (Henry Lewis)

    “The sea was wet as wet could be,
    The sands were dry as dry.
    You could not see a cloud, because
    No cloud was in the sky:
    No birds were flying overhead—
    There were no birds to fly.”
    —Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)

    “[How] the young . . . can grow from the primitive to the civilized, from emotional anarchy to the disciplined freedom of maturity without losing the joy of spontaneity and the peace of self-honesty is a problem of education that no school and no culture have ever solved.”
    —Leontine Young (20th century)