History
The GAF was founded in 1959 with direction from Indian and Israeli officers. Later that year a headquarters was established in Accra under the command of an Indian air commodore. In 1960 Royal Air Force personnel took up the task of training the newly established Ghana Air Force and in 1961 they were joined by a small group of Royal Canadian Air Force personnel. In September 1961 as part of President Kwame Nkrumah's Africanization program, the Royal Air Force commander was replaced by a Ghanaian Air Commodore, with the first being J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford. Although born in the U.K. he was of Ghanaian descent and became Africa's first 'Chief of the Air Staff' south of the Sahara.
The Ghana Air Force was the first sub-Saharan air force, and for a time the largest. It was equipped with a squadron of Chipmunk trainers, and squadrons of Beavers, Otters and Caribou transport aircraft. In addition a DH125 jet was bought for Kwame Nkrumah, Hughes helicopters were bought for mosquito spraying plus DH Doves and Herons. Whirlwind helicopters and a squadron of MB 326 ground attack/trainer jets were also purchased.
In 1962 the national school of gliding was set up by Hanna Reitsch, who was once Adolf Hitler's top personal pilot. Under the command of Air Commodore de Graft-Hayford, she served as director, operations instructor and trainer of the school. She also acted as the personal pilot of Kwame Nkrumah from 1962-1966.
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