air observation wing
 

Eddie T lives in an Old Age Home on the Natal South Coast. He has been retired since the 80s, having been an Air Traffic Controller at various SA airports for over 20 years. Prior to that he was a Captain in the Natal Field Artillery and had been part of a rather short-lived experiment to train Artillery Officers how to fly so that they could become effective air observers for the artillery. According to Eddie , who has a remarkably clear memory, the first training course was held at 42 Sqn. starting in 1952. Apart from Eddie, there were 3 ACF artillery officers ( one from 22 Field and 2 from the THA) and 1 PF who rose to the rank of Brigadier. At the end of the course they were awarded a special wing . As far as he knew , their course was the first and last.

Very, very nice I had heard of this but never seen the badge, Thank you very much.

Marc :) :)

Mike I always knew you would find one of these for me :), it will look great in my display!

I do believe these are also known as Army co-operation wings. There was a brass version which can be found in Cursons 2nd issue page 34, badge 7a.

Regards
Brian

Not being completely conversant with SA abbreviations can you please explain, ACF and PF.

Marc

Marc

ACF= Active Citizen Force (Territorials)

PF= Permanent Force

Regards
Brian

Many Thanks, I got the PF in the end, but 'Army Cadet Force' did not seem right.

Marc

Great find Mike, thank you for posting the picture. Andrew

Hi,
I have a group photo of SAEC post WWII that if I remember correctly one of the engineers is wearing one of these wings. Will check tonight and see if same. If same I will scan and post to this thread.

Steven

Here is the picture as promised. It is of the engineer wing at the Artillery and Armour School 1955. The enlarged picture shows the wing been worn.

Steven

Good pic, Steven. Thanks for posting. What is the name of the officer ?
Thanks
Mike

Hi Mike,
Scan must have cut off officers names :rolleyes:.

He is Lt. I Lemmer (officer instructor)

Steven

According to Eddie, Ivan Lemmer was the sole PF on the course. He subsequently rose to the rank of Brigadier.
Regards
Mike

Thanks Mike for the info on Ivan. Nice to see bits of a puzzle coming together.
Did a quick search on google for Ivan Lemmer and I see he made it all the way to Lt. General

Steven

Very interesting post. I knew about these wings but never knew if they were worn by pilots or observers. What relation (if any) are there between these wings and the army pilot wings with springbok in the centre? Does anyone know when the springbok type were worn and better still have photos of them being worn?

I would take it that the SA Army Air Reconnaissance wing (C 122 in Owens) with Springbok head would have been SADF period, never seen one worn on a uniform.

Brian