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01 AT-6 Harvard

02 The Eagles of Zwartkop

03 Canberra

04 Eye in the Sky

05 African Air Forces

06 Chopper Pilot

07 Passion for Flight

08 2 Squadron in Korea

09 Rhodesian Air Force

10 Serve to Save

11 Springbok Fighter Victory 1

12 The men who went to Warsaw

13 85 Years of the SAAF

14 Sweeping circles in the sky

15 Douglas C-47 Dakota in SAAF

16 Helicopters of the SAAF

17 17 Squadron

18 Zero Error Margin

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20 Springbok Fighter Victory 2

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22 Silver Falcons - 40 Years

23 Cheetah

24 Springbok Fighter Victory 3

25 Springbok Fighter Victory 4

26 Springbok Fighter Victory 5

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African Aviation Series

The African Aviation Series of books cover some major aspects of African Aviation History. The table below lists all of the publications in the series. Unfortunately some are sold out but may well be found in aviation shops, at air show book stalls and bookstores specialising in hard-to-find and out-of-print books. Searching for the ISBN numbers on the Internet may well prove successful in finding an out-of-print copy available for sale.

Click on the title in the left menu to view the cover and information of the book. Or, if you have a high speed Internet connection click here to go to the page that lists all the books with comments and images of their covers.

Below is the entire list with comments for each of the African Aviation Series books
Clicking on the title will open a new page with the book cover and information about the book

No Title Author/s Comments ISBN

1 AT-6 HARVARD In South African Service Dave Becker & Winston Brent In 1994 a seed was sown, to create an African Aviation Series, to cover the various facets of aviation in Africa. Book 1, AT-6 Harvard in South African Service was the guinea-pig, and this series has now grown to numerous volumes, with many still to be published. This book (very much a pictorial) covers the history of the Harvard in South African Air Force service as well as in Southern Rhodesia Air Force service. It is A4, with 106 pages and includes 8 pages of colour. A detailed individual history of each Harvard listed is included. ISBN 0958388024

2 THE EAGLES OF ZWARTKOP Dave Becker In 1996 the OC of Swartkop commissioned the publishing of this publication to celebrate South Africa’s first military air base. It covers the history of Swartkop (previously known as Zwartkop) in detail, and includes many photographs of visitors to the base, as well as the different types of aircraft flown from that base. It is A4, with 111 pages and only B&W photographs. ISBN 0958388032

3 CANBERRA in Southern Africa Service Michael Hamence & Winston Brent The book is in two parts – the first 50 pages covers the history of the Canberra in Rhodesian Air Force service and the next 39 pages covers the history of the South African Air Force Canberras that served with 12 Squadron. It reveals for the first time South Africa’s interest to investigate and evaluate before purchase of 8 British Handley Page Victor “V” bombers. It is A4, with 96 pages and 7 colour pages and plenty of B & W photographs. ISBN 0958388040

4 EYE IN THE SKY – A brief history of the South African Police Service Air Wing Herman Bosman Herman Bosman is a serving officer of the SA Police Service with a keen interest in the Air Wing of that service. He was fortunate to have access to their records and personnel and thus could write with an insight that any other author would have lacked. He was fortunate to have access to the private photograph collections of many of the air crew and thus many photographs are being shown for the first time. He covers the early days in South West Africa/Namibia before the SA Defence Force took charge, the Police support to the Rhodesian forces and then their return to civilian duties. It is A4, with 148 pages and 6 colour pages. ISBN 0958388059

5 AFRICAN AIR FORCES Winston Brent At the time of publication in 1999, never before had such a comprehensive publication been compiled which gave the reader in-depth detail of the aircraft flown by the many air forces – large and small – in Africa. It lists all air forces and air arms in Africa with their respective inventory and it is in colour throughout. Many of the photographs published come from the private collections of visitors passing through Africa states and thus the owners in the majority of instances prefer to not have their names listed. It is A4, with 216 pages with plenty of colour photographs. ISBN 0958388067

6 CHOPPER PILOT – The adventures and experiences of Monster Wilkins Monster Wilkins At the time of publication in 2000, the author, Monster Wilkins had the most flying hours on Alouette IIIs, his favourite helicopter to pilot. He writes in his – from the cockpit style – and gives in-depth detail of his exploits as a helicopter pilot, from South Africa, to Angola, to Rhodesia and back to South Africa to being OC of the Ciskei Air Wing and OC of AFB Durban. During his stint in the United States of America as Air Attache he was a regular speaker at functions. It is A4, with 152 pages and 12 colour pages. This book was sold out within 6 months of publication and was reprinted. ISBN 0958388075

7 PASSION FOR FLIGHT – Braving the hazards of aviation in war and peace Peter Bagshawe Peter Bagshawe chose 14 South African aviators who have distinguished themselves in various fields of aviation in both war and peace. He has interviewed them and then created a pen-picture of each, with photographs of each individual. It is A4, with 180 pages and no colour photographs, but plenty of B & W. ISBN 0958388083

8 2 SQUADRON IN KOREA – 1950 - 1953 Winston Brent This book was published in 2001 to commemorate South Africa’s entrance into the Korean War in south east Asia 50 years ago. South Africa was requested by the United Nations to send a squadron of the South African Air Force, and we obliged by sending 2 Squadron, which was equipped with North America Mustangs in Korea. During the closing stages of the war, this same squadron converted on to the Sabre. The author has prepared brief articles on each member killed in service, each aircraft lost and those who were unfortunate to become prisoners of war, and had to withstand the horrible and hostile conditions in North Korea. It is A4 with 160 pages and 11 pages of colour photographs and side drawings of the Mustang and Sabres flown. It was published in Hard and Soft cover. ISBN 0958388091

9 RHODESIAN AIR FORCE – The Sanctions Busters Winston Brent This book records many of the Sanctions Busting methods used by the Rhodesian Air Force in acquiring aircraft and equipment to maintain the high level of efficiency for which they were known. The author gives in-depth accounts of how some aircraft were obtained. He gives details of all the known aircraft which were flown and includes a comprehensive Roll of Honour. It is A4 with 192 pages and 12 pages in colour and plenty of B & W photographs. It was published in Hard cover and Soft cover. ISBN 0958438811

10 SERVE TO SAVE – The South African Air Force at Sea Guy Ellis This is the only known comprehensive book on this “Cinderella” branch of the South African Air Force. The need for “Crash Boats” was identified early in WW2, and without these hardy crews who feared no bad weather conditions, many a life of a downed airman or crew of a torpedoed ship would have been lost. It is A4 with 160 pages and 8 pages of colour and side drawings. Soft and Hard cover copies were printed. ISBN 0-958-4388-3-8

11 SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY – Volume 1 - East Africa Michael Schoeman This is a must for the serious and not-so-serious reader of SAAF history, or anybody who would like to know more about who served in the fighter squadrons of WW2. He writes in detail about the many battles fought by the SAAF in East Africa in aircraft not exactly suitable for aerial combat, such as the Gloster Gladiator, Gloster Gauntlet and early Hawker Hurricane. He covers the battles fought by well-known personalities such as SV van B Theron and Piggy Boyle, just to name a few. One appendix lists the serials of aircraft lost or damaged with their pilots and another appendix lists the names and service details of 1376 SAAF fighter pilots. There are 225 B&W photos and 7 maps. ISBN 0958438854

12 THE MEN WHO WENT TO WARSAW Lawrence Isemonger This book records the flights undertaken by 31 & 34 Squadrons of the SAAF, in supplying relief in the form of food, medicines and supplies to the Polish citizens/resistance movement in the beleaguered city of Warsaw. The Poles were encircled by the German Nazis on the one side and Stalin’s Russian Army on the other. The crews in their Liberators flew a 2000 km return flight from Italy without fighter escort for most of the mission. ISBN 0958438846

13 85 YEARS OF South African Air Force Winston Brent The author took on the onerous task of compiling in-depth details of the 8000-odd aircraft that have seen service in the South African Air Force between 1920 and 2005. He introduces them more or less in the order which they were taken into service and has listed serials, construction numbers, delivery dates and fates where known. In addition he has 32 pages of colour side drawings for the modeller, plenty of B & W photographs of each individual type and a Roll of Honour that covers 56 pages, with details of rank, initials, surname, aircraft type and serial, and squadron where known. For the first time he lists the details of RAF air crew that lost their lives in South Africa during WW2 while they were here for training. It is A4 with 445 pages. Hard and Soft cover copies were printed. ISBN 0958438897

14 SWEEPING CIRCLES IN THE SKY Tom Cockbain Better known as Maj-Gen. TGE Cockbain (Retired), this is a must for current and ex-SAAF members! The first five chapters cover his personal biography and the next eleven chapters cover the history of the postwar SAAF radar system Tom Cockbain is widely regarded as the “father” of the SAAF postwar radar system and he covers its development in detail with many B&W & colour photos that have never been published before. The development of Devon, Mariepskop, Ellisras and Klippan is covered in his easy-to-read, writing style. It is A4 with 124 pages and 11 pages of colour. Hard and Soft cover copies were printed. ISBN 0958438862

15 Douglas C-47 Dakota in SAAF Service A Pictorial History 1943-2010 Winston Brent ISBN 9780980279740

16 Helicopters of the SAAF Winston Brent ISBN

17 17 SQUADRON - A Pictorial History of Helicopter Operations: 1957-2003 Brig-Gen. Crow Stannard Crow took on the onerous task of compiling this excellent pictorial history. He has had excellent support from previous OCs and many chopper crews who have made their photo collections available to him. The book is in duo-tone. ISBN 0958438870

18 ZERO ERROR MARGIN - Airshow Display Flying Analysed Des Barker This book addresses the dynamics of display and demonstration safety, in particular, the display pilot’s physiological deficiencies and the factors affecting the safe presentation of a display/demonstration flight with the aim of bringing practice and theory together to convey the hazards inherent in display flying. It is A4 with 328 pages. ISBN 0958438889

19

20 SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY – Volume 2 - North Africa Michael Schoeman In this volume the author covers the North African – Western Desert campaign from Egypt to Tobruk, including the fall of Tobruk and the battle for El Alamein. ISBN 9780980279767

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22 SILVER FALCONS - 40 Years Winston Brent The year 2007 was the 40th anniversary of the Silver Falcons, and it was only fitting to bring out this publication to commemorate the occasion. The author requested each of the surviving leaders to contribute a short synopsis covering his term as leader and many responded unselfishly. They highlighted their high points and low points during their term. As many photographs of each team that could be located has been included together with a listing of the members of each team and a listing of the displays in which they participated. This book covers Team 1 to Team 65, Member 1 to Member 89 and Display 1 to Display 524. It is A4 with 173 pages with plenty of Colour and B & W photographs. For the modeller there are 8 pages of side drawings. It is available in Hard cover and Soft cover. The Hard cover is a limited edition of 200 numbered copies, with the first numbers 1 – 89 being allocated to the Team members. ISBN 9780980279702

23 CHEETAH - Guardians of the Nation Winston Brent In 1981 the SAAF produced a Staff Requirement to replace the Mirage IIIs and F1s. From this requirement the Cheetah was born. The author covers the initial development of this Project, right through to the arrival of the Cheetah C. This book was published to coincide with the final withdrawal of all the Cheetahs on 2 April 2008. It is A4 with 194 pages and plenty of Colour and B & W photographs. For the modeller there are 5 pages of side drawings. It is available in Hard cover and Soft cover. The Hard cover is a limited edition of 200 numbered copies, with the first numbers 1 – 80 being allocated to the first members who qualified on Cheetahs. ISBN 9780980279719

24 SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY - Volume 3 Michael Schoeman ISBN

25 SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY - Volume 4 Michael Schoeman ISBN

26 SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY - Volume 5 Michael Schoeman ISBN

No	Title	Author/s	Comments	ISBN
1	AT-6 HARVARD In South African Service	Dave Becker & Winston Brent	In 1994 a seed was sown, to create an African Aviation Series, to cover the various facets of aviation in Africa. Book 1, AT-6 Harvard in South African Service was the guinea-pig, and this series has now grown to numerous volumes, with many still to be published. This book (very much a pictorial) covers the history of the Harvard in South African Air Force service as well as in Southern Rhodesia Air Force service. It is A4, with 106 pages and includes 8 pages of colour. A detailed individual history of each Harvard listed is included.	ISBN 0958388024
2	THE EAGLES OF ZWARTKOP	Dave Becker	In 1996 the OC of Swartkop commissioned the publishing of this publication to celebrate South Africa’s first military air base. It covers the history of Swartkop (previously known as Zwartkop) in detail, and includes many photographs of visitors to the base, as well as the different types of aircraft flown from that base. It is A4, with 111 pages and only B&W photographs.	ISBN 0958388032
3	CANBERRA in Southern Africa Service	Michael Hamence & Winston Brent	The book is in two parts – the first 50 pages covers the history of the Canberra in Rhodesian Air Force service and the next 39 pages covers the history of the South African Air Force Canberras that served with 12 Squadron. It reveals for the first time South Africa’s interest to investigate and evaluate before purchase of 8 British Handley Page Victor “V” bombers. It is A4, with 96 pages and 7 colour pages and plenty of B & W photographs.	ISBN 0958388040
4	EYE IN THE SKY – A brief history of the South African Police Service Air Wing	Herman Bosman	Herman Bosman is a serving officer of the SA Police Service with a keen interest in the Air Wing of that service. He was fortunate to have access to their records and personnel and thus could write with an insight that any other author would have lacked. He was fortunate to have access to the private photograph collections of many of the air crew and thus many photographs are being shown for the first time. He covers the early days in South West Africa/Namibia before the SA Defence Force took charge, the Police support to the Rhodesian forces and then their return to civilian duties. It is A4, with 148 pages and 6 colour pages.	ISBN 0958388059
5	AFRICAN AIR FORCES	Winston Brent	At the time of publication in 1999, never before had such a comprehensive publication been compiled which gave the reader in-depth detail of the aircraft flown by the many air forces – large and small – in Africa. It lists all air forces and air arms in Africa with their respective inventory and it is in colour throughout. Many of the photographs published come from the private collections of visitors passing through Africa states and thus the owners in the majority of instances prefer to not have their names listed. It is A4, with 216 pages with plenty of colour photographs.	ISBN 0958388067
6	CHOPPER PILOT – The adventures and experiences of Monster Wilkins	Monster Wilkins	At the time of publication in 2000, the author, Monster Wilkins had the most flying hours on Alouette IIIs, his favourite helicopter to pilot. He writes in his – from the cockpit style – and gives in-depth detail of his exploits as a helicopter pilot, from South Africa, to Angola, to Rhodesia and back to South Africa to being OC of the Ciskei Air Wing and OC of AFB Durban. During his stint in the United States of America as Air Attache he was a regular speaker at functions. It is A4, with 152 pages and 12 colour pages. This book was sold out within 6 months of publication and was reprinted.	ISBN 0958388075
7	PASSION FOR FLIGHT – Braving the hazards of aviation in war and peace	Peter Bagshawe	Peter Bagshawe chose 14 South African aviators who have distinguished themselves in various fields of aviation in both war and peace. He has interviewed them and then created a pen-picture of each, with photographs of each individual. It is A4, with 180 pages and no colour photographs, but plenty of B & W.	ISBN 0958388083
8	2 SQUADRON IN KOREA – 1950 - 1953	Winston Brent	This book was published in 2001 to commemorate South Africa’s entrance into the Korean War in south east Asia 50 years ago. South Africa was requested by the United Nations to send a squadron of the South African Air Force, and we obliged by sending 2 Squadron, which was equipped with North America Mustangs in Korea. During the closing stages of the war, this same squadron converted on to the Sabre. The author has prepared brief articles on each member killed in service, each aircraft lost and those who were unfortunate to become prisoners of war, and had to withstand the horrible and hostile conditions in North Korea. It is A4 with 160 pages and 11 pages of colour photographs and side drawings of the Mustang and Sabres flown. It was published in Hard and Soft cover.	ISBN 0958388091
9	RHODESIAN AIR FORCE – The Sanctions Busters	Winston Brent	This book records many of the Sanctions Busting methods used by the Rhodesian Air Force in acquiring aircraft and equipment to maintain the high level of efficiency for which they were known. The author gives in-depth accounts of how some aircraft were obtained. He gives details of all the known aircraft which were flown and includes a comprehensive Roll of Honour. It is A4 with 192 pages and 12 pages in colour and plenty of B & W photographs. It was published in Hard cover and Soft cover.	ISBN 0958438811
10	SERVE TO SAVE – The South African Air Force at Sea	Guy Ellis	This is the only known comprehensive book on this “Cinderella” branch of the South African Air Force. The need for “Crash Boats” was identified early in WW2, and without these hardy crews who feared no bad weather conditions, many a life of a downed airman or crew of a torpedoed ship would have been lost. It is A4 with 160 pages and 8 pages of colour and side drawings. Soft and Hard cover copies were printed.	ISBN 0-958-4388-3-8
11	SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY – Volume 1 - East Africa	Michael Schoeman	This is a must for the serious and not-so-serious reader of SAAF history, or anybody who would like to know more about who served in the fighter squadrons of WW2. He writes in detail about the many battles fought by the SAAF in East Africa in aircraft not exactly suitable for aerial combat, such as the Gloster Gladiator, Gloster Gauntlet and early Hawker Hurricane. He covers the battles fought by well-known personalities such as SV van B Theron and Piggy Boyle, just to name a few. One appendix lists the serials of aircraft lost or damaged with their pilots and another appendix lists the names and service details of 1376 SAAF fighter pilots. There are 225 B&W photos and 7 maps.	ISBN 0958438854
12	THE MEN WHO WENT TO WARSAW	Lawrence Isemonger	This book records the flights undertaken by 31 & 34 Squadrons of the SAAF, in supplying relief in the form of food, medicines and supplies to the Polish citizens/resistance movement in the beleaguered city of Warsaw. The Poles were encircled by the German Nazis on the one side and Stalin’s Russian Army on the other. The crews in their Liberators flew a 2000 km return flight from Italy without fighter escort for most of the mission.	ISBN 0958438846
13	85 YEARS OF South African Air Force	Winston Brent	The author took on the onerous task of compiling in-depth details of the 8000-odd aircraft that have seen service in the South African Air Force between 1920 and 2005. He introduces them more or less in the order which they were taken into service and has listed serials, construction numbers, delivery dates and fates where known. In addition he has 32 pages of colour side drawings for the modeller, plenty of B & W photographs of each individual type and a Roll of Honour that covers 56 pages, with details of rank, initials, surname, aircraft type and serial, and squadron where known. For the first time he lists the details of RAF air crew that lost their lives in South Africa during WW2 while they were here for training. It is A4 with 445 pages. Hard and Soft cover copies were printed.	ISBN 0958438897
14	SWEEPING CIRCLES IN THE SKY	Tom Cockbain	Better known as Maj-Gen. TGE Cockbain (Retired), this is a must for current and ex-SAAF members! The first five chapters cover his personal biography and the next eleven chapters cover the history of the postwar SAAF radar system Tom Cockbain is widely regarded as the “father” of the SAAF postwar radar system and he covers its development in detail with many B&W & colour photos that have never been published before. The development of Devon, Mariepskop, Ellisras and Klippan is covered in his easy-to-read, writing style. It is A4 with 124 pages and 11 pages of colour. Hard and Soft cover copies were printed.	ISBN 0958438862
15	Douglas C-47 Dakota in SAAF Service A Pictorial History 1943-2010	Winston Brent		ISBN 9780980279740
16	Helicopters of the SAAF	Winston Brent		ISBN
17	17 SQUADRON - A Pictorial History of Helicopter Operations: 1957-2003	Brig-Gen. Crow Stannard	Crow took on the onerous task of compiling this excellent pictorial history. He has had excellent support from previous OCs and many chopper crews who have made their photo collections available to him. The book is in duo-tone.	ISBN 0958438870
18	ZERO ERROR MARGIN - Airshow Display Flying Analysed	Des Barker	This book addresses the dynamics of display and demonstration safety, in particular, the display pilot’s physiological deficiencies and the factors affecting the safe presentation of a display/demonstration flight with the aim of bringing practice and theory together to convey the hazards inherent in display flying. It is A4 with 328 pages.	ISBN 0958438889
19
20	SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY – Volume 2 - North Africa	Michael Schoeman	In this volume the author covers the North African – Western Desert campaign from Egypt to Tobruk, including the fall of Tobruk and the battle for El Alamein.	ISBN 9780980279767
21
22	SILVER FALCONS - 40 Years	Winston Brent	The year 2007 was the 40th anniversary of the Silver Falcons, and it was only fitting to bring out this publication to commemorate the occasion. The author requested each of the surviving leaders to contribute a short synopsis covering his term as leader and many responded unselfishly. They highlighted their high points and low points during their term. As many photographs of each team that could be located has been included together with a listing of the members of each team and a listing of the displays in which they participated. This book covers Team 1 to Team 65, Member 1 to Member 89 and Display 1 to Display 524. It is A4 with 173 pages with plenty of Colour and B & W photographs. For the modeller there are 8 pages of side drawings. It is available in Hard cover and Soft cover. The Hard cover is a limited edition of 200 numbered copies, with the first numbers 1 – 89 being allocated to the Team members.	ISBN 9780980279702
23	CHEETAH - Guardians of the Nation	Winston Brent	In 1981 the SAAF produced a Staff Requirement to replace the Mirage IIIs and F1s. From this requirement the Cheetah was born. The author covers the initial development of this Project, right through to the arrival of the Cheetah C. This book was published to coincide with the final withdrawal of all the Cheetahs on 2 April 2008. It is A4 with 194 pages and plenty of Colour and B & W photographs. For the modeller there are 5 pages of side drawings. It is available in Hard cover and Soft cover. The Hard cover is a limited edition of 200 numbered copies, with the first numbers 1 – 80 being allocated to the first members who qualified on Cheetahs.	ISBN 9780980279719
24	SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY - Volume 3	Michael Schoeman		ISBN
25	SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY - Volume 4	Michael Schoeman		ISBN
26	SPRINGBOK FIGHTER VICTORY - Volume 5	Michael Schoeman		ISBN