The South African Air Force is the second-ranking arm of service. Established in 1920/21, it was a branch of the Army until the defence forces were reorganised in 1951. Its heraldry therefore owes more to Army customs than to those of the Royal Air Force, with which it co-operated closely during World War II.

Arm-of-Service Emblem
The official emblem of the SAAF is a golden fish eagle. It's displayed on the cap badge and, since 1994, on the aircraft marking.

Aircraft Markings

There have been six aircraft markings over the years. The first design (1921-28) was four concentric rings of blue (outer), yellow/gold, green, and red, representing the four provinces. From 1928 to 1951, there were three rings: blue (outer), white, and orange. The orange centre was replaced by an orange springbok in 1951. From 1957 to 1994, the springbok was gold, and it was depicted on a blue "Castle of Good Hope" shape background. From 1994 to 2003, the marking was a gold fish eagle on a blue "castle". The current design, dating from 2003, depicts the eagle within an engrailed frame on a blue roundel.

Cap Badges
The SAAF has had several cap badges. The first (1921-23) depicted wings across a crowned laurel wreath. The second (1923-59) had a flying eagle across the crowned wreath. Officers were given a different badge, depicting a displayed fish eagle, in 1951, and this eagle has been the SAAF cap badge for all ranks (except general officers) since 1959.

Colours

Squadron Colours were introduced in 1967. The design is sky blue (or steel blue), fringed with gold. There is a spray of protea flowers in each corner, and in the centre is the squadron's badge or arms above its number, surrounded by the battle honours on golden scrolls. The finial atop the staff is a golden eagle.

From 1988 to 1994, SAAF units also carried the short-lived National Colour, which was a ceremonial version of the then national flag, fringed in gold, with a golden protea finial on the staff.

Flags
Since 1940, the SAAF has had an ensign-type flag, in sky blue or, latterly steel blue, with the national flag in the canton and the SAAF aircraft marking in the fly. Because of the changes in national flag and aircraft marking, there have been seven different flags (plus an eighth which was authorised but never used). You'll find a detailed discussion and illustrations on the Flags of the World website.

Helmet Flash
From 1923 until about 1942, the SAAF wore a sky blue cloth flash on the helmet of its service dress uniform. This formed part of a whole system of unit and branch flashes worn throughout the defence forces (except in the navy).

Unit Arms

In the 1970s, the SAAF introduced unit coats of arms, to replace the system of non-heraldic badges that had been used since World War II. Most units have individual badges, but for command HQs, security squadrons, and voluntary air squadrons, there are generic designs which are simply differenced for individual units. Example: the arms of 2 Squadron (Sable, the head, upper body and forepaws of a cheetah proper winged Or).

Unit Badges
During World War II, many units and headquarters adopted pictorial badges, some of which were displayed in Royal Air Force-style frames. After the war, the RAF-style display was used by all units until the late 1950s. Proper coats of arms were introduced in the 1970s.

References/Sources/Links

South African Heraldry Website © Arthur Radburn