| 85 Combat Flying School | |
|---|---|
 SAAF BAE Hawk SAAF Bae Hawk Mk. 120 | |
| Active | 1982 - Present |
| Country |
 South Africa |
| Branch |
 South African Air Force |
| Type | Jet flight-training and combat operations school |
| Current Base | AFB Makhado, Louis Trichardt |
| Motto(s) | Detrimento Sumus (Destruction is our Business) [1] |
| Anniversaries | Received Unit colours 4 October 1988, Received national colours 1989 |
| Aircraft used currently | BAE Hawk Mk.120 |
| Engagements | SWA/Angolan conflict.[2] |
85 Combat Flying School is a unit of the South African Air Force (SAAF). It is a jet flight-training and combat operations school, it was first formed in 1982 at AFB Pietersberg (It was known as Advanced Flying School from 1967).[3] It relocated to AFB Hoedspruit on 1 January 1993 due to the closure of AFB Pietersberg.[4] 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.[5]
Aircraft used previously :
- Mirage IIIEZ/DZ/D2Z
- Canadair Sabre Mk.6 1975 - 1980
- Atlas Impala Mk.I/II 1972 - 2005
The school has been 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.[6]
The squadron also participated in the annual South Africa National Defence 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.
References[]
- ↑ History of 85 CFS, www.af.mil.za, Retrieved 2013-10-06
- ↑ History of 85 CFS, www.af.mil.za, Retrieved 2013-10-06
- ↑ History of 85 CFS, www.af.mil.za, Retrieved 2013-10-06
- ↑ History of 85 CFS, www.af.mil.za, Retrieved 2013-10-06
- ↑ History of 85 CFS, www.af.mil.za, Retrieved 2013-10-06
- ↑ http://www.af.mil.za/news/2007/161.htm
The original article can be found at 85 Combat Flying School SAAF and the edit history here.