46 African Pilot April 2015
During the 1960s, 45 Cessna 185s were delivered to the South African
National Defence Force’s army cooperation squadrons, namely 41 Active
Citizen Force (ACF) Squadron and 42 Army Air Reconnaissance (AAR)
Squadron in Potchefstroom. In 1968, the units were transferred to the SAAF
and the aircraft almost immediately saw action in South West Africa (now
Namibia). Over the years, the Cessnas were transferred to 11 Squadron and
42 Squadron, before ending up with 44 Squadron at AFB Waterkloof in 1999.
The C185s were used as training and border patrol aircraft up to 2006, when
the last examples were retired from the SAAF.
Number 748 is a Cessna 185E model, built in the USA during the early
1960s. She originally had an American registration N4728Q before arriving
in South Africa. Here, she received a civil registration ZS-EPB, before being
assigned to 42 AAR Squadron in 1967. Number 748 saw considerable action
in the Border War during the 1970s and 1980s, even being assigned to the
SA Police Force on two occasions.In 1995, whilst assigned to 44 Squadron’s ‘B Flight’, number 748 was
returned to her polished bare metal 42 Squadron livery of the 1960s,Text and photography by Divan Muller
27 February 2015 was an important day for the South African Air Force (SAAF)
Museum at Air Force Base (AFB) Swartkop. Its venerable Cessna 185,
number 748, which last fl ew about nine years ago, took to
the skies again after a magnifi cent restoration.