IV aircraft,[3] performing convoy escort and anti-submarine warfare patrols, or conducting operations off the South African west coast.

[1] One flight was based at Aus and the rest of the squadron flew from Walvis Bay and Rooikop in the Mandate territory of South West Africa.

[5][Note 1] The Commanding Officer of 27 Squadron, Colonel Thys Uys, has been lauded for leading the “Skeleton Coast” rescue when the MV Dunedin Star ran aground, and a call for aid came from the helpless men, women, and children marooned on a desert beach.

As Field-Marshal J.C. Smuts would write, “They overcame almost superhuman difficulties and, by sheer courage and determination, saved everyone, though two of the rescuers sacrificed their lives in doing so.

[1] The Cape Town Club maintains a wall of Memorabilia in honour of SAAF aviators fallen in defence of the Empire.