In May, 1 (Fighter) Squadron South African Air Force (SAAF) arrived, was transferred to Egypt to convert to Gladiators and returned to Khartoum in August.

[5] The South Africans faced experienced Italian pilots, including a cadre of Spanish Civil War veterans.

Despite its lack of experience, 1 SAAF claimed 48 enemy aircraft destroyed and 57 damaged in the skies over East Africa.

[6] From November 1940 to early January 1941, Platt continued to apply constant pressure on the Italians along the Sudan–Ethiopia border with patrols and raids by ground troops and aircraft.

On 6 December, a large concentration of Italian motor transport was bombed and strafed by Commonwealth aircraft a few miles north of Kassala.

The same aircraft then proceeded to machine-gun from low level the nearby positions of the Italian Blackshirts and colonial infantry.

The Commonwealth pilots had the satisfaction of seeing supply dumps, stores, and transport enveloped in flame and smoke as they flew away.

One morning in mid-December, a force of Italian fighters strafed a Rhodesian landing-strip at Wajir near Kassala, where two Hawker Hardys were caught on the ground and destroyed and 5,000 US gal (19,000 L) of fuel were set alight, four Africans were killed and eleven injured fighting the fire.

1345 Anti-Malarial Flight); Seychelles, Tabora, and Tulear (an RAF Unit and a Marine Craft Section).