[2] As of June 2021[update] the Chief of the SANDF is General Rudzani Maphwanya SM, MMM.
An aviation corps was formed in 1915 and replaced by the South African Air Force in 1920.
A naval branch was added in 1922, and the South African Division of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve was incorporated into it in 1942.
It was changed to 'Chief of the SADF' in July 1973, after Admiral Hugo Biermann assumed the post the year before.
The SADF amalgamated with the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA), Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and the homeland defence forces to form the South African National Defence Force in 1994.
The post was called 'Officer Commanding South African Naval Service' 1922–32, 'Director, Seaward Defence Force' 1940–42, 'Director, South African Naval Forces' 1942–51, 'Naval & Marine Chief of Staff' 1951–55, and 'Naval Chief of Staff' 1955–66, and has been 'Chief of the Navy' since 1966.