5 Squadron, South African Air Force. Formed in April 1939 and reformed in May 1941, flying Curtiss P-40 Warhawks and then Mustangs in the Second World War, and Harvards, Impalas and Atlas Cheetahs after it. It served across North Africa and the Mediterranean, from Egypt through to Italy. Disbanded on 2 October 1992 when its Cheetahs were decommissioned.
The Rhodesian Air Force squadron of the same number is a separate unit and has its own record, OrgEntityID 6763.
CORRECTED 25 September 2026. This entity previously carried Branch "Rhodesian" and a description asserting it was Rhodesian Air Force No. 5 Squadron, sourced to Geldenhuys, Rhodesian Air Force Operations. That was wrong: every casualty attached here is South African, almost all with Corps "South African Air Force". The Rhodesian description was matched on the bare squadron number, which South Africa and Rhodesia both used, and the force-split of 27 August 2026 then moved the Rhodesians out to their own entity while the Rhodesian label stayed behind on the South Africans.
| Formation | Type | Relationship | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disbanded air and training squadrons | Category | organic | |
| saaf-oob:saaf-disbanded | |||
| Rhodesian Air Force - Squadrons | Category | organic | |
| rsf-oob:rhodesian-air-force | |||
68 on the roll across 2 Force tags — this organisation name is shared by more than one defence force / era.
| # | Last Name | First Name | Initials | Rank | Force | Regiment | Corps | Date of Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18922 | Nolte | Ian Hugh | I H | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-10-23 |
| 32378 | Oltman | Richard Johannes | R J | Lieutenant | SADF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1965-01-12 |
| 32541 | Poorter | Brian John | B J | Second Lieutenant | SADF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1968-01-16 |
| 20504 | Popham | Edward William Leybore | E W L | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-10-31 |
| 20553 | Potgieter | John Withycombe | J W | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1945-02-21 |
| 21128 | Rapp | Lionel William | L W | Second Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-07-11 |
| 22302 | Saunders | Peter Harold | P H | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-05-30 |
| 23329 | Sleep | Royston | R | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1945-04-17 |
| 23859 | Spence | William Nevin | W N | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1944-12-11 |
| 24128 | Stevens | Frederick Louis | F L | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-07-24 |
| 33133 | Strachan | Ralph Stanley | R S | Second Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1955-06-18 |
| 33134 | Strange | Ian | I | Second Lieutenant | SADF | Unknown | ||
| 25207 | Thornhill-Cook | Basil Searley | B S | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-06-04 |
| 25464 | Trenchard | Clifford | C | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-08-17 |
| 25633 | Turnbull | William Fraser | W F | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1942-09-06 |
| 26531 | Van Dam | George Charles Alexander | G C A | Lieutenant | UDF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1945-04-17 |
| 33608 | Van Tonder | D R | Sergeant | SADF | Unknown | |||
| 33607 | Van Tonder | Cornelius Andries Petrus | C A P | Sergeant | SADF | 5 Squadron | South African Air Force | 1975-11-10 |