Identity
Person No.
29472
Old ROH no.
104
Service No.
05177225E
Last Name
First Name
Johannes Gerhardus
Initials
J G
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
34
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
AA 1,737
Aircraft accident
Cause of Death
Killed when Westland Wasp #83 from SAS President Steyn crashed on a test flight near Luanda, 25 November 1971
Military Service
Branch
Air Force
Rank
Sergeant
Regiment
Unit
Secondary Unit
Army
Defence Force
SADF 3,815
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Cemetery
Grave Reference
Notes
Husband of C. W. Blom, of Cape Town. ref. 85 years of SAAF
Chris Bennett, Three Frigates (2006): while SAS President Steyn was homeward-bound escorting the new submarine SAS Emily Hobhouse, the ship’s Westland Wasp (after a main-rotor/head change) crashed on a required overland test flight from Luanda on 25 November 1971; all four crew were killed.
Research notes
Bennett, Chris. Three Frigates: President Class Frigates bring the SA Navy to maturity. Just Done Productions / Lulu, 2006 (ISBN 978-1-920169-02-2).
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Bennett — Three Frigates (President Class)
open source ↗
Wasp #83 Luanda test flight, 25 Nov 1971
-
SADF.info Border Roll of Honour
open source ↗
SADF.info Border RoH
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), page 7 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 1
Johannes Gerhardus Blom was killed on 25 November 1971 when Westland Wasp helicopter #83 from SAS President Steyn crashed near Luanda during a post-maintenance test flight.
Bennett (Three Frigates) places the loss during President Steyn’s return voyage from Europe after acceptance of the Daphne-class submarine SAS Emily Hobhouse; the Portuguese liaison officer informed the ship that afternoon that all four crew had died.
Bennett (Three Frigates) places the loss during President Steyn’s return voyage from Europe after acceptance of the Daphne-class submarine SAS Emily Hobhouse; the Portuguese liaison officer informed the ship that afternoon that all four crew had died.
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.