Identity
Person No.
29935
Service No.
B/70171
Last Name
First Name
Robert William
Initials
R W
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
35
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
AA 1,737
Aircraft accident
Cause of Death
Died in Aircraft Accident, struck HT cables and crashed near Benoni, in AT-6 Harvard #7322
Military Service
Branch
Air Force
Rank
Captain
Regiment
Unit
Unknown
Secondary Unit
Army
Defence Force
SADF 3,823
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Unit History
Notes
Son of Mrs. V. E. Rankin-Smith, of Durban. ref. 85 years of SAAF
Research notes
5 Sep 2026: Unit "40 Squadron" (a squadron, SAAF's regiment-equivalent) promoted to Regiment, per John's decision. Corps (South African Air Force) unchanged.
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 17 Aug 2026: Richard William (ROH Robert William), Harvard 7322, HT cables near Benoni.
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), page 4 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories
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Dedications
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