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Van Zyl , Frans Reitz (F R)

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Photo of Van Zyl
Identity
Person No.
33650
Old ROH no.
1530
Service No.
01506492E
Last Name
Van Zyl 119
First Name
Frans Reitz
Initials
F R
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1944 (±1 yr) 148
Age at Death
29
Death Record
Date of Death
21 August 1973 115
Cause code
AA 1,737
Aircraft accident
Cause of Death
Killed in aircraft accident 1,517
Killed in aircraft accident, collided with Impala 529 near Pietersburg, in Atlas MB326M Impala Mk I #553
Military Service
Branch
Air Force
Rank
Captain
Regiment
Unknown
Corps
South African Air Force 3,524
Unit
85 Combat Flying School 28
Defence Force
SADF 3,825
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,866
Locality
Gauteng 9,374
Cemetery
THABA TSHWANE (NEW) MILITARY CEMETERY 592
Grave Reference
Grave 766 1
Coordinates
-25.78214, 28.12179 OSM
Unit History
Part of
Training and development
Notes

Husband of Mrs. E. van Zyl. ref. 85 years of SAAF

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 21 Aug 2026: 01506492E Captain (Instructor) Frans Reitz van Zyl, Atlas MB326M Impala Mk I 553, mid-air with Impala 529 near Pietersburg, age 29. FirstName was Frank Rietz — set to Frans Reitz. Graham places van Zyl and Yates in 553; ROH already has van Zyl in #553.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Air Force". Across the roll 787 records carried such a contradiction; judged against Corps and Regiment -- independent of both columns -- the evidence backed Branch 744 times and Unit2 not once. Branch is therefore kept and the contradicting word removed. Nothing is guessed: this man's branch of service is already recorded, and his sub-unit, if any, is simply not known.

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 1
by Yates Marle' Treurnicht on 15 November 2009 · via source
He was a Flight Instructor at the Air Force Base in Pietersburg. I believe that it was then called 85 Advanced Flying School. He was killed on 21 August 1973 during a mid-air colission between 2 Impala Mk1's (529 & 553). He was 29 at the time. The other pilots involved was Capt C.L. Smith (called Lemmer) and 2Lt C.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.