page_title: Desert Air Force
section_title: Personnel
hierarchical_section_title: Desert Air Force / Personnel
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943 Major J E "Jack" Frost, Commanding Officer of No. 5 Squadron SAAF sits between two of his most experienced pilots, Lieutenant R Pare (left) and Captain A Duncan, at LG 121, Egypt. "Jack" Frost joined No. 3 Squadron SAAF as a flight commander in 1940, having been a member of the South African Permanent Force for five years. He saw considerable action in Somaliland and Ethiopia, scoring a number of victories over Italian aircraft, before he was evacuated in May 1941 with acute appendicitis. On his recovery he was appointed to command 5 Squadron, leading them to Egypt in early 1942 and through the heavy air fighting during the Battle of Gazala in May and June. Although Frost was posted to the staff of No. 233 Wing on 31 May, he resumed command the Squadron when his successor, Major Duncan, was killed that same day. He in turn was shot down and killed over El Adem by German fighters on 16 June. He was an outstanding pilot and leader, and remains the SAAF's top scorer with 16 aerial victories. Robin Pare, also a member of the South African Permanent Force, was commissioned in the SAAF in April 1940 and posted to No. 1 Squadron SAAF, seeing action over East Africa until April 1941. After a period as an instructor in the Union, he joined 5 Squadron in December 1941. He was promoted commander of 'B' Flight on 31 May 1942, but was shot down and killed by Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Marseille of I/JG27 near Bir Hacheim on 3 June, just after scoring his sixth victory. Andrew Duncan was the son of the Governor-General of South Africa, Sir Patrick Duncan. After qualifying as a pilot with the Active Citizen Force in December 1939, he was posted to No. 1 Squadron SAAF and fought in East Africa. He returned to the Union in April 1941 as a Captain, and joined 5 Squadron in June as commander of 'A' Flight. Duncan succeeded "Jack" Frost as the Squadron Commander on 31 May, only to be shot down and killed that evening, south of Acroma, after shooting down his sixth victim earlier.
context_page_description: The Desert Air Force, also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force, was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 Group RAF under RAF Middle East Command in North Africa in 1941 to provide close air support to the British Eighth Army against Axis forces. Throughout World War II, the DAF was made up of squadrons from the Royal Air Force, the South African Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces and other Allied air forces.
  In October 1941, the Western Desert Air Forces had 16 squadrons of aircraft and fielded approximately 1,000 combat aircraft by late 1941. By the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein, the DAF fielded 29 squadrons flying Boston, Baltimore and Mitchell medium bombers; Hurricane, Kittyhawk, Tomahawk, Warhawk and Spitfire fighters and fighter-bombers. There were over 1,500 combat aircraft, more than double the number of aircraft the Axis could field.
context_section_description: The SAAF provided over a dozen squadrons to the DAF. This was their main theatre of operations, as the South African government had decided their military should not operate outside Africa. Between April 1941 and May 1943, the 11 squadrons of the SAAF flew almost 34,000 sorties and claimed 342 enemy aircraft destroyed.
  The Australian contribution included fighter and bomber squadrons, including No. 3 Squadron RAAF, which arrived in North Africa in late 1940 and served with the DAF until the closing stages of the war in Europe. By that time, 3 Sqn had the most substantial service record of any DAF squadron, including the greatest number of kills (217 claims). Many Australian pilots also flew with RAF or SAAF squadrons in the DAF.
  Many exiles from Occupied Europe—especially Polish airmen— flew in DAF squadrons. No. 112 Squadron RAF was largely made up of Poles and in 1943, the Polish Fighting Team ("Skalski's Circus") was attached to No. 145 Squadron RAF.
  From July 1942, the US Army Middle East Air Force (USAMEAF, Major-General Lewis H. Brereton) attached USAAF personnel from the 57th Fighter Group and 12th Bombardment Group to DAF fighter and bomber units, as "observers". This was technically a violation of the Arnold-Portal-Towers agreement, which included a stipulation that American personnel should serve only in US units. From mid-September, the P-40 Warhawk squadrons of the 57th FG and the B-25 squadrons of the 12th BG were officially attached to DAF units. On 12 November 1942, USAMEAF was dissolved and replaced by the 9th Air Force, although some US units remained with Commonwealth formations for some time.
  British and Commonwealth personnel who served with the DAF were awarded the Africa Star campaign medal with the clasp 'North Africa 1942–43', denoted by a silver rosette when only ribbons were worn.
caption: March/April 1942, Landing Ground 121, Egypt. Lieutenant Robin Pare (left), Major John "Jack" Frost (centre) and Captain Andrew Duncan (right) of 5 Squadron SAAF, Desert Air Force. All three were killed or missing in action by the end of June. Frost, the squadron commander, was the highest scoring ace in an SAAF unit during World War II.
exif: {}