Rhodesian Air Force

The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was the aerial warfare branch of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from the 1935 formation of the Southern Rhodesia Air Unit until 1980. Operating Hawker Hunters, de Havilland Vampires, and later Canberra bombers from bases at Thornhill and New Sarum, it was central to both Cold War NATO-adjacent training and the Rhodesian Bush War (1964-1979).

UAP-Related Role

Rhodesian Air Force pilots reported unidentified aerial objects on multiple occasions, most notably during the 1970s wave over southern Africa. The Rhodesian theatre's open airspace and active border-patrol operations produced encounters that later fed into broader African UAP records. RhAF observations are cited in comparative studies alongside South African Air Force files on cases such as the 1972 Fort Beaufort incident.

Successor

Following the 1980 transition to Zimbabwe, the RhAF became the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ). Historic RhAF UAP records partially survived the transition and are available through South African and Commonwealth archives. Several veteran Rhodesian aircrew contributed accounts to Timothy Good's writings and other researcher interviews in the 1990s-2000s.