Ghana Air Force

Ghana Air Force
Ghana Air Force Ensign
Founded	1959
Country	Ghana
Size	Around 1,000 personnel 39 aircraft (on inventory) 5 aircraft flying (in 2006)
Part of	Ghanaian Ministry of Defence and Central Defence Headquarters
Air Force HQ	Accra
Commanders
Chief of the Air Staff	Air Vice-Marshal J O Boateng
Insignia
Roundel

The Ghana Air Force (GAF) is the air force of the African nation of Ghana. The GAF, along with the Ghanaian Army and Navy, make up the armed forces of Ghana which are controlled by that nation's Ministry of Defence.

History

The GAF was founded in 1959 with direction from Indian and Israeli officers. Later that year a headquarters was established in Accra under the command of an Indian air commodore. In 1960 Royal Air Force personnel took up the task of training the newly established Ghana Air Force and in 1961 they were joined by a small group of Royal Canadian Air Force personnel. In September 1961 as part of President Kwame Nkrumah's Africanization program, the Royal Air Force commander was replaced by a Ghanaian Air Commodore, with the first being J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford. Although born in the U.K. he was of Ghanaian descent and became Africa's first 'Chief of the Air Staff' south of the Sahara.

The Ghana Air Force was the first sub-Sahara air force, and for a time the largest. It was equipped with a squadron of Chipmunk trainers, and squadrons of Beavers, Otters and Caribou transport aircraft. In addition a DH125 jet was bought for Kwame Nkrumah, Hughes helicopters were bought for Mosquito spraying plus DH Doves and Herons. Whirlwind helicopters and a squadron of MB 326 ground attack/trainer jets were also purchased.

In 1962 the national school of gliding was set up by Hanna Reitsch, who was once Adolf Hitler's top personal pilot. Under the command of Air Commodore de Graft-Hayford, she served as director, operations instructor and trainer of the school. She also acted as the personal pilot of Kwame Nkrumah from 1962-1966.

In 1989 12 Aero L-29 Delfins were transferred from the Nigerian flying school to the GhAF flying school. Four of the six Short skyvans were completely overhauled and refurbished by Airwork in the UK in 1990-91, with new avionics and Bendix RDS 81 rader, to extend their transport and coastal patrol work.

Organization

The GAF headquarters and main transport base are located in Accra and the Service has a strength of around 1000 personnel. Other air bases include:

• Tamale, a combat and training base.
• Takoradi, a training base.
• Accra, a support base.

Mission

The GAF's mission is to perform counterinsurgency operations and to provide logistical support to the Ghanaian army. However, performance has been hindered by a lack of spare parts and by poor maintenance capabilities.

Aircraft Inventory

The Ghana Air Force owns 38 aircraft, including 2 combat jets and 11 helicopters.

All other aircraft were grounded because of lack of spare parts.

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[1]	Notes
Aermacchi MB-326	Italy	trainer	MB-326	4
Aero L-39 Albatros	Czechoslovakia	trainer attack	L-39ZO	2
Aérospatiale SA-319 Alouette III	France	utility helicopter	SA-319B	2
Agusta A109	Italy	utility helicopter	A109	2
Bell 412	United States	transport helicopter	412SP	1
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander	United Kingdom	utility transport	BN-2
Cessna 172 Skyhawk	United States	utility		3
Fokker F27 Friendship	Netherlands	tactical transport	F27-400M F27-600	2 1
Fokker F28 Fellowship	Netherlands	passenger transport	F28-3000	1
Hongdu K-8 Karakorum	China	trainer	K-8 (export)	4[2]
Mil Mi-2 Hoplite	Poland	utility helicopter	Mi-2	2
Mil Mi-17 Hip-H	Soviet Union	transport helicopter	Mi-17	4

The Ghana Air Force has requested four Alenia C-27J Spartans as replacements for the dwindling numbers of airworthy Fokker F27s still in service.^[3]

Chiefs of the Air Staff

The senior appointment in the GAF is the Chief of Air Staff. The following is a list of the Ghana Air Force Chiefs of the Air Staff:^[4]

• Air Commodore K. Jaswant-Singh (May 1959 – Aug 1960) - Indian
• Wing Commander I. M. Gundry-White (British) (Sep 1960 – Mar 1961)
• Air Commodore John N. H. Whitworth (British) (Mar 1961 - Sep 1962)
• Air Commodore J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford(First Ghanaian CAS) (Sep 1962 – Jul 1963)
• Air Vice-Marshal Michael Out(Jul 1963 – Mar 1968) ^[5]
• Air Commodore N. Y. R. Ashley-Larsen (Mar 1968 – Jan 1971)
• Air Commodore Charles Beausoliel (Jan 1971 - Dec 1971)
• Air Commodore N. Y. R. Ashley-Larsen (Dec 1971 – Jan 1972)
• Air Commodore Charles Beausoliel (Dec 1972 - Nov 1976)
• Air Vice Marshal George Yaw Boakye (Nov 1976 - Jun 1979)
• Group Captain F. W. K. Klutse (Jun 1979 – Dec 1979)
• Air Commodore J. E. Odaate- Barnor (Dec 1979 – May 1980)
• Air Commodore K. K. Pumpuni (May 1980 – Jan 1982)
• Group Captain E. A. A. Awuviri (Jan 1982 – Dec 1982)
• Air Vice Marshall J. E. A. Kotei (Dec 1982 – Jun 1988)
• Air Marshal Harry Dumashie (Jun 1988 – Jun 1992)
• Air Marshal John Asamoah Bruce (? – 16 March 2001^[6]) 5 Jun 92 – Feb 2001
• Air Vice Marshal Edward Apau Mantey^[7] (Feb 2001 – Jan 2005)
• Air Vice Marshal Julius Otchere Boateng^[8] (20 May 2005 ^[9] – to 28 Jan 2009)
• Air Vice Marshal M. Samson-Oje (31 Mar 2009 - present)^[10]

Rank Structure

The GAF's rank structure is similar to the RAF's rank structure from where its ranks were derived.

Officers

In descending order of importance the GAF officer ranks are:[2]

• Air Marshal
• Air Vice Marshal
• Air Commodore
• Group Captain
• Wing Commander
• Squadron Leader
• Flight Lieutenant
• Flying officer
• pilot officer

Airmen

In descending order of importance the GAF airman ranks are:[3]

• Warrant Officer Class I
• Warrant Officer Class II
• Flight Sergeant
• Sergeant
• Corporal
• Leading Aircraftman

Skyvan episode

The GAF once operated six Shorts Skyvans, two of which (the G452 (SH1929) and G455 (SH1933)) had structural damage and were scrapped. The other four were sold to an Austrian Company in 2004 (SH1929, SH1930, SH1932 and SH1933). The full story of this is on www.ghanaairforce.com .

References

• World Aircraft Information Files. Brightstar Publishing, London. File 338 Sheet 03

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