Hi Capetonian,
Good choice. SAL/SAA/South African Railways took me on my first long-haul flight (LusakaCity/Eastleigh/Khartoum/Cairo/Athens/Ciampino/Orly/Heathrow on a L749...), which hooked me into civil aviation. After you posted the Air Rhodesia pics, I wondered if you might mention its predecessor, CAA.
I guess we all look at the airlines of our youth with rose-tinted spectacles. In the early Fifties, CAA was based at Belvedere airport, Salisbury (capital city of Southern Rhodesia, recently part of the Central African Federation with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland). It was operating Beavers, Vikings and Dakotas. My first ever flight was in a CAA Viking from Lusaka-City to Belvedere, and I remember having to step over the centre-section main spar when moving up the cabin (unlike the Dak).
In 1956 the new airport at Kentucky (about 7 miles south of the Salisbury) opened, and CAA's move there roughly coincided with the delivery of the first of five Viscount 748Ds, fitted with slipper tanks to replace the Vikings on the airline's "Zambesi" service to London. The Viscount operation was slick and efficient, marred only by the 1958 fatal accident on the approach to Benina. CAA also leased a DC6 from Alitalia.
In 1963 the Federation was disolved when Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland suddenly gained independence (as Zambia and Malawi), leaving the more developed Southern Rhodesia still a British colony. The fledgling Zambia Airways and Air Malawi started off with CAA aircraft. CAA later founded Air Rhodesia for local services, but continued the CAA brand for long-haul services. Still based in Salisbury, its order for two One-Elevens fell victim to the sanctions policy put in place after Rhodesia declared UDI on 11/11/65. With Rhodesia granted international pariah status, CAA was soon broken up. What happened after that is another story.
Last edited by Chris Scott; 2nd Sep 2013 at 22:14.