| Intro | South African general |
| Was | Military personnel |
| From |
South Africa United Kingdom |
| Type | Military |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 2 May 1891, Senekal, Setsoto Local Municipality, Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality, Free State |
| Death |
2 December 1972, Pretoria, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa (aged 81 years) |
| Star sign | Taurus |
General Sir Hesperus Andrias van Ryneveld KBE CB DSO MC (2 May 1891 – 2 December 1972), known as Pierre van Ryneveld, was a South African military commander. He was the founding commander of the South African Air Force (SAAF).
He began his military career in World War I, in which he served in the Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force), where he distinguished himself as a fighter ace.
After the war, van Ryneveld was called back to South Africa by the Prime Minister Jan Smuts in order to set up the SAAF. He flew back home, across Africa, in a Vickers Vimy – a pioneering feat for which he and his co-pilot Quintin Brand were both knighted.
Colonel van Ryneveld established the SAAF in 1920, and directed it until 1933, when he was promoted to Chief of the General Staff (CGS), in command of the Union Defence Forces. However, for the next four years the SAAF remained under van Ryneveld’s direct control as no one was appointed as the Air Force’s director until 1937.
He served as CGS for sixteen years, including the whole of World War II. He retired in 1949.
Honours and awards
The Pretoria suburb of Pierre van Ryneveld Park was named in his honour and the airport just north of Upington in the Northern Cape is also named after van Ryneveld. Sir Pierre van Ryneveld High School is in Kempton Park, Gauteng. The SAAF’s annual air power symposium, is known as the Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld Air Power Symposium.
The citation for his Knighthood reads as follows:
- 14 May 1920 – Lieutenant-Colonel Hesperus Andrias Van Ryneveld, DSO, MC, late Royal Air Force – Appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of the valuable services rendered to Aviation by the successful flight from England to Cape Town, South Africa.
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
- Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB)
- Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
- Military Cross (MC)
- 1914–15 Star
- British War Medal
- Victory Medal (South Africa) with MID
- Africa Star
- War Medal 1939–1945
- Africa Service Medal (WWII)
- King George V Coronation Medal
- King George VI Coronation Medal
He was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1919.