Sailor Malan – a true South African WW2 flying ace and national hero “in his own words” – and here is a very rare recorded interview with him.

This is a fantastic historical record of a personal interview with the great WW2 South African fighter ace Adolph “Sailor” Malan, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar.

Note in this recording, clearly taken as a public relations exercise to install confidence in the British public in the Royal Air Force and it’s pilots by the public broadcaster (there were a series of these interviews involving other pilots).  Because of this, Sailor Malan comes across as a little over-confident and quite flippant.  Its intentional and designed to make killing Germans sterile and combat adventurous.

He also adopts a very plummy British ‘officers’ accent so common to the tone and manner of speaking of this particular officer class during the war, both in Britain and in the Commonwealth.  His ‘flat vowel’ South African accent sneaks in here and there, but in all Malan was a very well-educated and travelled man and his command of the English language was exemplary (as was his command of Afrikaans).

Also noteworthy is Sailor Malan’s WW2 era cultural expressions, delivery and sayings which were so typical to Allied Air Force officers at the time – terms like:

“Hun” – meaning Germans – a derogatory term insinuating barbarism dating to the First World War.
“Squirt” – meaning a short burst of gun or cannon fire.
“Jerry” – meaning Germans – a derogatory term pertinent to the Second World War.
“Pumping Lead” – meaning a high rate of machine gun or cannon fire ‘pumped’ into the enemy to kill him
“Tally Ho” – a British fox-hunting term meaning to spot a target and call to action.
“Cut yourself a slice of cake” – a favourite term used by Sailor Malan (and other pilots) meaning to get into the fight and have a piece of the action.

Related work on Sailor Malan:

Sailor Malan’s role in the Battle of Britain and the Torch Commando: Sailor Malan; Fighter Ace & Freedom Fighter!

Sailor Malan’s Ten Rules of Air Combat: ‘Ten of my rules for air fighting’ – Sailor Malan

The Torch Commando – footage and history: The Torch Commando led South Africa’s first mass anti-apartheid protests, NOT the ANC!

Researched and written by Peter Dickens

Reference: YouTube.  Painting by Derrick Dickens, copyright Peter Dickens.  Photograph copyright – Imperial War Museum