It was operated by two squadrons, Nos. 16 and 19:
- No. 16 Squadron SAAF: No. 16 Squadron operated under Royal Air Force's (RAF) Command as part of the Desert Air Force. In April 1943 this unit was rebased to Egypt where they replaced their Bristol Blenheim Mk. V with Beaufighters in November and were assigned to anti-submarine duties in the Mediterranean, however, with the need of an air wing that could assist Yugoslav partisans in the Balkans, Albania and Greece, the Balkan Air Force was formed and from December 1943 this squadron operated within it, performing aerial strikes on the Balkans and some occasional anti-shipping raids on the Aegean Sea from February until August 1944.
One of their most successful raids was the bombing of the bridges on the village of Zenica (Bosnia).
They remained in that role, equipped with the Beaufighter until they were disbanded on 15th June 1945. - No. 19 Squadron SAAF: This unit was reformed, taking personnel from No. 227 Squadron RAF and was officially numbered as No. 19 Squadron SAAF on 15 August 1944 at Biferno, Italy. They were equipped with Beaufighters Mk. VI and TF. Mk. X from the beginning and were assigned to the Balkan Air Force. Just like No. 16 squadron, they performed many raids on Yugoslavia and Greece, as well as some raids against coastal shipping in the Adriatic Sea.
The squadron was disbanded on 10th July 1945 and its personnel was sent back home.
Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16_Squadron_SAAF
2ns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19_Squadron_SAAF
3rd https://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/squadrons/99/16-squadron
4th https://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/squadrons/100/19-squadron
5th https://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/SAAF/16_wwII.html
6th https://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/SAAF/19_wwII.html
7th Scale Aircraft Magazine - Modellers Datafile 6 - The Bristol Beaufighter - A comprehensive guide for the modeller
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