Man with a Mission
Oswald Pirow and South African Airways, 1933–1939
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8980409 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Mccormack (0009-0007-8605-1237, University of Winnipeg, corresponding author), Robert L Mccormack |
| Year | 1979 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 543-557 |
| Publication date | 1979-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of African History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0021853700017539 |
| OpenAlex | W2103820708 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 13 |
Oswald Pirow was an active and influential cabinet minister in the Hertzog administration in South Africa for more than a decade. Perhaps more than anyone else in office, Pirow shaped the new aggressive Union policies in external matters which stressed a ‘South Africa First’ ideology. Given a free hand by Hertzog, and as minister responsible for defence and transport, Pirow aimed to weaken the British connexion, enhance South Africa's image, and expand Union influence throughout ‘white’ Africa to the north. The agent charged to carry out these new policies was South African Airways, organized by Pirow in 1934 as Africa 's first national airline. As the Union 's ‘chosen instrument’, SAA was used by Pirow to challenge British paramountcy in the Rhodesias and East Africa, in direct conflict with Britain 's own struggling Imperial Airways. The rivalry was for routes and services, mail and passengers, and ultimately for prestige. By 1939, Pirow 's airline was established in operation from Kenya southward, and winning the struggle with its fleet of modern Junkers aircraft. Pirow was the promoter, the organizer and the hard bargainer with whom the British had to deal time and time again. For technical and financial reasons, Imperial Airways could seldom match Pirow 's ambitions, and on the eve of World War II, Pirow could claim great success for his air-minded policy. Only the coming of the war was to remove Pirow and his policy from the scene
Administration (probate law · Archaeology · Cabinet (room · Economic history · Ideology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Prestige · Rivalry · Sociology · White (mutation · African history and culture studies · History · Law · South African History and Culture
Blue Skies into White Space
Australia, Britain and the Empire Air Mail Scheme, 1934–38
The geopolitics of dependent development in Central Africa
South Africa’s Secret Chemical Weapons Project, 1933-1945
Contested Liabilities
Falling off the Map
The rise and fall of the Commonwealth Air Transport Council
Very Special Relations
Imperialism, air transport and colonial development
Aviation, apartheid and sanctions
Afrikaner Nationalism in Action
Creating ‘an air sense
| Unique citing works | 12 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,32 |
| Citation span | 1989 - 2025 (37) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |