Kenneth van der Spuy

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Kenneth Reid van der Spuy

| honorific_suffix = CBE, MC

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| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1892|03|18}}

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| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1991|05|26|1892|03|18}}

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| branch = {{air force|South Africa}}

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| rank = Major General

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| battles = World War I
Russian Civil War
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Major-General Kenneth Reid van der Spuy {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE|MC}} (18 March 1892 – 26 May 1991) was a South African Air Force officer. He saw service with the Royal Flying Corps in World War I.

In 1913, the South African government started a flying school and advertised for prospective pilots in the Government Gazette. Van der Spuy was one of only 10 selected.{{cite journal | url=https://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/619 | title=SWIFTER THAN EAGLES: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE 1912-1982 | author=Ward, E. H. | journal=South African Journal of Military Studies | year=1982 | volume=12 | issue=2}}

Six of the original group of pilots were chosen to undergo further training in Britain and Van der Spuy was part of this group. When he passed his final examination on 2 June 1914, and was granted the certificate of the Royal Aero Club, he was South Africa's first qualified military pilot.{{cite web | url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol123jm.html | title=Military History Journal Vol 12 No 3 – June 2002 | publisher=South African Military History Society | work=The South African Aviation Corps (SAAC) | accessdate=25 February 2012 | author=Mahncke, J.E.}}

Early in 1915, van der Spuy was part of a group who were asked to establish a South African Aviation Corps in England and go to South West Africa to assist the South African forces under General Louis Botha.

Van der Spuy later became the first South African Air Force pilot, when he attested on 1 April 1921.{{cite journal | url=http://rapidttp.co.za/milhist/vol056dt.html | title=They Mounted up as Eagles (A brief tribute to the South African Air Force) | author=Tidy, D. P. | journal=Military History Journal | date=December 1982 | volume=5 | issue=6 | archive-date=7 August 2019 | access-date=4 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807104314/http://rapidttp.co.za/milhist/vol056dt.html | url-status=dead }}