Husband of Annelien Hattingh and father of sons Joe (23), Koos (21) and Andre (18). Joe, the eldest, was also a SAAF helicopter pilot, based at AFB Bloemspruit. The youngest son, Andre, was in Matric at Hoerskool Tygerberg. Maj. Hattingh took part in the rescue operation when the Ikan Tanda sank off the coast of Scarborough in Sept 2001. Eighteen lives were saved. He also took part in rescue operations in Mozambique and Lesotho, and in 2000 helped fight large fires in the Cape Peninsula. He had been to Antartica as well. His funeral was held at the AGS Church in Goodwood, Cape Town, followed by cremation. Maj. Hattingh lived in Welgemoed and was awarded the Honorus Crux and the Air Force Cross. He joined the SAAF in 1973. Brother: Hennie Hattingh. In 2007 Annelien (then married to Mr. Crafford and living in Pretoria) sued the SAAF for R4-million. Mr. Crafford was the chaplain at Maj. Hattingh's funeral. His wife had died of a stroke three months prior. Later that year, Maj. Hattingh was posthumously awarded the Ad Astra medal for a rescue operation in 2001
5 Sep 2026: Unit "22 Squadron" (a squadron, SAAF's regiment-equivalent) promoted to Regiment, per John's decision. Corps (South African Air Force) unchanged.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word, and it CONTRADICTED this record's own Branch, "Air Force". Across the roll 787 records carried such a contradiction; judged against Corps and Regiment -- independent of both columns -- the evidence backed Branch 744 times and Unit2 not once. Branch is therefore kept and the contradicting word removed. Nothing is guessed: this man's branch of service is already recorded, and his sub-unit, if any, is simply not known.
No stories have been added yet.
No dedications have been added yet.