General Rudolph Christiaan Hiemstra (10 March 191226 July 2007) was a South African Air Force commander who served as Commandant General of the South African Defence Force.
Military career
Hiemstra joined the South African Air Force in 1931. He did not serve in the Second World War because of his political opposition to South Africa's involvement in the war and sympathy for Nazi Germany, and was transferred to the civil service, from which he returned to the defence force when the National Party government came to power in 1948.
Hiemstra was Military Attaché in Sweden, France and the United Kingdom. Among other appointments, he was officer commanding 2 Squadron SAAF, The Flying Cheetahs.
Awards and decorations
In 1960, Hiemstra was awarded the Star of South Africa for exceptional services.