General Sir Hesperus Andrias van Ryneveld KBE CB DSO MC (2 May 1891 – 2 December 1972) was a South African military commander. He was the founding commander of the South African Air Force (SAAF).He began his military career in World War I, in which he served in the Royal Flying Corps (later Royal Air Force), where he distinguished himself as a fighter ace.After the war, van Ryneveld was called back to South Africa by the Prime Minister Jan Smuts in order to set up the SAAF.