Wingfield Aerodrome was first the Cape Town Municipal Aerodrome, then Air Force Station Wingfield under the SAAF, before being used as a Fleet Air Arm base by the Royal Navy. After World War II, the aerodrome reverted to being the municipal airport for a while. The history of Wingfield is synonymous with the history of flight in South Africa, including pioneering attempts at commercial aviation.

In the early days of aviation, all that was required for take off and landing was a level piece of land relatively free of obstructions. Where a flight commenced and ended depended on the weather, the reason for the flight, the mechanical state of the aircraft and even the whim of the pilot.

Navigation was done by following a road or railway line and referring to prominent landmarks such as Table Mountain.

There were no laws prohibiting low flying or landing within city limits.

Places in the vicinity of Cape Town known to be used as airfields included Kenilworth race course, Green Point Common and Green Point cycle track, Sea Point, Robben Island, Maitland Common, Rosebank Showgrounds and Mr Young's farm near Wynberg as well as local beaches.

It would be several years before the commercial prospects of aviation would be grasped and an aviation infrastructure put in place.

Following the outbreak of World War II former Cape Town mayor and businessman, David Pieter de Villiers Graaff, sold the land to the government to aid the war effort on condition that it would revert to his estate when the war was concluded and the government had no further military use for it. This led to the establishment of the Wingfield Aerodrome.

September 1939 saw the formation of 15 Squadron SAAF at Germiston with three former SAA Junkers Ju 86 airliners used for maritime patrols. After moving to Wingfield the squadron was absorbed as A Flight of 32 Squadron SAAF.