8 South African Armoured Division

8 South African Armoured Division
8 South African Armoured Division
	8 South African Armoured Division emblem
Active	1974-1997
Country	South Africa
Branch	South African Army
Type	Armour
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Durban
Major battles	Operation Packer
Commanders
Founding Commander	Brigadier Ben Roos (1974-1975)
Insignia
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division beret badge
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division beret bar
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division flag
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division stable belt

Last updated December 29, 2023

8 South African Armoured Division was a formation of the South African Army, active from the 1970s to 1999.

History

8 South African Division was established as an Armoured Formation on August 1, 1974, consisting of 81 Armoured Brigade, 82 Mechanised Brigade and 84 Motorised Brigade. It was, in many respects, a mirror of 7th South African Infantry Division.

A provisional 1977 order of battle had 8 Armoured Division organised as follows: ^[1]

Divisional Breakdown

Divisional Level Attached Units

Artillery, maintenance, engineers, signals and provost (Military Police)

SADF 8 Division with Chief of the Army Command Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Natal Mounted Rifles Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Umvoti Mounted Rifles Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Regiment Eastern Transvaal Flash. The regiment provided 20mm anti–aircraft support together with Regiment Overvaal with 35mm AA.
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Regiment Overvaal
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Regiment Northern Transvaal Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division 1 Light Horse Regiment Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Regiment Port Natal Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Transvaal State Artillery Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division 26 Field Artillery Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division 2 Locating Regiment Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Provost Company Flash. During 1998, the unit was renamed to 18 Provost Company and transferred to 1 Provost Regiment of the Military Police Division. This was at the same time that units of the division and its brigades were transferred to Type Formations of the SA Army.
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division 19th Field Engineer Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division Signals Unit Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division 8 Maintenance Unit Flash
SADF 8 South African Armoured Division 15 Maintenance Unit Flash

Brigades

81 Armoured Brigade

Headquartered in Pretoria, 81 Armoured Brigade consisted of the following units:

SADF 81 Armoured Brigade Headquarters Flash
SADF 81 Armoured Brigade Regiment Pretoria Flash
SADF 81 Atrmoured Brigade Regiment Northern Transvaal
SADF 81 Armoured Brigade 15 Field Engineer Flash

82 Mechanised Brigade

Headquartered in Potchefstroom, 82 Mechanised Brigade consisted of the following units:

SADF 82 Mechanised Brigade 1 Regiment de la Rey Flash
SADF 82 Mechanised Brigade Regiment Groot Karoo Flash
SADF 82 Mechanised Brigade Regiment President Steyn Flash
SADF 82 Mechanised Brigade 13 Field Engineer Flash
SADF 82 Mechanised Brigade Regiment Mooirivier Flash

South West Africa Angolan theater

During Operation Packer which succeeded Operation Hooper in March 1988, 82 Mechanised Brigade protected the eastern bank of the Cuito River. During this operation, FAPLA forces suffered losses and the situation on the eastern bank stabilised to such an extent that Operation Displace could be started. During this phase the South African forces withdrew from Angola.^[2]

83 Mechanised Brigade

83 Mechanised Brigade was never activated.

84 Motorised Brigade

Headquartered in Durban, 84 Brigade was formed in Durban as part of 8 South African Armoured Armoured Division on August 1, 1974, and its official establishment was authorized on September 10 of that year. Brigadier G. Wolmarans was authorized as its first commanding officer with Commandant W.P. Sass, Maj H.L. Bosman, and Capt J.E. Samuales as staff officers posted to headquarters. The new Brigade was located at Lords Grounds.

84 Motorised Brigade consisted of the following units:

SADF 8 Division 84 Brigade Headquarters Flash
SADF 84 Brigade 19 Field Engineer Unit Flash
SADF 84 Brigade Signals Unit Flash
SADF 84 Brigade Umvoti Mounted Rifles Flash
SADF 84 Motorised Brigade Natal Mounted Rifles Flash
SADF 84 Motorised Brigade Artillery Regiment Flash
SADF 84 Motorised Brigade 38 Field Workshop Flash

Leadership

Previous Leadership
From	Officer Commanding	To
nd	Brig G. Wolmarans	nd
nd	Col H.F.P. Riekert	nd
nd	Col H.F.P. Riekert	nd
nd	Col Peter Hall^{[lower-alpha 1]}	nd
January 1993	Brig Felix Marius 'Baksteen' Hurter SM MMM	December 1993
From	Regimental Sergeants Major	To
nd	Unknown	nd

Inter-divisional Reorganizing

By 1985, 8 Division consisted of 81 Armoured Brigade, 84 Motorised Brigade and 72 Motorised Brigade. 82 Mechanised Brigade had been transferred to the command of 7 South African Infantry Division.

SADF 72 Brigade with 8 South African Armoured Division Command Flash
SADF 82 Brigade with 7 South African Infantry Division Command Flash

Mobilisation

Insignia

Disbanding

Brigade Disbanding

8 Division's Brigades were disbanded in 1992 and the battalions and regiments came to answer directly to the divisional headquarters - the thinking was that these would be grouped into task forces as required. The concept was never put to a serious test. The Formation was also renamed 8 South African Division.

Divisional Disbanding

The Division was effectively disbanded on April 1, 1997, when its former units became part of 7th South African Infantry Division as 74 Brigade.

SADF era 8th Armoured Division commemorative letters 1988 SADF era 8th Armoured Division commemorative letters 1988 ver 2.jpg — SADF era 8th Armoured Division commemorative letters 1988

Notes

↑ Former OC of 31 Battalion (SWATF) at Omega, Caprivi

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References

↑ "Fact file: 1 SA Corps". 17 February 2010.
↑ Scholtz, Leopold (2013). "The Lessons of the Border War". Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies. 40 (3). doi: 10.5787/40-3-1039 .

Cock, J. Laurie, N. War and Society: The Militarisation of South Africa, published by David Phillip, 1989 ISBN 978-0864861153

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[3] Former OC of 31 Battalion (SWATF) at Omega, Caprivi

[1] "Fact file: 1 SA Corps". 17 February 2010.

[2] Scholtz, Leopold (2013). "The Lessons of the Border War". Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies. 40 (3). doi: 10.5787/40-3-1039 .

[1]

[2]

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