Bophuthatswana Defence Force
   HOME
*



picture info

Bophuthatswana Defence Force
The Bophuthatswana Defence Force ( af, Bophuthatswana Weermag; BDF) was established on 6 December 1977 from trainees of the South African Defence Force. It was the defence force of the Republic of Bophuthatswana, a nominally independent bantustan during the Apartheid era of South Africa. Organisation and structure A National Guard of about 125 soldiers initially formed the Bophuthatswana National Guard in time for the independence of Bophuthatswana. Initially this group merely performed ceremonial duties and was housed within the office of the President. A SADF Officer, Brigadier Riekert, served as a military adviser to President Lucas Mangope. Over time an embryonic Department of Defence was developed resulting in the establishment of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF) on the 30 November 1979 with Brigadier Riekerk as the Minister of Defence and Lt Col Jack Turner as the Chief of the BDF. Development of the BDF Bases and areas of command The BDF developed military area ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Bophuthatswana Air Force
The Bophuthatswana Air Force (BAF) was the aviation branch of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force. The BAF existed from 1987 until 27 April 1994. The primary role of the BAF was to provide support and medevac services to the ground units of the Bophuthatswana army. The BAF operated from several bases, one being Mmabatho AFB. All surviving aircraft and helicopters were integrated into the South African Air Force after 27 April 1994. History An air component of the BDF was established on 19 March 1981 with the purchase of an Alouette III from the South African Police. It was flown by Major De Villiers and Captain LaGrange of the SAAF, with Warrant Officer Strydom, ex-Rhodesian Air Force as Technical officer and Warrant Officer Viljoen of the South West African Police as Gunner and Navigator. In 1982, the unit became known as ''Bophuthatswana Air Wing'' with the arrival of a 2nd Alouette III and 2 Helio H-295s. In 1983, 2 Partenavia P.68s and an AS-355 Écureuil were purchased - ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Taung
Taung is a small town situated in the North West Province of South Africa. The name means ''place of the lion'' and was named after Tau, the King of the Barolong. ''Tau'' is the Tswana word for lion. Education High,Secondary and Middle Schools in Taung include: *PH Moeketsi Agricultural High School *Pinagare High School *Mankuroane Technical and Commercial Secondary School *Thabasikwa High School *Kgosietsile Lethola High School *Pudumong High School *Bogosing High School *Leshobo High School *Reekekathata Secondary School *Batlhaping High School *St Paul's High Schools *Mokgareng High Schools *Sekate Boijane Mahura High School *Maatla High School *Marubising High School *Thate Molatlhwa Secondary School *Gabodiwe High School *Choseng Secondary School *Joseph Saku Secondary School *Thakung High School *Jerry Secondary School *Walter Letsie High School *Kabinelang Secondary School *Mothelesi Secondary School *Reivilo High School *Seoleseng Secondary School *Gabobedi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Vektor R4
The Vektor R4 is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in 1979 based on the IMI Galil rifle. It entered service as the standard service rifle of the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1980. The R4 replaced the R1, a variant of the 7.62×51mm FN FAL. It was produced by Lyttelton Engineering Works (LIW, "Lyttelton Ingenieurswerke"), now Denel Land Systems. The weapon is a licensed variant of the Israeli IMI Galil assault rifleWoźniak, Ryszard. Encyklopedia najnowszej broni palnej – tom 4 R-Z. Bellona. 2002. pp9–10. with several modifications; both the stock and magazine are now made of a high-strength polymer and the stock was lengthened, adapting the weapon for the average South African soldier. Other detailed differences include the R4's lack of a carry handle and a number of improvements made to its internal operating mechanism. Design details Operating mechanism The R4 is a selective fire, gas-operated weapon that fires from a closed bolt. As with the Galil parent wea ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bophuthatswana Defence Force Tupper Flash Structure
Bophuthatswana (, meaning "gathering of the Tswana people"), officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana ( tn, Riphaboliki ya Bophuthatswana; af, Republiek van Bophuthatswana), was a Bantustan (also known as "Homeland"; an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity) that was declared (nominally) independent by the apartheid regime of South Africa in 1977. However, its independence, like the other Bantustans (Ciskei, Transkei and Venda) was not recognized by any country other than South Africa. Bophuthatswana was the second Bantustan to be declared an independent state, after Transkei. Its territory constituted a scattered patchwork of enclaves spread across what was then Cape Province, Orange Free State and Transvaal. Its seat of government was Mmabatho, which is now a suburb of Mahikeng. On 27 April 1994, it was reintegrated into South Africa with the coming into force of the country's interim constitution. Its territory was distributed between the new provinces of the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

10 South African Infantry Battalion
10 South African Infantry Battalion is a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army. History 10 SAIGrundy, K.W. Soldiers without politics, Blacks in the South African Armed Forces, Perspectives on Southern Africa, 33, University of California Press, Berkeley. AACR2 was established on 1 January 1994, at Mafikeng, Northwest Province as a result of the amalgamation of infantry elements of the Bophuthatswana Defence Force The Bophuthatswana Defence Force ( af, Bophuthatswana Weermag; BDF) was established on 6 December 1977 from trainees of the South African Defence Force. It was the defence force of the Republic of Bophuthatswana, a nominally independent bantust ... into the SANDF. SANDF's Motorised Infantry SANDF's Motorised Infantry is transported mostly by Samil trucks, Mamba APC's or other un-protected motor vehicles. Samil 20,50 and 100 trucks transport soldiers, towing guns, and carrying equipment and supplies. Samil trucks are all-wheel drive, in order to have ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

South African National Defence Force
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans of the Defence Department. The military as it exists today was created in 1994, following South Africa's first nonracial election in April of that year and the adoption of a new constitution. It replaced the South African Defence Force and also integrated uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) guerilla forces. History Integration process In 1994, the SANDF took over the personnel and equipment from the SADF and integrated forces from the former Bantustan homelands forces, as well as personnel from the former guerrilla forces of some of the political parties involved in South Africa, such as the African National Congress's Umkhonto we Sizwe, the Pan Africanist Congress ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Transitional Executive Council
The Transitional Executive Council (TEC) was a multiparty body in South Africa that was established by law to facilitate the transition to democracy, in the lead-up to the country's first non-racial election in April 1994. As part of the multi-party negotiations that ended apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) pushed for the creation of a body that would ensure a level playing field, arguing that the governing National Party would not be impartial, as it would also be contesting the election. The TEC was created by the Transitional Executive Council Act, 1993, and consisted of one member of each of the parties that participated in the negotiations, with the notable exceptions of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC); and the Freedom Alliance, an alliance of right-wing and black groups such as the Inkatha Freedom Party who had abandoned the negotiation process. The TEC consisted of 19 people, one each from the 19 groups that participated in the negotiations, and it had a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (), meaning "Afrikaner Resistance Movement", commonly known by its abbreviation AWB, is an Afrikaner nationalist paramilitary organisation in South Africa. Since its founding in 1973 by Eugène Terre'Blanche and six other far-right Afrikaners, it has been dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "'" in part of South Africa. , it is reported that the organization has around 5,000 members, and uses social media for recruitment. History On 7 July 1973, Eugène Terre'Blanche, a former police officer, called a meeting of several men in Heidelberg, Gauteng, in the then- Transvaal Province of South Africa. He was disillusioned by what he thought were Prime Minister B.J. Vorster's "liberal views" of racial issues in the White minority country, after a period in which Black majorities had ascended to power in many former colonies. Terre'Blanche also worried about what he characterised ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pilatus PC-7
The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft designed and manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions including aerobatics, instrument, tactical and night flying. The PC-7 was developed from the preceding Pilatus P-3, largely differing by the adoption of a turboprop engine, a bubble canopy, and a new one-piece wing. Introduced during the 1970s, it has since developed a sizable presence of the global trainer market. The type has been adopted by in excess of 20 air forces as their ab initio trainer, as well as multiple civilian operators. Over one million hours have reportedly been flown by PC-7s worldwide. In addition to training operations, some aircraft are armed and have been used for combat missions by several customers, including Chad, Iran, and Mexico, often in violation of the relevant export agreement between the customer and the Swiss government. An improved model of the airc ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

BK 117
The MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 is a twin-engined medium utility– transport helicopter. It was jointly developed and manufactured by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) of Germany and Kawasaki of Japan. MBB was later purchased by Daimler-Benz and eventually became a part of Eurocopter, which was later rebranded as Airbus Helicopters. On 25 February 1977, MBB and Kawasaki signed a cooperative agreement to abandon their independent efforts to design twin-engined general purpose helicopters in favour of a collaborative venture to development of a new rotorcraft for that role. While the programme's costs were shared equally, the workshare was divided into certain areas of the design. MBB utilised their expertise with the rigid rotor system used on the earlier Bo 105 to develop the majority of the dynamic systems and flight controls, while Kawasaki focused on the airframe, structural elements, and various other components. On 13 June 1979, MBB's flying prototype conducted its maiden flight ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Aérospatiale Alouette III
The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a relatively popular rotorcraft; including multiple licensed manufacturers, more than 2,000 units were built. The Alouette III was developed as an enlarged derivative of the earlier and highly successful Alouette II. Sharing many elements with its predecessor while offering an extra pair of seats and other refinements, it quickly became a commercial success amongst both civil and military customers. Further variants were also developed; amongst these was a high-altitude derivative, designated as the SA 315B Lama, which entered operational service during July 1971. The Alouette III was principally manufactured by Aérospatiale; the type was also built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India as the HAL Chetak, by Industria Aeronautică R ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pilatus PC-6
The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a single-engined STOL utility aircraft designed by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. First flown in 1959, the PC-6 was produced at Pilatus Flugzeugwerke in Stans, Switzerland. It has been built in both piston engine- and turboprop-powered versions, and was produced under licence for a time by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. After 604 deliveries in 63 years, Pilatus ended production in 2022. Development On 4 May 1959, the first prototype, powered by a 254 kW (340 shp) piston engine, made its maiden flight. In early May 1961, the first ''Turbo Porter'', powered by a Turbomeca Astazou II turboprop engine, performed its initial flight.Fricker 1962, p. 38. In comparison to its earlier piston engine-powered incarnation, the Astazou II-equipped ''Turbo Porter'' had an increased gross capacity and top speed, as well as benefitting from the engine's automatic handling functions. These benefits came at the expense of a greater initial purchase cost a ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]