1 Special Service Battalion (usually abbreviated to ) is an

armour Armour (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specificall ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

of the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

and only one of two such in its regular force. The Regiment is based at Tempe near

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape ...

. It was previously known in Afrikaans as ().

History

Following World War II, the Special Service Battalion was re-organised into 2 battalions - 1 Special Service Battalion and

1 South African Infantry Battalion 1 South African Infantry Battalion is a mechanized infantry unit of the South African Army. History Oudtshoorn origin Established as 1 SA Infantry Training Battalion at Oudtshoorn, (hence the ostrich feathers on the unit insignia) on 26 Janua ...

. When the South African Armoured Corps was thus officially proclaimed in 1946 and Special Service Battalion was included in the corps as the only full-time unit, its symbols and colours were incorporated. 1 SSB also took part in the

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

, serving in

South-West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola ( Portuguese colony before ...

and

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

More recently, the unit also took part in Operation Boleas, which was a South African intervention in its neighbouring country of

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a populatio ...

in 1998. 1 SSB had a sister unit for a number of years in the post-World War II era, designated

2 Special Service Battalion 2 Special Service Battalion (usually abbreviated to ''2SSB'') was an armoured regiment of the South African Army and only one of two such in its regular force. The Regiment was based at Zeerust. It was known in English as, ''2 Special Service Bat ...

, which was based in the town of Zeerust. This unit has now been disbanded. 1 SSB also detached squadrons to various battlegroups in the South West African campaign SADF 63 Mech emblem ver 1

Equipment

pre 1995

Current

The regiment is equipped primarily with Ratel infantry fighting vehicles and Rooikat armoured cars.

Future

Under Project Hoefyster, the SANDF will eventually replace the Ratel family of vehicles with the Badger system. Five versions are contemplated of which two are earmarked for 1 SSB: *Missile (turreted Denel ZT3 Ingwe) *Fire Support (turreted cannon, but with more ammunition than the section vehicle)

Regimental symbols

*The cap badge is a spray of three protea flowers, bound by a ribbon bearing the initials and motto. *Regimental

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mo ...

: () *Regimental communications icon : *Regimental deployment strength : 1,000 soldiers *Regimental honour roll : Soldiers who died during active combat duty and soldiers who died during training. *Regimental traditional contact meeting : , once a year''