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The Blaauwberg Armoured Regiment (formerly Regiment Oranjerivier) is a reserve armoured
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. ...
.
History
Origin
The Regiment was founded as anAfrikaans language
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch dialects, Dutch vernacular of Holland, Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German set ...
unit on 1 July 1952 as ("Regiment North-West Cape"), but this name was changed in the same year to Regiment Hertzog.
Citizen Force Unit
Due to a reorganisation of the Citizen Force the unit was redesignated Regiment Oranjerivier (Regiment Orangerivier) on 1 January 1960. At this time the unit was part of 17 Brigade. In 1961 after considerable discussion a regimentalmotto
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. Mot ...
, ("Eyes and Ears") was officially adopted. This motto was inspired by the eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
s that hunt over the Kalahari Desert.
Equipment Upgrade
In the early 1970s the regiment'sMarmon-Herrington Armoured Car
The Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car was a series of Armored car (military), armoured vehicles that were produced in South Africa and adopted by the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. RAF Armoured Car Company, RAF Armoured Car ...
s were replaced by the far more versatile and effective Eland 60.
Border War
Under
7 South African Infantry Division
7 South African Infantry Division was a formation of the South African Army, active from the 1960s to 1999.
History
Origin of 7 Division from existing and new Brigades
7 Division and 17, 18 and 19 Brigades were established on 1 April 1965. Dif ...
Regiment Oranjerivier became the armoured car regiment of 71 Motorised Brigade (part of ''7 South African Infantry Division
7 South African Infantry Division was a formation of the South African Army, active from the 1960s to 1999.
History
Origin of 7 Division from existing and new Brigades
7 Division and 17, 18 and 19 Brigades were established on 1 April 1965. Dif ...
'') on 15 November 1974. A year later the headquarters of the regiment was moved to Cape Town.
The regiment was mobilized together with most other the other units of ''71 Brigade'' to serve in Southern Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
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, coordina ...
during Operation Savannah
Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah) was the first insertion of Special Operations Executive, SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II.
This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambu ...
. Sub-units of the ROR were located from Katima Mulilo in the east to Chitado
Chitado is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cunene.
See also
* Communes of Angola
The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are administrative units in Angola after municipalities. The 163 municipalities of Angola are ...
in the west. Members of one of these sub-units were the first South African Citizen Force troops to make contact with a conventionally deployed foreign battle group when they were fired on by a Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n T-54
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the World War II, Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Mai ...
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
at Cahama
Cahama is a town, with a population of 12,767 (2014 census), and a municipality of Cunene Province, Angola. The population of the municipality was 70,061 according to the 2014 census in an area of 9,700 km. The municipality consists of the c ...
in March 1976. During the same period the unit lost its first member ever to enemy fire.
The regiment went on to serve several more times on the 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 1 ...
/Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
border as well as inside Angola. This included Operation Prone in Southern Angola during August/October 1988, where the regiment used a large number of Ratel 90 infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...
s.
On 2 November 1990, the ROR was awarded the Rooikat Floating Trophy - the first time the trophy had been awarded - as the best unit in the South African Armoured Corps. In November 1991 the regiment moved to Wingfield and gained an independent unit HQ with their own facilities, separated by some distance from that of 71 Brigade headquarters.
Under 9 South African Infantry Division
Sometime since 1974 regimental headquarters appears to have moved toCape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. The regiment appears to have been transferred with much of the rest of 71 Motorised Brigade to * 9 South African Infantry Division on the brigade's upgrading to a division on 2 January 1992.
Under the SANDF
9 S.A. Infantry Division was disbanded in 1997, and ROR transferred to the new armoured 'type' formation, theSouth African Army Armoured Formation
The South African Army Armour Formation provides an Armour capability to the South African Army. The Formation came into being as part of a restructure. South African Armour Corps units previously under the command of various different brigades ...
. The regiment currently uses the Rooikat
The Rooikat (Afrikaans for "Caracal"; ) is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the ...
armoured fighting vehicle, equipped with a 76 mm quick-fire gun.
Name Change
In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa. Regiment Oranjerivier became the Blaauwberg Armoured Regiment, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.Regimental Symbols
*Regimental badge: An eagle with outspread wings with the regimental motto beneath. The badge is worn on the traditional Armoured Corps black beret. *The Regiment received theFreedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
of Upington on 4 May 1966 and the Freedom of Keimoes on 11 June 1968.
*The symbol of command of the Regiment's Commanding Officer is a silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
ed 90mm practice round.
Previous Dress Insignia
Leadership
Freedom of Entry
* 4 May 1966 - Upington * 11 June 1968 - KeimoesReferences
{{SA Army Units Armoured regiments of South Africa Military units and formations in Cape Town Military units and formations established in 1952