81 Armoured Brigade (South Africa)
| 81 Armoured Brigade | |
|---|---|
81 Armoured Brigade emblem
|
|
| Active | 1974–1992 |
| Country |
 South Africa
|
| Allegiance |
South Africa
|
| Branch |
 South African Army
|
| Type | Armoured Brigade |
| Part of | South African Composite Brigade |
| Garrison | Merino and Poynton Buildings in Pretoria , Durban |
| Nickname(s) | 81 Brigade |
| Motto(s) | Manu ferrea (a iron hand) |
| Equipment |
|
| Engagements | South African Border War |
| Insignia | |
| 81 Armoured Brigade Command Bar |  |
81 Armoured Brigade was a Formation of 8th Armoured Division (South Africa), a combined arms force consisting of armour, mechanised infantry, and mechanised artillery.
81 Armoured Brigade was activated on the 1st August 1974 but can trace its origins back to an older structure in the late 1960s, called 16 Brigade, under the control of Northern Transvaal Command. On 1 August 1974, through a reorganization of the Army’s conventional force, the name was changed to 81 Armoured Brigade.
Under this reorganisation, the following units were transferred to the new command:
81 Armoured Brigade resorted under the new 8 Division.
The Brigade’s philosophy was to be up-armoured and highly mobile. All units in the Brigade irrelevant of their Corps was either to be armoured or mechanised. In light of this the Saracen armoured car was used for the last time by Regiment Northern Transvaal and the new Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicle was introduced. Mechanised elements were also introduced to 17 Field Artillery where the Sexton, a 25 pounder artillery gun mounted on Sherman chassis was introduced. Mechanised infantry was a new concept in 1975, the biggest change being the increase in tempo and close proximity to armour in battle. In 1976, 40 command group members of Regiment Northern Transvaal underwent mechanised conversion training at 1 SAI. Pretoria Regiment was also busy converting at the same time to a modernised version of the Centurion Tank, the Oliphant at the School of Armour. 2 Light Horse, the Brigades armoured car regiment, was attached following Operation Savannah to service in South West Africa and therefore was not involved in the mechanisation program at that stage.
81 Armoured Brigade conducted its first training exercise at the General de Wet Training Range, Tempe, near Bloemfontein in September 1975 with Exercise Mainstay. Three combat groups were activated. Over a period of three months, the area was allocated from one combat group to the next.
Because of the limitations of the General de Wet Range, a new Training Area was opened in the next year to accommodate large scale conventional war training, namely Lohatla. The honour to use the new property for the first time rested with 81 Armoured Brigade, who conducted the following large exercises over the next few years:
By 1984 various combat groups of 81 Armoured Brigade conducted operational service largely in the counter insurgency role. The most important of these was probably Combat Group Foxtrot. After retraining, combat groups left Lohatla for Oshivello and Ongiva under the command of the Joint Monitoring Commission. Some of these operations included:
With the independence of Namibia, the conventional threat dissipated and the Army Command began a process of rationalisation. Brigade headquarters were now focussed on counter-insurgency support to regional commands. In this light, 81 Armoured Brigade was transferred to Durban and units would report directly to Divisional headquarters. A final decision was inevitable and the HQ of 81 Brigade was disbanded around 1992.
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Wikipedia