School of Armour

School of Armour
SANDF School of Armour emblem
Country	South Africa
Branch	South African Army
Type	Training Regiment
Part of	South African Armoured Formation
Garrison/HQ	Tempe, Bloemfontein
Motto(s)	Scientia vires est
Colors	unit: blue and orange beret: black
Mascot(s)	mother tank of WW1 era
Equipment	Olifant Mk.2 main battle tank
Website	www.saarmour.co.za
Insignia
Beret Colour	Black
Armour Squadron emblems
Armour beret bar circa 1992

The South African School of Armour (Afrikaans: Pantserskool) is the training institute of the South African Armoured Corps located at Tempe, Bloemfontein.

The Artillery and Armour School, at Potchefstroom was established on the 1st February 1964, forming two separate schools on the same site.

The School of Armour was then subsequently re-sited to Bloemfontein on the 1st April 1966, co-locating with the then 2nd Armoured Car Regiment at Tempe.

Whilst primarily a Training unit, varying in a number of squadrons and roles, the School of Armour also maintained an operational capability in the form of a Tank Wing.

From this Wing, the School deployed a tank Squadron to operations in Angola in late 1987.

The first operational use of Olifant tanks was carried out by the School in South-West Africa (Angola), acting as a defensive option against potential Cuban or Angolan incursions into that territory. The first actual engagement occurred during Operation Modular, with Echo Squadron. Fox Squadron later also became operational as well with Operation Hooper.

The School of Armour trains regular and reserve tank crews, drivers and maintenance instructors for the SANDF, SAAC leader group and conducts research and development.

The idea of instituting a Museum and Research Library for the South African Armoured Corps started as early as 1994 and was officially approved by the Chief of the SA Army on 12 October 1995. Approval for the use of a historical building located in the lines of the School of Armour, Tempe was granted in April 1995. A number of fund raising projects was launched and donations was raised to manufacture a number of showcases and other items. An appeal to all members of the Armoured Corps and other interested persons resulted in a number of different items being donated to the museum. The museum was officially opened by the Chief of the Army on 13 September 1996 to coincide with the 50th anniversary celebrations of the South African Armoured Corps.