31 Battalion was a light infantry battalion in the South African Army and in later years became part of the SWATF. The battalion consisted of men recruited from the hunter-gatherer San people. It was later renamed in 1980 as 201 Battalion.
South African
61 Mechanised Battalion Group
61 Mechanised Infantry Battalion Group (61 Mech) was a unit of the South African Infantry Corps. Although it was classed as mechanized infantry, it was a mixed force of infantry, armour and artillery. It was formed in 1978 as Battle Group Juliet (or Combat Group...
44 Parachute Brigade
In April 1978 the 44th Parachute Brigade was established by Colonel Jan Breytenbach, with the addition of 2 and 3 Parachute Battalions. This was followed in May by Operation REINDEER, South Africa’s first major conventional airborne operation. All three battalions...
1 Special Service Bn
1 Special Service Battalion (SSB) was established on 1 May 1933 in Roberts Heights (now Thaba Tshwane). In April 1942 the SSBs long and illustrious career with the Armoured Corps started when it was converted to an Armoured Car Regiment. In 1946, Special Service...
2 Recce
2 Reconnaissance Regiment was the Citizen Force, (Territorial Army), unit of the South African Special Forces. This unit was established in Pretoria as 2 Reconnaissance Commando in 1974.
5 Recce
5 Special Forces Regiment is based in Phalaborwa in the east of the northern Limpopo Province. It was established in Durban in 1976, with a sojourn at Duku Duku in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The unit moved into its present lines, near the Kruger National Park, in 1980....
4 Recce
This is the Seaborne Special Forces Regiment in South Africa. The unit was first established as 4 Reconnaissance Commando in 1978, at Langebaan, and comprised the original Charlie Group of 1 Reconnaissance Commando. Initially, the compliment of 4 Reconnaissance...
1 Recce
The 1 Reconnaissance Commando was the first South African special forces unit, founded by General Fritz Loots - the founder of the South African Special Forces, and the first General Officer Commanding of the South African Special Forces. He appointed 11 qualified...
32 Battalion
32 Battalion (sometimes nicknamed Buffalo Battalion, or Portuguese: Os TerrÃveis for The Terrible Ones) was an elite light infantry battalion of the South African Army founded in 1975, composed of black and white commissioned and enlisted personnel. Unlike other South...
101 Battalion
The South West Africa Territory Force, SWATF renumbered battalion numbers according to their geographical positioning on the border. The prefix 10 pertained to battalions operating to the west of the Kavango River, 20 to the Kavango or central region and 70 to the...
Michael Hamilton Woods
born 28.08.1943, Cape Town, South Africa​. father Denis Hamilton Woods (1911-1977)​. mother Daphne Mary (nee Geddie) (1919-1996)
Peter McAleese
McAleese served in the British Army's Parachute Regiment and Special Air Service (SAS), the Rhodesian Special Air Service and British South Africa Police, and South Africa's 44 Parachute Brigade. As a mercenary or contractor, he worked in countries including South...
José “Mr T” Da Costa
Da Costa was born in Lobito, then a lively coastal town in the Benguela province of Angola, to a white Portuguese father and a mother from one of the local tribes. In early 1976 Da Costa arrived at Buffalo Base in the Western Caprivi with a group of ex-FNLA soldiers,...
Kafuru Bango
João “Apollo” Apolinário
