| 8 South African Armoured Division | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1974-1997 |
| Country |
 South Africa |
| Branch | South African Army |
| Type | Armour |
| Size | Division |
8 South African Armoured Division was a formation of the South African Army, active from the 1970s to 1999.
History[]
8 SA Division was established as an armoured formation on August 1, 1974, consisting of 81 Armoured Brigade, 82 Mechanised Brigade and 84 Motorised Brigade. It was, in many respects, a mirror of 7 South African Division.
A provisional 1977 order of battle had 8 South African Armoured Division organised as follows: [1]
Divisional Breakdown[]
Brigades[]
By 1985, 8 SA Division consisted of 81 Armoured Brigade, 84 Motorised Brigade and 72 Motorised Brigade. 82 Mechanised Brigade was under command of 7 South African Division
81 Armoured Brigade[]
81 Armoured Brigade consisted of the following units:
- 811 Tank Regiment,
- 812 Tank Regiment,
- 813 Mechanised Battalion,
- 81 Medium Regiment
- 81 Field Squadron,
- 81 Signals Unit,
- 81 Maintenance Unit
- 81 Field Workshop,
- 81 Field Ambulance,
82 Mechanised Brigade[]
82 Mechanised Brigade consisted of the following units:
- 821 Mechanised Battalion,
- 822 Mechanised Battalion,
- 823 Tank Regiment,
- 82 Field Regiment,
- 82 Field Squadron,
- 82 Signals Unit,
- 82 Maintenance Unit,
- 82 Field Workshop,
- 82 Field Ambulance,
83 Mechanised Brigade[]
83 Mechanised Brigade consisted of the following units
- 831 Mechanised Battalion,
- 832 Mechanised Battalion,
- 833 Tank Regiment,
- 83 Field Regiment,
- 83 Field Squadron,
- 83 Signals Unit
- 83 Maintenance Unit
- 83 Field Workshop,
- 83 Field Ambulance
84 Motorised Brigade[]
84 Motorised Brigade consisted of the following units
- 841 Motorised Battalion,
- 84 Field Regiment,
- 842 Motorised Battalion,
- 843 Motorised Battalion,
- 84 Field Squadron,
- 84 Signals Unit,
- 84 Maintenance Unit,
- 84 Field Workshop,
- 84 Field Ambulance,
8th Armoured Division also consisted of the following diverse units:
Artillery[]
18 Locating Regiment,
Light Anti-aircraft[]
18 Anti-aircraft Regiment (35mm), 28 Anti-aircraft Regiment (20mm),
Medium Artillery[]
18 Medium Regiment,
Engineers[]
18 Field Squadron, 18 Engineer Support Regiment,
Armour[]
18 Tank Regiment, 18 Forward Delivery Squadron,
Signals[]
18 Signals Group
Maintenance[]
18 Maintenance Unit, 18 Field Workshop,
Medical[]
18 Mobile Hospital, 18 Field Ambulance Unit,
Military Police[]
18 Provost Company,
Recce[]
8 Combat Reconnaissance Brigade, 81 Armoured Car Regiment, 82 Armoured Car Regiment, 83 Armoured Car Regiment,
Disbanding[]
8 SA Division’s Brigades were disbanded in 1992 and the battalions and regiments came to answer directly to the divisional headquarters - the thinking was that these would be grouped into task forces as required. The concept was never put to a serious test. The formation was also renamed 8 SA Division. The Division was effectively disbanded on April 1, 1997, when its former units became part of 7 South African Division as 74 Brigade.
References[]
- Cock, J. Laurie, N. War and Society: The Militarisation of South Africa, published by David Phillip, 1989 ISBN 978-0864861153
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The original article can be found at 8th Armoured Division (South Africa) and the edit history here.