History of SAS Saldanha

The grassroots of the local Naval presence in Saldanha can be traced to the Second World War, when in 1941, as a result of increased pressure on Table Bay; a new Allied harbour was sought. Saldanha Bay, with its sheltered moorings was the ideal location.

The South African Seaward Defence Force and a Minesweeping flotilla was established in 1942 for seaward and harbour protection. On Baviaanskop, Elands Bay, Malgaskop and Hoedjiespunt, 6 inch and 12 inch guns were installed. Anti-submarine nets were laid in North Bay and eight lines of moored mines and a control centre on land protected the entrance of Saldanha Bay. Members of the South African Women's Auxiliary Naval Services, previously known as SWANS manned the controls and detection equipment.

Between June 1942 and September 1943, nearly 450 ships had called in and dropped anchor in the bay. On 1 June 1944, a SWAN named Susan Labuschagne created "The Night Of The Great Event in Saldanha Bay/The Death Watch" by detonating two lines of the controlled mine field. She claimed she saw a submarine on her screen. Although the result was spectacular, no evidence of the said submarine was ever found.

All the British living quarters became the property of the SA Navy on 14 June 1944. In 1948 the training establishment HMSAS Field Marshall Smuts moved from Saldanha to Salisbury island in Durban. However, the base at Saldanha soon reverted to a training atmosphere in 1951 when the Naval Gymnasium was set up with 44 trainees reporting for a year's training.

Before the unit was christened SAS Saldanha on 1 March 1956, it was known as the "Naval and Marine Gymnasium" and "SAS Drommedaris." With the implementation of 12 months compulsory National Service, SAS Saldanha started training recruits from both the National Service and the Permanent Force. Two important dates in the unit's history are 20 March 1981 when the Freedom of Vredenburg/Saldanha was awarded to the unit, and 30 March 1990 when the Unit Colour was awarded to the unit.

In May 1989 SAS Saldanha became a Naval Base with the added responsibility to still function as a unit. This was maintained until 1990 when, due to rationalisation, it reverted back to a pure training unit. From these humble beginnings, emerged one of the cornerstones of the modern South African Navy, and one of the premier military training establishments on the continent.

The training that currently takes place at SAS Saldanha is divided into three parts, namely the NGP (MSD) Training, Military Training for Ratings Part 2 (MTR 2) and Military Training for Ratings Part 3 (MTR 3).

Previous Officers Commanding (OC)

Previous Masters at Arms (MAA)

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revision date: Monday, November 25, 2013
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