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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)
OC HMSAS Field Marshall Smuts |
|
Lieutenant
Commander D.W. Fairbairne |
1945 |
Lieutenant
Commander P. Selk |
Until
December 1948 |
|
|
OC Naval Gymnasium |
|
Lieutenant
Commander J.C.C. Rice |
14
January 1951 - 1952 |
|
|
OC SAS Drommedaris |
|
Lieutenant
Commander P. Selk |
1953
- September 1954 |
Commander
J. Johnson |
September
1954 - February 1956 |
|
|
OC SAS Saldanha |
|
Commander
J. Johnson |
March
1956 - April 1957 |
Captain
S.C. Biermann |
May
1957 - December 1963 |
Commander
G. Joubert |
December
1963 - March 1966 |
Commander
J.J. Nieuwoudt |
March
1966 - January 1967 |
Captain
W. G. Van Der Merwe |
February
1967 - September 1976 |
Captain
J.J.F. Carstens |
April
1977 - July 1978 |
Captain
M.H. Heyns |
August
1978 - January 1982 |
Captain
A.P. Burgers |
January
1982 - August 1984 |
Captain
S. v.H. du Toit |
18
January 1985 - 1 December 1989 |
Captain
P.C. Crathorne 1 |
December
1989 - 14 July 1993 |
Captain
J.E. Louw |
14
July 1993 - 31 December 1995 |
Captain
R.L.N. Erleigh |
1
January 1996 - 31 January 2000 |
Captain
E.H. Lochner |
1
February 2000 - 23 January 2003 |
Captain
R. Shelley |
24
January 2003 - to date |
Previous Masters at Arms (MAA)
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) M.J. Forbes |
1965 - 1973 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) S.L. Frazer |
1974 - 1978 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) G.L. Buys |
1978 - 1980 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) D.C. Swart |
1981 - 1982 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) T.P. Pelser |
1982 - 1984 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) P.E. Krone |
1984 - 1986 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) J. Terblanche |
1987 - 1991 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) J.H.N. Roodman |
1991 - 1997 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) J.A. Vorster |
1997 - 2002 |
Warrant
Officer (Class 1) S.J. Jacobs |
2002 - to date |
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