5 South African Infantry Battalion is a

motorised infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ...

unit of the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

History

Based in Ladysmith

5 SAI was established on 1 January 1962, at

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

Natal Province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...

. The battalion became operational on 1 April 1962.

The Insizwa Proficiency

5 SAI had a very unusual proficiency in the 1970s and 1980s, called the Insizwa, the Zulu word for a strong young man. The criteria required that only sharpshooters on a tabel 4 level were allowed to compete. A run had to be done under ten mins with battle kit on, followed by route march also with battle kit. The route march would end at the firing line where the competitor would have to shoot 8 shots in the bull. The soldier would also have to successfully complete all other shooting exercises with an 80% success rate. SADF 5 SAI Insizwa proficiency

Bushwar

5 SAI took part in

Operation Savannah Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah) was the first insertion of SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II. This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambush and kill as many pilots as ...

during 1975 in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, and Operation Protea in 1981 where it deployed companies continuously on rotation to the operational area, taking part in many of the large operations across the border into Angola in the years which followed, right up to the withdrawal of South African forces from Namibia in 1989.

Training Area

Land to the east of Ladysmith was allocated by the Department of Defence in 1990 as the Boschhoek Training Area.

Peacekeeping operations

In 2004, the battalion was one of several South African units who took part as peacekeepers in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Mission to the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

(

MONUC The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...

). The battalion was deployed again in May 2014 to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the

United Nations Force Intervention Brigade The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations ...

SANDF's Motorised Infantry

SANDF's Motorised Infantry is transported mostly by Samil trucks, Mamba APC's or other un-protected motor vehicles. Samil 20,50 and 100 trucks transport soldiers, towing guns, and carrying equipment and supplies. Samil trucks are all-wheel drive, in order to have vehicles that function reliably in extremes of weather and terrain. Motorised infantry have an advantage in mobility allowing them to move to critical sectors of the battlefield faster, allowing better response to enemy movements, as well as the ability to outmaneuver the enemy.

Insignia

Previous Dress Insignia

Current Dress Insignia

Leadership

Notes

References

{{SA Army Units Infantry battalions of South Africa Infantry regiments of South Africa Military units and formations established in 1962 United Nations Force Intervention Brigade