Vice Admiral Andries Petrus Putter (2 December 1935 – 17 July 2014)
was a
South African military commander who served as Chief of the
South African Navy
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force.
The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...
twice, first from 1982 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 1990.
He was born in Brits in 1935.
Military career
He joined the Navy in 1954
He completed a year’s training at the Saldanha Naval Gymnasium in the same year. He completed a Bachelor of Science Degree through the
University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
, as the
Military Academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
had not yet been established.
He attended a torpedo anti-submarine course England, before joining the Frigate SAS President Kruger as a torpedo anti-submarine officer.
In 1969 he commanded the and became Senior Officer of the Minesweeper Flotilla.
In 1982 he was appointed Chief of Naval Staff Operations
and in 1985 as the Chief of the Navy.
In 1985 he was appointed as ''Chief of Defence Intelligence'' and in 1989 was appointed ''Chief of the Navy'' again. Following the Border War, the Navy budget was drastically reduced and Putter made the decision to retrench a large number of personnel.
He retired from the Navy shortly afterwards in 1990. He died at the Bayview Hospital in
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...
on 17 July 2014.
Awards and decorations
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See also
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List of South African military chiefs
This article lists the South African military chiefs. From 1958 until the first democratic general election in 1994, the present-day South African National Defence Force was known as the South African Defence Force. From 1912 to 1958, the mili ...
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Putter, Andries P
1935 births
South African admirals
White South African people
South African military personnel of the Border War
Chiefs of the South African Navy
2014 deaths
Stellenbosch University alumni