The Blaauwberg Armoured Regiment (formerly Regiment Oranjerivier) is a reserve armoured

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

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 Servic ...

History

Origin

The Regiment was founded as an

Afrikaans language Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...

unit on 1 July 1952 as ("Regiment North-West

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

"), but this name was changed in the same year to Regiment Hertzog.

Citizen Force Unit

Due to a reorganisation of the Citizen Force the unit was redesignated Regiment Oranjerivier (Regiment Orangerivier) on 1 January 1960. At this time the unit was part of 17 Brigade. In 1961 after considerable discussion a regimental

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

, ("Eyes and Ears") was officially adopted. This motto was inspired by the

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s that hunt over the

Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal d ...

Equipment Upgrade

In the early 1970s the regiment's Marmon-Herrington Armoured Cars were replaced by the far more versatile and effective Eland 60.

Border War

Under
7 South African Infantry Division 7 South African Infantry Division was a formation of the South African Army, active from the 1960s to 1999. History Origin of 7 Division from existing and new Brigades 7 Division and 17, 18 and 19 Brigades were established on 1 April 1965. Di ...

Regiment Oranjerivier became the armoured car regiment of 71 Motorised Brigade (part of ''

7 South African Infantry Division 7 South African Infantry Division was a formation of the South African Army, active from the 1960s to 1999. History Origin of 7 Division from existing and new Brigades 7 Division and 17, 18 and 19 Brigades were established on 1 April 1965. Di ...

'') on 15 November 1974. A year later the headquarters of the regiment was moved to Cape Town. The regiment was mobilized together with most other the other units of ''71 Brigade'' to serve in Southern

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

during Operation Savannah. Sub-units of the ROR were located from

Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It is located in the Caprivi Strip. It had 28,362 inhabitants in 2010, and comprises two electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and Katima Mulilo Urban. I ...

in the east to Chitado in the west. Members of one of these sub-units were the first South African Citizen Force troops to make contact with a conventionally deployed foreign battle group when they were fired on by a

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n T-54

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful ...

at Cahama in March 1976. During the same period the unit lost its first member ever to enemy fire. The regiment went on to serve several more times on the

South-West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

border as well as inside Angola. This included

Operation Prone Operation Prone was a proposed military operation by the South African Defence Force (SADF) and South West African Territorial Force (SWATF) during the South African Border War and Angolan Civil War between May and September 1988. With the advan ...

in Southern Angola during August/October 1988, where the regiment used a large number of Ratel 90

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed F ...

s. On 2 November 1990, the ROR was awarded the Rooikat Floating Trophy - the first time the trophy had been awarded - as the best unit in the

South African Armoured Corps The South African Army Armour Formation provides an Armour capability to the South African Army. The Formation came into being as part of a restructure. South African Armour Corps units previously under the command of various different brigades a ...

. In November 1991 the regiment moved to Wingfield and gained an independent unit HQ with their own facilities, separated by some distance from that of 71 Brigade headquarters.

Under 9 South African Infantry Division

Sometime since 1974 regimental headquarters appears to have moved to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. The regiment appears to have been transferred with much of the rest of 71 Motorised Brigade to * 9 South African Infantry Division on the brigade's upgrading to a division on 2 January 1992.

Under the SANDF

9 S.A. Infantry Division was disbanded in 1997, and ROR transferred to the new armoured 'type' formation, the

South African Army Armoured Formation The South African Army Armour Formation provides an Armour capability to the South African Army. The Formation came into being as part of a restructure. South African Armour Corps units previously under the command of various different brigades a ...

. The regiment currently uses the

Rooikat The Rooikat (Afrikaans for "Caracal"; ) is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm high velocity gun for organic anti-tank and fire support purposes. The Rooikat's main armament was built with the ...

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

, equipped with a 76 mm quick-fire gun. Rooikat Armoured Car (9689455358)

Name Change

In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa. Regiment Oranjerivier became the Blaauwberg Armoured Regiment, and have 3 years to design and implement new regimental insignia.

Regimental Symbols

*Regimental badge: An eagle with outspread wings with the regimental motto beneath. The badge is worn on the traditional Armoured Corps black

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...

. *The Regiment received the

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

of Upington on 4 May 1966 and the Freedom of

Keimoes Keimoes is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It lies on the Orange River and is about halfway between Upington and Kakamas. History It attained municipal status in 1949. The name of the town translates in both the Khoekhoe and ...

on 11 June 1968. *The symbol of command of the Regiment's Commanding Officer is a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

ed 90mm practice round.

Previous Dress Insignia

SADF era Regiment Oranjerivier insignia ver 2

Leadership

Freedom of Entry

* 4 May 1966 -

Upington Upington ( Nama: //Khara hais) is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift ('Olive wood drift'), due to the abundance of ...

* 11 June 1968 -

References

{{SA Army Units Armoured regiments of South Africa Military units and formations in Cape Town Military units and formations established in 1952