Navy

The Navy operates the following naval bases: Simonstown Naval base from above

Naval Base Simon's Town Naval Base Simon's Town is the South African Navy's largest naval base, situated at Simon's Town, near Cape Town. The base provides support functions to Fleet Command. History A small dockyard facility was first established in Simon's Town by th ...

– The base houses the frigate and submarine flotillas as well as support vessels. A naval dockyard is also situated here. *

Naval Base Durban Naval Base Durban in Durban harbour is a naval base of the South African Navy, situated on Salisbury Island, which is now joined to the mainland through land reclamation. It was formerly a full naval base until it was downgraded to a naval station ...

– This base was scaled down to a naval station in 2002 with the rationalisation of the fleet. In December 2015 it was redesignated a full naval base and became the home port of the patrol flotilla. * Naval Station Port Elizabeth – provides support to visiting ships, no major vessels are based here.

Training units

* – () located on the West Coast and provides training and development for ratings. * – () located in the Greater

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 ...

area. Provides practical training for apprentices and the technical musterings * – training in gunnery, anti-submarine warfare, communications, diving and seamanship *

South African Naval College The South African Naval College provides naval officer training to the South African Navy and is one of three officer training institutions within the South African National Defence Force, the equivalent of the Air Force Gymnasium and the Army G ...

, Gordon's Bay – training college for naval officers. * Maritime Warfare School,

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern sid ...

* NBCD School – Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, Damage Control training

Air Force

The South African Air Force has bases serving both the maritime and inland borders of the country.

Army

The South African Army maintains large bases in all 9 provinces of the country, mostly in or around major cities and towns.

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

* The

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

army base houses the 6 South African Infantry Battalion (Air Assault) and the First City Regiment (Air Assault). *

Gqeberha Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

is home to Prince Alfred's Guard (Air Assault). * The

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

army base is home to the 14 South African Infantry Battalion (Motorised Infantry). * Greenacres is home to the Regiment Piet Retief (Light Infantry). *

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

is home to the

Buffalo Volunteer Rifles The Buffalo Volunteer Rifles (BVR) (formerly the Kaffrarian Rifles) is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard ...

(Light Infantry).

Free State

* One of the largest bases in the country is Tempe base which is located in Bloemfontein and is home to

1 South African Tank Regiment 1 South African Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the South African Army, based at the Tempe military base in Bloemfontein as part of the South African Armoured Corps, South African Army Armour Formation. History Origin The Regiment was es ...

(Tank Regiment),

1 Special Service Battalion 1 Special Service Battalion (usually abbreviated to ) is an armoured regiment of the South African Army and only one of two such in its regular force. The Regiment is based at Tempe near Bloemfontein. It was previously known in Afrikaans as () ...

(Armoured Car Regiment), the South African School of Armour (which offers decentralized training to regular and reserve regiments),

44 Parachute Regiment 44 Parachute Regiment is the South African Army's chief airborne infantry unit. It was created in 2000 by redesignating 44 Parachute Brigade, and is based at the Tempe military base near Bloemfontein. History Origin The first South Afric ...

and

1 South African Infantry Battalion 1 South African Infantry Battalion is a mechanized infantry unit of the South African Army. History Oudtshoorn origin Established as 1 SA Infantry Training Battalion at Oudtshoorn, (hence the ostrich feathers on the unit insignia) on 26 Janua ...

(Mechanized Infantry). The parachute training wing is also located here. Bloemfontein is also home to the

Regiment Bloemspruit The Mangaung Regiment (formerly Regiment Bloemspruit) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origin In 1964, Regiment Bloemspruit with its HQ in Bloemfontein, was established on 1 January as the first Citizen Forc ...

(Light Infantry),

Vrystaatse Artillerie Regiment The General Dan Pienaar Artillery Regiment (formerly the Vrystaatse Artillerie Regiment) is a reserve artillery regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The First Regiment In 1854 the Free-State became an independent Republic. The Brit ...

(Artillery) and

Regiment President Steyn 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 conscripted ...

(Tank Regiment) as well as 3 Military Hospital. * De Brug Mobilisation Centre, Bloemfontein, next to the N8 route 21 km west of N1 Route. * Kroonstad is home to the

School of Engineers The National University of Engineering ( es, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, UNI) is a public engineering and science university located in the Rímac District of Lima, Peru. History The National University of Engineering was founded in 1 ...

, and the Army Band. *

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

is home to 2 Field Engineer Regiment.

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

is home to a large joint services base called

Thaba Tshwane Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Units and facilities The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...

, which is also home to the South African Army College, the National Ceremonial Guard and Band, the Military Police School, 1

Military Hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

2 Parachute Battalion The Bagaka Regiment (formerly 2 Parachute Battalion) is a reserve airborne infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origins With the implementation of one year National Service in South Africa in 1968, 1 Parachute Battalion struggled ...

, 44 Parachute Engineers, 44 Parachute Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Air Defence Artillery), 1 Military Printing Regiment, Tshwane Regiment (Motorised Infantry),

18 Light Regiment Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the shor ...

(Artillery) and 4 Survey and Map Regiment. The Dequar Road Base in Pretoria houses the Transvaalse Staatsartillerie (Artillery) and the

Pretoria Regiment The Pretoria Armour Regiment (formerly the Pretoria Regiment) is a reserve armoured regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The regiment was formed in Pretoria on 1 July 1913 as the 12th Infantry (Pretoria Regiment) – a unit of t ...

(Tank Regiment). The Joint Support Base in Wonderboom, Pretoria houses the School of Signals, 1 Signal Regiment, 2 Signal Regiment, 3 Electronic Workshop, 4 Signal Regiment and 5 Signal Regiment. Technical Base Complex Centurion is home to the Technical Service Training Centre, the Army Engineer Formation and a general support base. It also houses units from the SAMHS (e.g. Aviation medicine) and the SAAF. * Wallmansthal is home to

43 SA Brigade 43 South African Brigade is a formation of the South African Army. It was established on 2 April 1997 at Wallmannsthal, Gauteng as 43 Mechanised Brigade and then changed to 43 South African Brigade in 1999. Administratively, the headquarters answe ...

Headquarters. *

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

is home to 3 Parachute Battalion. * Several army bases in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

house the 21 South African Battalion (Light Infantry), 46 South African Brigade headquarters, 6th Field Engineers Regiment, 1 Construction Regiment, 35th Engineering Supply Regiment, the

Rand Light Infantry The Rand Light Infantry (RLI) is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve unit or United States Army National Guard unit. History Origin The history o ...

(Motorised Infantry), The Johannesburg Regiment (Motorised Infantry), the Transvaal Scottish Regiment (Motorised Infantry), Regiment Oos-Rand (Motorised Infantry), the South African Irish Regiment (Motorised Infantry), Regiment President Kruger (Motorised Infantry), the

Transvaal Horse Artillery Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

(Artillery) and the

Light Horse Regiment The Johannesburg Light Horse Regiment (formerly the Light Horse Regiment), is a reserve armoured car reconnaissance unit of the South African Army. History Anglo Boer War The Imperial Light Horse was raised by the British in Johannesburg ...

(Armoured Car Regiment). * Benoni is home to Regiment Oos-Transvaal (Air Defence Artillery). * Springs is home to 6 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Air Defence Artillery). * The

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Army Base is home to the SA Army Gymnasium. * Germiston is home to the

Witwatersrand Rifles Regiment The Bambatha Rifles (formerly the Witwatersrand Rifles) is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The Witwatersrand Rifles (often familiarly known as the "Wits Rifles or the Wit Rifles") was formed by ...

(Mechanized Infantry). *

Vereeniging Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly si ...

is home to Regiment Vaalrivier (Air Defence Artillery).

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

* Several army bases are located in Cape Town and are home to the Army Band, the

Cape Town Highlanders Regiment The Cape Town Highlanders is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origins Descendants of Scottish immigrants to South Africa raised the Cape Town Highlanders in 1885. On 24 April of the same year, their se ...

(Mechanized Infantry), the Cape Town Rifles (Motorised Infantry),

Cape Garrison Artillery 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 ...

(Air Defence Artillery), *Youngsfield Military Base near Ottery is home to

Regiment Westelike Provinsie The General Jan Smuts Regiment (formerly ) is a reserve mechanised infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origin Regiment Westelike Provinsie (RWP), was one of eight Afrikaner-oriented Traditional Citizen Force infantry units ...

(Mechanized Infantry),

Regiment Oranjerivier The Blaauwberg Armoured Regiment (formerly Regiment Oranjerivier) is a reserve armoured regiment of the South African Army. History Origin The Regiment was founded as an Afrikaans language unit on 1 July 1952 as ("Regiment North-West Cape"), bu ...

(Armoured Car Regiment) and 3 Field Engineer Regiment. * Winfield, on the site of the

Wingfield Aerodrome Wingfield Aerodrome was first the Cape Town Municipal Aerodrome, then Air Force Station Wingfield under the SAAF, before being used as a Fleet Air Arm base by the Royal Navy. After World War II, the aerodrome reverted to being the municipal air ...

, hosts the

Cape Field Artillery 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 (headgear), hood in t ...

(Artillery) *9th South African Infantry Battalion (Seaborne Infantry) is based at Eerste River * The

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

army base houses the

South African Infantry School The South African Infantry School is within the Army Base in Oudtshoorn, Western Cape. The Infantry School, now at Oudtshoorn, was established in November 1953, after a history dating back to the South African Military School in Bloemfontein, est ...

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

* An Army base is located in

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

which is home to the Air Defence Artillery School, 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Air Defence Artillery), 3 South African Infantry Battalion (basic training), the Kimberley Regiment (Motorised Infantry) and 44 Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Air Defence Artillery). * The Lohatla training area and army base is home to the SA Army Combat Training Centre where large army field exercises take place. It also houses the 101 Field Workshop and the 16 Maintenance Unit. * An Army base in Upington is home to 8 South African Infantry Battalion (Mechanized Infantry).

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

* The

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

army base is home to the School of Artillery, 4 Artillery Regiment (Artillery), Artillery Mobile Regiment (Artillery), the School of Tactical Intelligence, 1 Tactical Intelligence Regiment, Regiment De La Rey (Mechanized Infantry),

Regiment Potchefstroom Universiteit Regiment Potchefstroom Universiteit (Afrikaans for Potchefstroom University Regiment) is an artillery regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States A ...

(Artillery) and Regiment Mooirivier (Armoured Car Regiment). * The Mahikeng Army base is home to 10 South African Infantry Battalion (Motorised Infantry). *

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

is home to

Regiment Skoonspruit Regiment Skoonspruit was a motorised infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation. As a reserve unit, it had a status roughly equivalent to that of a present-day British Army Reserve ...

(Motorised Infantry). * The Zeerust Army Base is home to 2 South African Infantry Battalion (Motorised Infantry). * Berede Center - is home to Horses (Mounted Infantry army), Bike Squad (Motorcycle Mounted Infantry) This is the South African training ground before deployment to SWA/Namibia. The SWASPES Unit is based in Otavi, they are moved from Oshivello in 1979.

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

is home to an Army Band, the

Durban Light Infantry The Durban Light Infantry is a Motorised Infantry regiment of the South African Army. It lost its status as a Mechanised infantry regiment in 2010 in line with the rationalisation of resources. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equival ...

(Motorised Infantry),

Natal Field Artillery NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

(Artillery),

Natal Mounted Rifles NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

(Tank Regiment),

Umvoti Mounted Rifles The Umvoti Mounted Rifles (named after the Umvoti River) is an armoured regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit. It ...

(Armoured Car Regiment), the

Durban Regiment The King Shaka Regiment (formerly the Durban Regiment) is a reserve motorised infantry battalion of the South African Army. History Origin Established in 1923 as the Durban Volunteer Guides, the unit was disbanded after World War Two but reforme ...

(Motorised Infantry) and the 19 Field Engineer Regiment. *

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

is home to the

Natal Carbineers The Ingobamakhosi Carbineers (formerly Natal Carbineers) is an infantry unit of the South African Army. History Origins The regiment traces its roots to 1854 but it was formally raised on 15 January 1855 and gazetted on 13 March of that year, ...

(Motorised Infantry). * The

Mtubatuba Mtubatuba is a town north of Richards Bay close to the entrance of Ncivi and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (previously Greater St Lucia Wetland Park) but now the isimangaliso wetland park is known to be under Mtuba town in KwaZulu-Natal, South ...

army base is home to 121 South African Infantry Battalion (Motorised Infantry). * The Ladysmith army base is home to

5 South African Infantry Battalion 5 South African Infantry Battalion is a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army. History Based in Ladysmith 5 SAI was established on 1 January 1962, at Ladysmith, Natal Province. The battalion became operational on 1 April 1962. The ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

* Middelburg Army base is home to

4 South African Infantry Battalion 4 South African Infantry Battalion (also known as 4 SAI) is a motorised infantry unit of the South African Army. History Pretoria Origins 4 SAI was established on 1 January 1962, at Voortrekkerhoogte in Pretoria, but within a month was moved to ...

(Motorised Infantry). * Barberton is home to

Regiment Botha The General Botha Regiment (formerly Regiment Botha) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. The Regiment was named after General Louis Botha, the first prime minister of South Africa. History The regiment was formed in Ermel ...

(Motorised Infantry).

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

* The Polokwane army base is home to an Army Band and

Regiment Christiaan Beyers The Mapungubwe Regiment {formerly Regiment Christiaan Beyers) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. It traces its history as far back as 1939, and fought in the Second World War, and the Border War after 1966. It was renamed in ...

(Motorised Infantry). * The Phalaborwa army base is home to 7 South African Infantry Battalion (Motorised Infantry) and 5 Special Forces Regiment. * The

Thohoyandou Thohoyandou ( ve, Ṱhohoyanḓou) is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre of Vhembe District Municipality and Thulamela Local Municipality. It is also known for being the former capital of the bantustan ...

army base is home to 15 South African Infantry Battalion (Motorised Infantry). The main South African Army Headquarters are located in Salvokop, Pretoria in the Dequar Road Complex along with the 102 Field Workshop unit, 17 Maintenance Unit and the S.A.M.S Military Health Department.

Special Forces

The South African Special Forces Brigade is an independent

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit under the direct command of the Chief of the SANDF. It is the only unit permanently assigned to the Joint Operations Division. The unit consists of the following sub-units based at various locations: * Special Forces Headquarters -

* Special Forces School - Murrayhill * Special Forces Support Unit - Wallmansthal * 4 Special Forces Regiment -

Langebaan Langebaan is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa on the eastern shore of Langebaan Lagoon. Langebaan is situated 120 km north of Cape Town, just off the R27, about 28 km from Vredenburg and 20 km from Saldanha Bay. ...

5 Special Forces Regiment 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

- Phalaborwa

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South African military bases Bases Bases