The SAAF Forum

Following on from my visit to SA Armour Museum at Tempe, Bloemfontein, I took some time to visit the 1 Special Service Battalion Museum.

This special battalion was established during the Great Depression in the 1930s in order to “save the youth from a loss of self-confidence and the risk of moral and physical degeneration” caused by prolonged unemployment at the time. 1SSB is now an armoured regiment of the South African Army. The regiment is equipped primarily with Ratel infantry fighting vehicles and Rooikat armoured cars.

The small museum is located within the Officers Mess and there is a large variety of armoured vehicles on display in the 1 SSB lines.

Photos were taken on two seperate occasions.

Main entrance into the Tempe base


The 1 SSB Museum entrance


Displays

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How come every time my ship comes in, I'm at the airport?

One of the Sherman M4 tanks of the troop with callsign "Dog4" in the Italian campaign during WWII.










T-55 tank, Angola, 1984

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How come every time my ship comes in, I'm at the airport?

Saracen APC












Rooikat

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How come every time my ship comes in, I'm at the airport?

What does the "KAV" before many of the names on the Roll of Honour mean?

I'm thinking it's Afrikaans for Kavalier ... with the English being Trooper

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Brent Best

That would make sense if armoured units were regarded as descended from cavalry. I checked the dictionary, "kavallier" is the correct translation for "cavalry man".

Armour is certainly descended from cavalry.

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A plan is simply a basis for change.

In the US Army the modern Cavalry are air mobile (helicopter) units, rather than armour.

If you trawled through the list of active US cavalry units I believe you will find that the majority are either armoured or combined arms units, particularly (arguably) the best known 1st and 7th Cavalry. Regardless of which, does not change the fact that armour is the direct descendant of mounted soldiers.

cavalry
ˈkav(ə)lri/Submit

noun
(in the past) soldiers who fought on horseback.
"the cavalry charged up the hill"
synonyms: mounted troops, cavalrymen, horse soldiers, troopers, horse; More

modern soldiers who fight in armoured vehicles.
"a cavalry regiment"

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A plan is simply a basis for change.