81 Armoured Brigade (South Africa)

81 Armoured Brigade was a Formation of 8th Armoured Division (South Africa), a combined arms force consisting of armour, mechanised infantry, and mechanised artillery.

16 Brigade
81 Armoured Brigade was activated on 1 August 1974 but can trace its origins back to an older structure in the late 1960s, called 16 Brigade, under the control of Northern Transvaal Command. On 1 August 1974, through a reorganization of the Army's conventional force, the name was changed to 81 Armoured Brigade.

Initial Structure
Under this reorganisation, the following units were transferred to the new command:
 * Regiment Northern Transvaal,
 * Pretoria Regiment,
 * South African Irish Regiment,
 * Regiment Molopo,
 * Natal Mounted Rifles,
 * 2 Light Horse Regiment,
 * 5 Forward Delivery Squadron,
 * 17 Field Regiment/Regiment University of Pretoria,
 * 15 Field Engineers Regiment,
 * 20 Maintenance Unit,
 * 32 Field Workshop,
 * 81 Signal Unit,
 * 81 Field Ambulance



Higher Command
81 Armoured Brigade resorted under the new 8 Division.

Units mechanised and armoured
The Brigade's philosophy was to be up-armoured and highly mobile. All units in the Brigade irrelevant of their Corps was either to be armoured or mechanised. In light of this the Saracen armoured car was used for the last time by Regiment Northern Transvaal and the new Ratel Infantry Fighting Vehicle was introduced. Mechanised elements were also introduced to 17 Field Artillery where the Sexton, a 25-pounder artillery gun mounted on Sherman chassis was introduced. Mechanised infantry was a new concept in 1975, the biggest change being the increase in tempo and close proximity to armour in battle. In 1976, 40 command group members of Regiment Northern Transvaal underwent mechanised conversion training at 1 SAI. Pretoria Regiment was also busy converting at the same time to a modernised version of the Centurion Tank, the Oliphant at the School of Armour. 2 Light Horse, the Brigades armoured car regiment, was attached following Operation Savannah to service in South West Africa and therefore was not involved in the mechanisation program at that stage.

Brigade Training and Exercises
81 Armoured Brigade conducted its first training exercise at the General de Wet Training Range, Tempe, near Bloemfontein in September 1975 with Exercise Mainstay. Three combat groups were activated. Over a period of three months, the area was allocated from one combat group to the next. Because of the limitations of the General de Wet Range, a new Training Area was opened in the next year to accommodate large scale conventional war training, namely Army Battle School at Lohatla. The honour to use the new property for the first time rested with 81 Armoured Brigade, who conducted the following brigade exercises (Ex) over the next few years:
 * Alpha Combat Group: The Natal Mounted Rifles under command of Commandant Palframan commanded the first combat group.
 * Bravo Combat Group: The second combat group was commanded by the Pretoria Regiment under command of Commandant Holztrager
 * Charlie Combat Group: The Regiment Northern Transvaal controlled the third combat group. The General de Wet training range was quickly deemed too small for modern armoured mechanised exercises at Brigade level.

Operational Deployment
By 1984 various combat groups of 81 Armoured Brigade conducted operational service largely in the counter insurgency role. The most important of these was probably Combat Group Foxtrot. After retraining, combat groups left Lohatla for Oshivello and Ongiva under the command of the Joint Monitoring Commission. Some of these operations included:
 * The Brigade's Regiment Northern Transvaal A and B companies supported 102 Battalion at Opuwa.
 * The brigade acted as the "Force in Being" (Conventional Reserve Force) in 1984. Three Combat Groups were deployed in the Operational Area (Sector 10).
 * From 15 July 1988 to 19 September 1988 The Brigade participated in a sub operation of Operation Prone namely Operation Pact. Under command of Brigadier Chris Serfontein, the OC of Sector 10, the entire Brigade under command of Colonel Jan Lusse was deployed in Owamboland as mobile reserve during the final phases of implementation of UN Resolution 435, which led to the independence of South West Africa/Namibia.
 * The Brigades sub-elements, Pretoria Regiment and Regiment Molopo was used in Operations Hooper and Moduler.

Presentation of National Colours
The climax of 81 Armoured Brigade was on 1 Aug 91 when the then Chief of the Army Lt Genl G.L. Meiring handed over National Colours to the following CF units of the Brigade (Unit Commanders and Regimental Sergeant Majors indicated): WO1 Sampie Claasen of Northern Transvaal Command trained members for the parade which he did excellently. The Brigade was congratulated by Chief of the Army for a spectacular parade.

This was the final official act by 81 Armoured Brigade and the climax on a 17-year illustrious history.

Restructuring
With the independence of Namibia, the conventional threat dissipated and the SA Army Command began a process of rationalisation. Brigade headquarters were now focussed on counter-insurgency support to regional commands. SA Army Implementing Instruction 3/91 gave orders for the disbandment of 81 Armoured Brigade, which happened on 29 Nov 1991. The CF Units under command were reorganised as follows: