2 Parachute Battalion
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2 Parachute Battalion | |
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Active | July 1971 – present |
Country | ![]() |
Allegiance | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/> |
Branch | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/> |
Type | Infantry (Paratroopers) |
Role | Airborne Infantry |
Size | Battalion |
Part of | South African Infantry Corps Army Conventional Reserve |
Garrison/HQ | Tempe, Bloemfontein |
Nickname(s) | Parabats |
2 Parachute Battalion is Citizen Force paratroop unit of the South African Army. It was established in July 1971 with the formation of the Parachute Battalion. Later it was a battalion within 44 Parachute Brigade. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit.
Background
With the implementation of one year National Service in South Africa in 1968, 1 Parachute Battalion struggled to administer the Permanent Force and the Citizen Force parabats.[1] To prevent the loss of these trained national servicemen at the end of their one-year service to other units of the South African Defence Force, it was decided to form a new citizen force parachute unit to take these men.[1] The battalion was formed at Tempe in July 1971 of five rifle companies.[1] On 20 April 1978, the 2 Parachute Battalion and other parachute units became part of the newly formed 44 Parachute Brigade.[1]
2 Parachute Battalion would take part in Operation Savannah in Angola during 1975 and covered the withdrawal of the SADF forces from that country in early 1976.[1] In May 1978, elements of this battalion took part in the parachute drop over Cassinga during Operation Reindeer.[1] Companies from this battalion were based on the border with Angola in South-West Africa/Namibia and used as a rapid reaction force to counter incursions by SWAPO's PLAN forces into that country.[1] 2 Parachute Battalion companies were also deployed internally in South African black townships to suppress unrest to the governments Apartheid policies.[1]
References
Further reading
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