SA Naval Heritage Day-by-Day.
18 February:
1961 HMS Victorious arrives in South African waters to participate in Exercise SHOPWINDOW in company of HM Ships Blackpool and Lynx, and SAS Vrystaat.
1961 After 9 days of work the boom defence vessel SAS Somerset (Cdr G. Germishuis) re-floats the trawler Mossel - formerly HMSAS Grimwood - in Port Elizabeth.
1970 The Pretoria Division of SAS Rand Citizen Force Unit (later named SAS Magaliesberg) is established with Lt Cdr E.M. Hussey in command.
1977 The first of three Strike Craft to be built in Israel, P1561 (Cdr R.C. Simpson-Anderson - later named SAS Jan Smuts), is launched at Haifa, Israel, by Mrs Annette Rennie (wife of Lt Cdr M.A. Rennie), inaugurating the Minister class (later re-designated as the Warrior class in 1997) vessels in the SA Navy. (Photo)
When the 9 ships of this class were renamed in 1997, Jan Smuts was the only ship of the class to retain her original name on the grounds that it was to honour Jan Smuts’ achievements as a warrior during the Second Anglo Boer War and not for his period as Minister of Defence.
1982 On the morning of 18 February 1982 two frigates, SAS President Kruger (Capt W.J. de Lange) and SAS President Pretorius (Capt N. Vorster) were providing an exercise anti-submarine screen for the replenishment vessel SAS Tafelberg (Capt N.M. Smit) in order to provide practical training for the Submarine Officer Commanding Course who were onboard the submarine SAS Johanna van der Merwe.
Shortly before 04:00 that morning the formation of surface ships had to reverse their course in order to ensure that they remained within the range of the much slower dived submarine so that the course could continue to carry out mock attacks. The order was given to re-orientate the screen and in the process of executing this change the President Kruger incorrectly crossed the bows of the Tafelberg and was run down by her. Some 40 minutes later the crew of President Kruger were ordered to abandon ship and shortly afterwards she sank in a position 78 miles west-southwest of Cape Point. (Photo)
Fourteen of the President Kruger’s crew died in the collision and a further two drowned after abandoning the ship. The remaining 177 members of the ship’s company were rescued by the President Pretorius and Tafelberg.
This was the worst accident that the SA Navy has ever had to face, and it must be recorded that the fact that 177 men were saved is largely due to the discipline and experience shown by all of those who were involved in the rescue. (Photo)
2000 Capt T.P. Duze becomes the first black officer to command a SAN Shore Establishment when he takes command of SAS Wingfield.
2008 Exercise GOOD HOPE III with the German Navy and Air Force commenced. The exercise took place off the coast of the Cape Peninsula and Overberg area. The German force comprised of the frigates FGS Hamburg and FGS Koln the combat support vessels FGS Berlin and FGS Westerwald as well as six Tornado Fighter Aircraft and two Lynx Helicopters of the Marineflieger (the naval air arm of the German Navy). The South African Navy elements comprised three frigates SAS Amatola, SAS Isandlwana and SAS Spioenkop, the submarine SAS Charlotte Maxeke, two strike craft SAS Galeshewe and SAS Isaac Dyobha, two minehunters SAS Umzimkulu and SAS Umkomaas, two inshore patrol vessels SAS Tern and SAS Tobie as well as the SAS Drakensberg. In addition to this the South African Air Force provided six Cheetah Fighter Aircraft and two Oryx Helicopters to the exercise.
2010 A wreath laying and memorial service was held at Jubilee Square to commemorate the mid-air collision between a German Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M carrying a German Navy team, and a United States Air Force C-141 Starlifter off the coast of Namibia. There were no survivors. (Photo).
PHOTOs.
P1561 being launched in Haifa, Israel.
Tafelberg’s damaged bow.
Capt de Lange and the Kruger survivors on the Simonsberg parade ground.
Wreaths are laid in memory of the lost servicemen