Misplaced Pages

#825174

140-549: The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force . The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery protection, search and rescue, and upholding maritime law enforcement for the benefit of South Africa and its international partners. Today the South African Navy

280-557: A UN arms embargo , loosely in place since 1962, became mandatory. The ensuing international economic disinvestment from South Africa was stepped up, placing huge strains on the economy. Coupled with these severe problems, the cornerstones of the country's regional foreign policy faced collapse and complete transformation with the end of Portuguese rule in Angola and Mozambique in 1975, and the negotiated settlement in Ian Smith 's Rhodesia to

420-674: A rocket system filled with explosive gunpowder materials and had three firing points. It was an effective weapon against ships . In the 8th century the Vikings appeared, although their usual style was to appear quickly, plunder, and disappear, preferably attacking undefended locations. The Vikings raided places along the coastline of England and France, with the greatest threats being in England. They would raid monasteries for their wealth and lack of formidable defenders. They also utilized rivers and other auxiliary waterways to work their way inland in

560-688: A "brown-water" force of ageing missile patrol craft and short-range submarines, to a force with significant "green-water" combat capability once again. In 2001, with an initial request of five vessels, later reduced to four, the German Meko A200SAN general purpose corvette design was procured (designated frigates in South Africa), along with four British Super Lynx naval helicopters, and three German Type 209/1400 diesel-powered submarines. Also under construction from 1991 were three locally built T-Craft inshore patrol boats. As South Africa approached

700-513: A French fleet of 80 ships under Eustace the Monk and an English fleet of 40 under Hubert de Burgh , is notable as the first recorded battle using sailing ship tactics. The battle of Arnemuiden (23 September 1338), which resulted in a French victory, marked the opening of the Hundred Years War and was the first battle involving artillery. However the battle of Sluys , fought two years later, saw

840-534: A January 2023 visit by the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to Pretoria for meetings with his South African counterpart. Although the exercises were similar to exercises held in previous years, some suggested that they signalled a significant shift in South African policy toward more overt military engagement with China and Russia. The exercise began on 18 February and involved the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and

980-702: A close parliamentary vote of 80 to 67 in favour of Smuts, South Africa followed Britain and declared war on Germany. During October 1939, Rear-Admiral Guy Halifax , a retired Royal Navy officer living in South Africa, was appointed Director of the South African Naval Service, later renamed Seaward Defence Force (SDF) in January 1940. Overseeing a large industrial program of converting civilian whalers and fishing trawlers into military vessels, despite being highly primitive, over 80 such craft would go on to be

1120-469: A constitutional dilemma due to her status as an autonomous Dominion within the Commonwealth. Prime Minister J.B.M. Hertzog and other anti-British factions of the coalition United Party called for strict neutrality, whilst the more anglophile Deputy Prime Minister Jan Smuts advocated that South Africa was constitutionality, and morally, obliged to support Britain and fight fascism. Two days later, after

1260-655: A country following the National Party's electoral victory , but also the direction of the Navy. British influence became increasingly diminished and curtailed across the service. In 1952, the previously used ship prefix of HMSAS (His/Her Majesty's South African Ship) changed to just SAS (South African Ship), in 1957, the Royal Navy transferred control of Simon's Town naval base to the SA Navy after 70 years of occupancy and later, in 1959,

1400-432: A decisive Venetian victory, giving it almost a century to enjoy Mediterranean trade domination before other European countries began expanding into the south and west. In the north of Europe, the near-continuous conflict between England and France was characterised by raids on coastal towns and ports along the coastlines and the securing of sea lanes to protect troop–carrying transports. The Battle of Dover in 1217, between

1540-461: A decisive victory for Korea over the Japanese navy. In this battle, 47 Japanese warships were sunk and 12 other ships were captured whilst no Korean warship was lost. The defeats in the sea prevented the Japanese navy from providing their army with appropriate supply. Yi Sun-sin was later replaced with Admiral Won Gyun , whose fleets faced a defeat. The Japanese army, based near Busan , overwhelmed

SECTION 10

#1732852489826

1680-587: A defeat of an Ostrogothic fleet at Sena Gallica in the Adriatic Sea . During the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, Muslim fleets first appeared, raiding Sicily in 652 (see History of Islam in southern Italy and Emirate of Sicily ), and defeating the Byzantine Navy in 655. Constantinople was saved from a prolonged Arab siege in 678 by the invention of Greek fire , an early form of flamethrower that

1820-608: A drastically reduced anti-submarine/anti-aircraft capability across the board, and almost complete international isolation. As South Africa disentangled itself from external and internal security operations, the South African Defence Force underwent severe budgetary cuts. The Navy endured a reduction of personnel by 23%, the disbandment of the Marines, the closure of two Naval Commands (Naval Command East and Naval Command West), two Naval Bases at Cape Town and Walvis Bay , and

1960-624: A further Mongol invasion . Although with only scarce information, travellers passing the region, such as Ibn Battuta and Odoric of Pordenone noted that Java had been attacked by the Mongols several times, always ending in failure. After those failed invasions, Majapahit empire quickly grew and became the dominant naval power in the 14–15th century. The usage of cannons in the Mongol invasion of Java , led to deployment of cetbang cannons by Majapahit fleet in 1300s. The main warship of Majapahit navy

2100-467: A great naval expedition that occupied parts of Myanmar , Malaya , and Sumatra . In the Nusantara archipelago, large ocean going ships of more than 50 m in length and 5.2–7.8 meters freeboard are already used at least since the 2nd century AD, contacting India to China. Srivijaya empire since the 7th century AD controlled the sea of the western part of the archipelago. The Kedukan Bukit inscription

2240-635: A major role in the complicated wars of the successors of Alexander the Great . The Roman Republic had never been much of a seafaring nation, but it had to learn. In the Punic Wars with Carthage , Romans developed the technique of grappling and boarding enemy ships with soldiers. The Roman Navy grew gradually as Rome became more involved in Mediterranean politics; by the time of the Roman Civil War and

2380-464: A major sea invasion near the shores of the eastern Nile Delta using a naval ambush and archers firing from both ships and shore. Assyrian reliefs from the 8th century BC show Phoenician fighting ships, with two levels of oars, fighting men on a sort of bridge or deck above the oarsmen, and some sort of ram protruding from the bow. No written mention of strategy or tactics seems to have survived. Josephus Flavius (Antiquities IX 283–287) reports

2520-648: A military campaign of Persian emperor Darius I over the Bosporus ). During the Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), the Chinese began using the stern -mounted steering rudder , and they also designed a new ship type, the junk . From the late Han dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD), large naval battles such as the Battle of Red Cliffs marked the advancement of naval warfare in

2660-587: A naval battle between Tyre and the king of Assyria who was aided by the other cities in Phoenicia. The battle took place off the shores of Tyre. Although the Tyrian fleet was much smaller, the Tyrians defeated their enemies. The Greeks of Homer just used their ships as transport for land armies, but in 664 BC there is a mention of a battle at sea between Corinth and its colony city Corcyra . Ancient descriptions of

2800-565: A number of sea battles between galleys ; at Rhium , Naupactus , Pylos , Syracuse , Cynossema , Cyzicus , Notium . But the end came for Athens in 405 BC at Aegospotami in the Hellespont , where the Athenians had drawn up their fleet on the beach, and were surprised by the Spartan fleet, who landed and burned all the ships. Athens surrendered to Sparta in the following year. Navies next played

2940-606: A platform on their ships called balai and performed boarding actions. Scattershots fired from cetbang are used to counter this type of fighting, fired at personnel. In the 12th century, China's first permanent standing navy was established by the Southern Song dynasty , the headquarters of the Admiralty stationed at Dinghai . This came about after the conquest of northern China by the Jurchen people (see Jin dynasty ) in 1127, while

SECTION 20

#1732852489826

3080-422: A previous connection, such as Russia, Poland and Japan. In 1994, 21 foreign vessels from eight countries called at South African ports, with 26 visits from 12 countries in 1995, and 27 from ten countries in 1996. In 1997 the navy celebrated 75 years, with 15 countries sending ships for the festivities. The acute need to re-equip the navy, including the wider Armed Forces after the lifting of apartheid-era sanctions,

3220-644: A reliable source of shipwrecks for underwater archaeology . A major example is the exploration of the wrecks of various warships in the Pacific Ocean . The first recorded sea battle was the Battle of the Delta , the Ancient Egyptians defeated the Sea Peoples in a sea battle c.  1175 BC . As recorded on the temple walls of the mortuary temple of pharaoh Ramesses III at Medinet Habu , this repulsed

3360-456: A significant upgrade of the navy's sub-surface force due to considerable advancement in underwater performance and endurance. As of 2020, South Africa is one of only three states on the African continent, along with Algeria and Egypt , that currently operate submarine assets, and the only state in the sub-Saharan region. At the same time, this capability was at risk of eroding. As of 2019, two of

3500-745: A single Valour-class frigate or one Heroine-class submarine, along with aircraft from the South African Air Force , the SA Navy often undertakes exercises with others, such as the United States Navy (Exercise Shared Accord/Southern Accord), NATO naval battlegroups (Exercise Amazolo), the French Navy (the annual Exercise Oxide), the German Navy (the biennial Exercise Good Hope), the Royal Navy (ad hoc exercises when visiting South African waters),

3640-400: A small rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) and a limited contingent of Naval Infantry for boarding suspect vessels, as well as maintaining their original 20 mm cannon and 12.7 mm heavy machine guns. As of 2020, two River-class coastal mine countermeasures vessels are still in service with the SA Navy, however, they are believed to have lost their mine-hunting capabilities due to

3780-478: A twin Denel 35 mm (1.4 in) Dual Purpose Gun , two Oerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon , and two 12.7 mm (0.50 in) remotely operated guns. However, as of 2024, budget cuts have resulted in only one of the four frigates being operational. As the SA Navy has a strength of only four primary surface warships, in an effort to improve asset availability in more routine littoral patrol operations and ease

3920-415: Is projection of force by water, and its strategic defensive purpose is to challenge the similar projection of force by enemies. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large landmasses, transportation before the advent of extensive railways was largely dependent upon rivers , lakes , canals , and other navigable waterways . The latter were crucial in

4060-539: Is developing a medium-range missile, the IDAS , for their own Type 209s which would primarily be targeted against air threats, but also small surface vessels and coastal land targets. With the retirement of SAS  Outeniqua in 2004, SAS  Drakensberg is the sole fleet replenishment ship with the primary role of supporting combat vessels at sea. Drakensberg is also modified to carry two RHIBs, as well as two landing craft utility (LCU) for limited amphibious use. Since

4200-705: Is one of the most capable naval forces in the African region, operating a mixed force of sophisticated warships, submarines, patrol craft, and auxiliary vessels, with over 7,000 personnel; including a marine force. With formerly deep historical and political connections to the United Kingdom , the first emergence of a naval organisation was the creation of the South African Division of the British Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1913, before becoming an nominally independent naval service for

4340-455: Is the oldest record of Indonesian military history, and noted a 7th-century Srivijayan sacred siddhayatra journey led by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa . He was said to have brought 20,000 troops, including 312 people in boats and 1,312 foot soldiers. The 10th century Arab text Ajayeb al-Hind (Marvels of India) gives an account of an invasion in Africa by people called Wakwak or Waqwaq , probably

South African Navy - Misplaced Pages Continue

4480-589: The daimyōs to dispatch troops to Joseon Korea to conquer Ming China. The Japanese army which landed at Pusan on 12 April 1502 occupied Seoul within a month. The Korean king escaped to the northern region of the Korean peninsula and Japan completed occupation of Pyongyang in June. The Korean navy then led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin defeated the Japanese navy in consecutive naval battles, namely Okpo, Sacheon, Tangpo and Tanghangpo. The Battle of Hansando on 14 August 1592 resulted in

4620-856: The Axumite Kingdom in modern-day Ethiopia , the Arab traveller Sa'd ibn Abi-Waqqas sailed from there to Tang China during the reign of Emperor Gaozong . Two decades later, he returned with a copy of the Quran , establishing the first Islamic mosque in China, the Mosque of Remembrance in Guangzhou . A rising rivalry followed between the Arabs and Chinese for control of trade in the Indian Ocean. In his book Cultural Flow Between China and

4760-614: The Battle of Actium (31 BC), hundreds of ships were involved, many of them quinqueremes mounting catapults and fighting towers. Following the Emperor Augustus transforming the Republic into the Roman Empire , Rome gained control of most of the Mediterranean. Without any significant maritime enemies, the Roman navy was reduced mostly to patrolling for pirates and transportation duties. It

4900-460: The Indian Navy (the biennial Exercise IBSAMAR), the navies of Uruguay and Brazil (Exercises Atlasur and IBSAMAR), and controversially, exercises with fellow BRICS members Russia and China (Exercise Mosi), which are due to take place following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup , the navy provided air and sea security by deploying three frigates as guard ships off

5040-572: The Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith. It was the first occasion in apartheid South Africa's history where the principles of peaceful transition and equality had been enshrined in a document which had been jointly signed by acknowledged black and white political leaders in South Africa. The declaration, however provoked an angry response from the conservative "Old Guard" in the party, including the party's leader. In 1975 Harry Schwarz and three other Members of Parliament (MPs) were expelled from

5180-565: The Mediterranean theatre , and later the Far East . From 1941, South Africa assisted in escorting convoys along the North African coast, including the resupply and eventual evacuation of Tobruk , embarked on mine clearance operations, successfully engaged enemy submarines and undertook harbour salvage tasks. In 1942, a unified national naval service emerged following the successful amalgamation of

5320-561: The Peloponnesian War (431 BC) between Athens' Delian League and the Spartan Peloponnese . Naval strategy was critical; Athens walled itself off from the rest of Greece, leaving only the port at Piraeus open, and trusting in its navy to keep supplies flowing while the Spartan army besieged it. This strategy worked, although the close quarters likely contributed to the plague that killed many Athenians in 429 BC. There were

5460-475: The Persian Wars were the first to feature large-scale naval operations, not just sophisticated fleet engagements with dozens of triremes on each side, but combined land-sea operations. It seems unlikely that all this was the product of a single mind or even of a generation; most likely the period of evolution and experimentation was simply not recorded by history. After some initial battles while subjugating

5600-646: The Siege of Fort Zeelandia , the first time China had defeated a western power. The Chinese used cannons and ships to bombard the Dutch into surrendering. In the Sengoku period of Japan, Oda Nobunaga unified the country by military power. However, he was defeated by the Mōri clan 's navy. Nobunaga invented the Tekkosen (large Atakebune equipped with iron plates) and defeated 600 ships of

5740-498: The Soweto uprising and subsequent mandatory arms embargo , South Africa had been forced to accept the cancellation of another significant naval procurement of two new Type-69A light frigates and two Agosta -class submarines from France. In 1987, South Africa commissioned the locally designed and built Fleet Replenishment ship SAS  Drakensberg . Constructed in Durban , it remains

South African Navy - Misplaced Pages Continue

5880-511: The St Edward's Crown , which had featured in the Navy cap badge and other insignia, was replaced by the Lion of Nassau from South Africa's coat of arms. In the immediate post-war years the South African Navy underwent significant levels of qualitative, and quantitative, expansion as the Royal Navy disposed of its surplus war materiel. In 1947, two surplus Algerine -class minesweepers , were acquired from

6020-450: The Type 15 anti-submarine frigate SAS  Vrystaat (formerly HMS Wrangler ). By the early 1960s, the South African Navy was fast reaching its highpoint of international inclusion and is generally considered to be the golden age of a well balanced, modern, and effective service optimised for conventional naval engagement alongside friendly Western international partners. From 1962 to 1964,

6160-622: The Union of South Africa in 1922. In its history, South African naval vessels and personnel have participated in the First and Second World Wars , as well as the South African Border War . In the apartheid post-war era, the South African Navy was extensively aligned with NATO and other Western nations against the Soviet Bloc . Officially, the South African Navy can trace its origins back to

6300-661: The Unionist Party . Its full name was the United National South African Party , but it was generally called the "United Party". The party drew support from several different parts of South African society, including white English-speakers, Afrikaners and Coloureds . Hertzog led the party until 1939, when he refused to commit South Africa to the British Empire's war effort against Nazi Germany after World War II broke out. Most Afrikaners were hostile to

6440-434: The creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the South African Division of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR[SA]) was established, although with complete organisational and operational control being directed by the Royal Navy . As part of the British Empire , South Africa went to war against the Central Powers on 4 August 1914, despite significant Afrikaner opposition . A total of 412 South Africans served in

6580-420: The largest naval battles in history . In the 15th century, the Chinese admiral Zheng He was assigned to assemble a massive fleet for several diplomatic missions abroad , sailing throughout the waters of the South East Pacific and the Indian Ocean. During his missions, on several occasions Zheng's fleet came into conflict with pirates . Zheng's fleet also became involved in a conflict in Sri Lanka , where

6720-409: The 12th century, Srivijaya is primarily land-based polity rather than maritime power, fleets are available but acted as logistical support to facilitate the projection of land power. Later, the naval strategy degenerated to raiding fleet. Their naval strategy was to coerce merchant ships to dock in their ports, which if ignored, they will send ships to destroy the ship and kill the occupants. In 1293,

6860-403: The 1970s however saw South Africa facing severe amounts of international isolation and criticism . In 1973 the UN labelled the policy of apartheid a "Crime against Humanity", magnified further by the brutal state repression and subsequent mass incarcerations and deaths following the Soweto uprising in 1976 and the death of prominent anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in 1977. The following year

7000-458: The Black Sea, raiding the coasts of Anatolia and Thrace, and crossing into the Aegean Sea, plundering mainland Greece (including Athens and Sparta) and going as far as Crete and Rhodes. In the twilight of the Roman Empire in the late 4th century, examples include that of Emperor Majorian , who, with the help of Constantinople, mustered a large fleet in a failed effort to expel the Germanic invaders from their recently conquered African territories, and

7140-413: The British and sympathetic towards Nazi Germany, and Hertzog felt that supporting Britain during the conflict would be unacceptable to Afrikaner opinion. He also claimed to not see much benefit for South Africa taking part in a war that Hertzog claimed was essentially a European affair. The majority of the United Party caucus were of a different mind, however, and Hertzog resigned. Smuts succeeded him and led

SECTION 50

#1732852489826

7280-731: The Chinese surveillance ship Yuan Wang 5 docked at Cape Town, overlapping with the presence of the Iranian Navy vessels, Makran and Dena . In September 2024 it was reported that the Russian training ship Smolnyy had docked in Cape Town for a port visit. Naval warfare The armed forces branch designated for naval warfare is a navy . Naval operations can be broadly divided into riverine/littoral applications ( brown-water navy ), open-ocean applications ( blue-water navy ), between riverine/littoral and open-ocean applications ( green-water navy ), although these distinctions are more about strategic scope than tactical or operational division. The strategic offensive purpose of naval warfare

7420-437: The East. In the latter engagement, the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei destroyed a large fleet commanded by Cao Cao in a fire-based naval attack. In terms of seafaring abroad, arguably one of the first Chinese to sail into the Indian Ocean and to reach Sri Lanka and India by sea was the Buddhist monk Faxian in the early 5th century, although diplomatic ties and land trade to Persia and India were established during

7560-401: The Greeks of the Ionian coast, the Persians determined to invade Greece proper. Themistocles of Athens estimated that the Greeks would be outnumbered by the Persians on land, but that Athens could protect itself by building a fleet (the famous "wooden walls"), using the profits of the silver mines at Laurium to finance them. The first Persian campaign, in 492 BC, was aborted because

7700-426: The Greeks, but withdrew anyway, and after losing at Plataea in the following year, returned to Asia Minor , leaving the Greeks their freedom. Nevertheless, the Athenians and Spartans attacked and burned the laid-up Persian fleet at Mycale , and freed many of the Ionian towns. These battles involved triremes or biremes as the standard fighting platform, and the focus of the battle was to ram the opponent's vessel using

7840-517: The Japanese army returned to Japan by the end of December. In 1609, the Tokugawa shogunate ordered the abandonment of warships to the feudal lord . The Japanese navy stagnated until the Meiji period . In ancient China , the first known naval battles took place during the Warring States period (481–221 BC) when vassal lords battled one another. Chinese naval warfare in this period featured grapple-and-hook, as well as ramming tactics with ships called "stomach strikers" and "colliding swoopers". It

7980-410: The Jin to the north, until the Mongols finally conquered all of China. After the Song dynasty, the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China was a powerful maritime force in the Indian Ocean. The Yuan emperor Kublai Khan attempted to invade Japan twice with large fleets (of both Mongols and Chinese), in 1274 and again in 1281, both attempts being unsuccessful (see Mongol invasions of Japan ). Building upon

8120-409: The King of Ceylon traveled back to Ming China afterwards to make a formal apology to the Yongle Emperor . The Ming imperial navy defeated a Portuguese navy led by Martim Afonso de Sousa in 1522. The Chinese destroyed one vessel by targeting its gunpowder magazine, and captured another Portuguese ship. A Ming army and navy led by Koxinga defeated a western power, the Dutch East India Company , at

8260-474: The Korean kingdom of Silla (see also Unified Silla ) and expelled the Korean kingdom of Baekje which were supported by Japanese naval forces from the Korean peninsula (see Battle of Baekgang ) and helped Silla overcome its rival Korean kingdoms, Baekje and Goguryeo , by 668. In addition, the Tang had maritime trading, tributary, and diplomatic ties as far as modern Sri Lanka , India, Islamic Iran and Arabia , as well as Somalia in East Africa . From

8400-423: The Korean navy in the Battle of Chilcheollyang on 28 August 1597 and began advancing toward China. This attempt was stopped when the reappointed Admiral Yi, won the battle of Myeongnyang . The Wanli Emperor of Ming China sent military forces to the Korean peninsula. Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin continued to successfully engage the Japanese navy with 500 Chinese warships and the strengthened Korean fleet. In 1598,

8540-568: The Malay people of Srivijaya or Javanese people of Mataram kingdom , in 945–946 CE. They arrived at the coast of Tanganyika and Mozambique with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, though eventually failed. The reason of the attack is because that place had goods suitable for their country and for China, such as ivory, tortoise shells, panther skins, and ambergris , and also because they wanted black slaves from Bantu people (called Zeng or Zenj by Arabs, Jenggi by Javanese) who were strong and make good slaves. Before

SECTION 60

#1732852489826

8680-471: The Marine Amphibious Company (MAC), being formed to ensure beach-head capability for landing large task forces, along with a small elite reconnaissance detachment between 1983 and 1989. The Marines were disbanded on 18 January 1990, following a major restructuring of the Navy at the end of the South African Border War . In 2005, the decision was taken to create a Naval Rapid Deployment Force so that South Africa could commit more to peacekeeping operations across

8820-509: The Mediterranean began to wane, the Italian trading towns of Genoa , Pisa , and Venice stepped in to seize the opportunity, setting up commercial networks and building navies to protect them. At first the navies fought with the Arabs (off Bari in 1004, at Messina in 1005), but then they found themselves contending with Normans moving into Sicily, and finally with each other. The Genoese and Venetians fought four naval wars, in 1253–1284, 1293–1299, 1350–1355, and 1378–1381. The last ended with

8960-502: The Mongol Yuan dynasty launched an invasion to Java . The Yuan sent 500–1000 ships and 20,000–30,000 soldiers, but was ultimately defeated on land by surprise attack , forcing the army to fall back to the beach. In the coastal waters, Javanese junks had already attacked the Mongol ships. After all of the troops had boarded the ships on the coast, the Yuan army battled the Javanese fleet. After repelling it, they sailed back to Quanzhou . Javanese naval commander Aria Adikara intercepted

9100-420: The Mozambique Channel since the SADC operation began in 2011. Due to the success of the operation, expenditure for the future 2021/22 deployment is estimated to be R38.9 million, down from R154 million the previous year. Operation Copper's mandate could be subject to official change as a result of increasing Islamist violence in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique. On 9 August 2021, the SADC formally announced

9240-443: The Mōri navy with six armored warships ( Battle of Kizugawaguchi ). The navy of Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi employed clever close-range tactics on land with arquebus rifles, but also relied upon close-range firing of muskets in grapple-and-board style naval engagements. When Nobunaga died in the Honnō-ji incident , Hideyoshi succeeded him and completed the unification of the whole country. In 1592, Hideyoshi ordered

9380-458: The National Party, it never clearly articulated its views on the best approach to them. Smuts himself alluded to the fact that at some unspecified point in the future, black South Africans might be asked to share power with the white minority, provided black politicians demonstrated their commitment to 'civilised' norms of political and personal conduct. Generally, though, the UP seemed to have little difficulty in tacitly supporting apartheid . One of

9520-582: The Navy's Maritime Reaction Squadron (MRS) are routinely embarked on deployed warships so as to give the ability to board suspect vessels. Gaps in deployment have previously occurred as a result of mechanical issues, as well as the South African Air Force withdrawing C-47TP maritime patrol aircraft in 2016 from Mozambique due to maintenance problems and lack of sufficient aircrew. In 2018 the SA Navy notably deployed two warships simultaneously for Operation Copper, and were independent of foreign support. Piracy, and other maritime crime, has fallen substantially in

9660-415: The Outside World , Shen Fuwei notes that maritime Chinese merchants in the 9th century were landing regularly at Sufala in East Africa to cut out Arab middle-men traders. The Chola dynasty of medieval India was a dominant seapower in the Indian Ocean , an avid maritime trader and diplomatic entity with Song China. Rajaraja Chola I (reigned 985 to 1014) and his son Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–42), sent

9800-409: The Persians in a channel too narrow for them to bring their greater numbers to bear, and attacked them vigorously, in the end causing the loss of 200 Persian ships vs 40 Greek. Aeschylus wrote a play about the defeat, The Persians , which was performed in a Greek theatre competition a few years after the battle. It is the oldest known surviving play. At the end, Xerxes still had a fleet stronger than

9940-421: The Progressive Party to form the Progressive Reform Party (PRP). In 1977, after merging with the Democratic Party , which had been formed by moderate NP dissidents, the United Party was renamed the New Republic Party . A significant number of its parliamentarians refused to remain with the renamed party. Some joined the anti-apartheid PRP (now called the Progressive Federal Party ). Six MPs were expelled from

10080-702: The RNVR[SA] during the war, with 164 members volunteering for the Royal Navy directly. One officer and eight ratings died during the course of the war. South Africans would see service on warships in European waters and the Mediterranean, as well as participate in the land campaigns in German South West Africa and German East Africa . Under Royal Navy jurisdiction, the RNVR (SA) patrolled South African waters in converted fishing vessels, helping in mine clearance in response to

10220-564: The SANF, and its predecessors, with 324 losing their lives and 26 battle honours gained. A year after the end of hostilities, on 1 May 1946 South African Naval Forces were reconstituted as part of the Union Defence Force before undertaking its final name change in July 1951, when the SANF officially became known as the South African Navy. The year 1948 was a turning point, not only for South Africa as

10360-567: The SDF and RNVR(SA), creating the South African Naval Forces (SANF). As the war came to its end, South Africa received its first purpose-built warships, three Loch-class frigates from the Royal Navy. Deployed to the Far East under British command, South Africa later contributed to operations to liberate Japanese held territory. In total, over 10,000 service personnel volunteered for service in

10500-507: The Song imperial court fled south from Kaifeng to Hangzhou . Equipped with the magnetic compass and knowledge of Shen Kuo 's famous treatise (on the concept of true north ), the Chinese became proficient experts of navigation in their day. They raised their naval strength from a mere 11 squadrons of 3,000 marines to 20 squadrons of 52,000 marines in a century's time. Employing paddle wheel crafts and trebuchets throwing gunpowder bombs from

10640-603: The South African Navy received three British-built Type 12M frigates which formed the Presiden-class ;: SAS  President Kruger , SAS  President Steyn and SAS  President Pretorius respectively. These were first rate, ocean going fast fleet anti-submarine escorts that propelled the South African Navy into the age of a modern warship operator on equal footing with the West. The order of three Daphné -class submarine from France in 1968—to operate submarines for

10780-421: The South African coast, the four frigates are able to undertake a range of tasks from maritime law enforcement , to civil support, and military operations such as area denial, gunfire support and intelligence collection. The embarked SuperLynx helicopters significantly improve and extend surveillance, as well as all-round operational capabilities. With a return to operating general-purpose, multi-mission warships,

10920-572: The United Kingdom, HMSAS  Bloemfontein (ex Rosamund ) and HMSAS  Pietermaritzburg (ex HMS Pelorus ), as well as the Flower-class corvette HMS Rockrose which was converted into the hydrographic survey ship HMSAS  Protea . In 1950, South Africa further expanded her naval capability and purchased the first of two former British W-class destroyers, SAS  Jan van Riebeeck , in 1952 SAS  Simon van der Stel , and later,

11060-686: The United Party for refusing to accept the plan to form the NRP and formed the South African Party which joined the ruling National Party three years later. Elections in late 1977 left the New Republic Party gutted, with only 10 parliamentary seats, down from the 41 held by the United Party. The UP's position on race relations in South Africa was a complex one; while the UP was more liberal in character than

11200-615: The United Party. Further resignations followed, which included two senators, ten members of the Transvaal Provincial Council, 14 out of the 36 Johannesburg City Councillors and four Randburg City Councillors. This made it the official opposition in the Transvaal Provincial Council. They formed the Reform Party which elected Schwarz as leader. Schwarz's breakaway led to the demise of the United Party and realigned opposition politics in South Africa. The Reform Party soon merged with

11340-485: The Valour class have been hailed as modern, impressive and major regional anti-surface, anti-air, and anti-submarine platforms. SAS  Amatola , SAS  Isandlwana , SAS  Spioenkop , and SAS  Mendi possess two four-cell launchers for eight Exocet surface to surface missiles , 16 to 32-cell domestically built Umkhonto VLS missiles for air defence, a single OTO Melara 76-millimetre (3.0 in) main gun ,

11480-500: The Vikings, only two of which were not beaten back or captured. The Vikings also fought several sea battles among themselves. This was normally done by binding the ships on each side together, thus essentially fighting a land battle on the sea. However the fact that the losing side could not easily escape meant that battles tended to be hard and bloody. The Battle of Svolder is perhaps the most famous of these battles. As Muslim power in

11620-625: The ability to operate far out into the Cape and handle the often rough seas, the Flotilla is also expected to complement the navies combat ability, particularly when undertaking anti-piracy patrols in the Mozambique Channel . Reflecting their new policing role, the Warriors' old Skerpioen missile launchers and the rear 76 mm gun was removed. In replacement, the craft have gained the capacity to support

11760-523: The ages. Pre-recorded history (Homeric Legends, e.g. Troy ), and classical works such as The Odyssey emphasize the sea. The Persian Empire – united and strong – could not prevail against the might of the Athenian fleet combined with that of lesser city states in several attempts to conquer the Greek city states. Phoenicia 's and Egypt 's power, Carthage 's and even Rome 's largely depended upon control of

11900-471: The backbone of the South African naval forces. In South African waters, the SDF, in partnership with the Royal Navy, ensured maritime control around the strategic Cape Sea route and was primarily involved in coastal patrol, mine clearance, and significant anti-submarine operations between 1942 and 1945 due to a sustained U-boat offensive, with over 100 merchant ships being sunk off the South African coast. South African naval vessels similarly contributed to

12040-541: The boat's reinforced prow. The opponent would try to maneuver and avoid contact, or alternately rush all the marines to the side about to be hit, thus tilting the boat. When the ram had withdrawn and the marines dispersed, the hole would then be above the waterline and not a critical injury to the ship. During the next fifty years, the Greeks commanded the Aegean, but not harmoniously. After several minor wars, tensions exploded into

12180-487: The cities of Durban , Port Elizabeth and Cape Town . Since 2011, one of the SA Navy's major and long-standing focuses has been that of the anti-piracy initiative, Operation Copper. After increased pirate activity in the Mozambique Channel (a crucial import/export sea lane for South Africa), and subsequent requests for help from fellow Southern African Development Community (SADC) members (Mozambique and Tanzania),

12320-541: The commissioning SAS King Sekhukhune I , the first of three Multi-Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPVs) being constructed by Damen Shipyards Cape Town. Primarily, the Patrol Flotilla undertake the more traditional naval task of patrolling South Africa's exclusive economic zone and upholding maritime law enforcement. Ordinary tasks include anti-smuggling, monitoring against illegal immigration, search and rescue, fishery inspection, and routine border protection. With

12460-573: The continent, particularly in the Great Lakes region . In 2006, this force became the Maritime Reaction Squadron. The Maritime Reaction Squadron provides an amphibious, diving and small boat capability to the Navy, deploying infantry-trained South African Navy personnel in various peacekeeping roles within the African continent, as well as assisting in boarding operations at sea, and humanitarian and disaster relief. The squadron consists of

12600-675: The creation of the South African Naval Service on 1 April 1922. Unofficially, however, the Navy has an unbroken association with the Natal Naval Volunteers, formed in Durban on 30 April 1885, and the Cape Naval Volunteers, formed in Cape Town in 1905. Loosely, and indirectly however, the earliest naval establishment was the Port Elizabeth Naval Volunteer Brigade, founded in 1861. On 1 July 1913, following

12740-451: The decade, the South African Navy continued to participate in the Border War and coastal protection. For 23 years (1976–1989) the South African Navy maintained determined sea control around Southern Africa and provided valuable support to land operations. By the end of the 1980s, as white minority rule was coming to a negotiated end , the Navy had lost all of its major surface warships, had

12880-557: The decks of their ships, the Southern Song dynasty became a formidable foe to the Jin dynasty during the 12th–13th centuries during the Jin–Song Wars . There were naval engagements at the Battle of Caishi and Battle of Tangdao . With a powerful navy, China dominated maritime trade throughout South East Asia as well. Until 1279, the Song were able to use their naval power to defend against

13020-733: The deployment of troops into the troubled province. Alongside regional partners such as Botswana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the South African government has informed parliament that it intends to deploy 1,495 personnel to Mozambique. SAS Makhanda , a modernised Warrior-class patrol OPV, has reportedly been seen in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province. For the continued safeguarding of South Africa's borders, Operation Corona aims to combat illegal fishing , poaching, and smuggling within its territorial waters . The SA Navy plans to carry out five maritime patrols in line with Operation Corona, with 84 days of surface and 22 days of subsurface patrols allocated for

13160-579: The destruction of the French fleet in a decisive action which allowed the English effective control of the sea lanes and the strategic initiative for much of the war. The Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties of China were involved in several naval affairs over the triple set of polities ruling medieval Korea ( Three Kingdoms of Korea ), along with engaging naval bombardments on the peninsula from Asuka period Yamato Kingdom (Japan). The Tang dynasty aided

13300-473: The development of the modern world in the United Kingdom, America, the Low Countries and northern Germany , because they enabled the bulk movement of goods and raw material , which supported the nascent Industrial Revolution . Prior to 1750, materials largely moved by river barge or sea vessels. Thus armies, with their exorbitant needs for food, ammunition and fodder, were tied to the river valleys throughout

13440-496: The earlier Han dynasty. However, Chinese naval maritime influence would penetrate into the Indian Ocean until the medieval period. The late Middle Ages saw the development of the cogs , caravels and carracks ships capable of surviving the tough conditions of the open ocean, with enough backup systems and crew expertise to make long voyages routine. In addition, they grew from 100 tons to 300 tons displacement, enough to carry cannon as armament and still have space for cargo. One of

13580-408: The end of minority rule, Drakensberg has undertaken numerous humanitarian and anti-piracy operations, consistently shown the 'rainbow flag' on global voyages of goodwill, and reintegrated South Africa back into international naval exercises. The SA Navy continues to operate the specialist hydrographic survey vessel SAS  Protea , which was commissioned in 1972. The South Africa Marine Corps

13720-512: The end of white minority rule in 1979. As South Africa became increasingly involved in the Border War in South West Africa (modern day Namibia ) and Angola, the Navy began to readjust its previous international outlook and organisation. The then Minister of Defence, P. W. Botha successfully sought military connections with Israel and nine "Reshef"— Warrior-class in South African service—missile strike craft were ordered in 1974. Following

13860-557: The establishment of a republic in the whites-only referendum held on 5 October 1960. By the late 1970s, the breakaway and successor groups of the United Party – the Progressive Federal Party, New Republic Party and South African Party – were more or less committed to a multiracial federation as a solution to the racial question. The ruling National Party's reform program under PW Botha initially attracted some liberal support while provoking divisions within its ranks. By 1987,

14000-624: The eventual invasion of Britain. They wreaked havoc in Northumbria and Mercia and the rest of Anglia before being halted by Wessex. King Alfred the Great of England was able to stay the Viking invasions with a pivotal victory at the Battle of Edington. Alfred defeated Guthrum, establishing the boundaries of Danelaw in an 884 treaty. The effectiveness of Alfred's 'fleet' has been debated; Kenneth Harl has pointed out that as few as eleven ships were sent to combat

14140-623: The financial year 2020/21. Deploying to known hotspot areas, the SA Navy works alongside other Government departments such as the SA Police Service and Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries , in an effort to deter rather than arrest. In February 2023, the South African Navy planned to engage in joint exercises with the Chinese and Russian navies that were to be held in waters off South Africa. The exercises, which were highly controversial given Russia's invasion of Ukraine , followed on

14280-521: The first time South African vessels had been in the Far East since 1945. Other international visits in the following years included Zaire, Kenya, Bangladesh, Turkey, France, Portugal, and Uruguay. As the " Rainbow nation " was lauded following the ANC victory in the first free democratic elections in 1994, one of the starkest symbols of this new era was the explosion of foreign warships and dignitaries visiting South African ports, often from countries that did not have

14420-463: The first time—again catapulted the service further. The early 1970s would see the South African Navy operating at the height of its blue-water power projection ability with the first of the Daphné-class submarines, SAS  Maria van Riebeeck , being commissioned in 1970, with SAS  Emily Hobhouse and SAS  Johanna van der Merwe entering service the following year. The second half of

14560-525: The fleet was lost in a storm, but the second, in 490 BC, captured islands in the Aegean Sea before landing on the mainland near Marathon . Attacks by the Greek armies repulsed these. The third Persian campaign in 480 BC, under Xerxes I of Persia , followed the pattern of the second in marching the army via the Hellespont while the fleet paralleled them offshore. Near Artemisium , in the narrow channel between

14700-528: The following components: The SA Navy maintains the traditional role of providing a credible military deterrent, protecting South African interests against possible enemy attack, and participating in African Union peacekeeping missions. As the likelihood of a naval engagement against a conventional enemy is extremely unlikely, the South African Navy today is primarily engaged in counter-piracy, fishery protection, and anti-smuggling operations. Deploying at least

14840-583: The hull of the ship in order to rip into the hull of another ship while ramming, to stab enemies in the water that had fallen overboard and were swimming, or simply to clear any possible dangerous marine animals in the path of the ship (since the ancient Chinese did believe in sea monsters; see Xu Fu for more info). Qin Shi Huang , the first emperor of the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC), owed much of his success in unifying southern China to naval power, although an official navy

14980-420: The largest and most sophisticated warship to ever have built in South Africa. Three years earlier, the Navy's other support ship, SAS  Tafelberg , had undergone a refit that greatly increased her amphibious capabilities. A real boost for the Navy's influence, Tafelberg could deploy a company strength landing force, six landing craft, two medium helicopters and be equipped with a small hospital. Throughout

15120-486: The largest ships of the time, the Great Harry , displaced over 1,500 tons. United Party (South Africa) The United Party was a political party in South Africa. It was the country's ruling political party between 1934 and 1948. The United Party was formed by a merger of the majority of Prime Minister J. B. M. Hertzog 's National Party with the rival South African Party of Jan Smuts , along with remnants of

15260-470: The mainland and Euboea , the Greek fleet held off multiple assaults by the Persians, the Persians breaking through a first line, but then being flanked by the second line of ships. But the defeat on land at Thermopylae forced a Greek withdrawal, and Athens evacuated its population to nearby Salamis Island . The ensuing Battle of Salamis was one of the decisive engagements of history. Themistocles trapped

15400-456: The mid-14th century, the rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398) seized power in the south amongst many other rebel groups. His early success was due to capable officials such as Liu Bowen and Jiao Yu , and their gunpowder weapons (see Huolongjing ). Yet the decisive battle that cemented his success and his founding of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) was the Battle of Lake Poyang , considered one of

15540-503: The millennium, and beyond, the ANC government gradually returned the Navy to a level of maritime power last seen in the 1960s and 1970s, and successfully reintegrated the service back into maritime operations with regional and international partners. Commissioned into service from 2006, at a total cost of R9.65 billion, the four Meko A200SANs, the Valour class in South African service, became "easily

15680-418: The most powerful surface combatants in sub-Saharan Africa, and...restored South African naval pre-eminence." Constructed with principles of stealthy design, the class has a 50% smaller radar signature of similar vessel size, 75% less infrared emissions, 20% lower life-cycle cost, 25% lower displacement and 30% fewer crew members. Specifically designed to conduct sustained operations in the sea conditions found off

15820-441: The navy has routinely deployed assets in an effort to provide maritime security in the region. Since the operation first began, every Valour-class frigate has been deployed to the region on rotation, with the refurbished Warrior-class OPVs also being utilised. In 2012, the replenishment ship SAS Drakensberg was likewise deployed to the region, and alongside European warships, successfully captured seven Somail pirates . Elements of

15960-646: The operations of the German raider SMS  Wolf in 1917, as well as protecting the strategically important Royal Navy naval base at Simon's Town. On 1 April 1922, the South African Naval Service (SANS) was formed and, alongside the RNVR (SA), tasked with the protection of territorial waters, minesweeping and hydrography. In the same year, the SANS commissioned the small hydrographic survey ship HMSAS (His/Her Majesty's South African Ship) Protea , two minesweeping converted trawlers HMSAS Immortelle and HMSAS Sonneblom , and

16100-523: The party and the country throughout World War II and the immediate post-war years. Smuts and the United Party lost the 1948 election to the National Party. It never held power again. J. G. N. Strauss succeeded Smuts in 1950, and was in turn replaced by Sir de Villiers Graaff in 1956 until 1977. Attrition characterised his leadership years, as the party slowly declined because of electoral gerrymandering , changes to South Africa's voting laws, including

16240-504: The party, between liberals and conservatives . Divisions came to a head in 1972 when Harry Schwarz , leader of the liberal "Young Turks" within the party, wrestled the leadership of the party in the Transvaal from Marais Steyn. His victory was a visible sign of strength from the liberals within the party. On 4 January 1974, he met with Mangosuthu Buthelezi and signed a five-point plan for racial peace in South Africa, which came to be known as

16380-473: The planned conquest in China was canceled by the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi , and the Japanese military retreated from the Korean Peninsula. On their way back to Japan, Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin attacked the Japanese navy at the Battle of Noryang inflicting heavy damages, but the Chinese top official Deng Zilong and the Korean commander Yi Sun-sin were killed in a Japanese army counterattack. The rest of

16520-459: The reasons the UP lost the 1948 election was its lack of commitment to a clear policy on race relations. This stood in contrast to the National Party, which was firmly and unequivocally behind the notion of preserving white supremacy at all costs. The UP was against apartheid as a system, but also favoured the continuation of white minority rule , akin to the political arrangements in Rhodesia at

16660-465: The removal of the ' Coloureds ' – South Africans of mixed ancestry, who had been staunch United Party supporters – from the electoral rolls, and defections to other parties such as the Progressive Party , which was formed in 1959 by liberal former UP members that sought a stronger opposition to apartheid. Despite this, the party remained relatively stable until the 1970s. There was much division in

16800-807: The retirement of the antiquated PAP104 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Whilst still maintaining a decompression chamber for operational diving, the River class are now deployed on general coastal defence duties, and are equipped with a single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, two 12.7 mm machine guns, and a RHIB. Alongside the Warrior and River classes are the more modern T Craft class , with three entering service from 1992. Constructed with twin-hulled catamarans of glass-reinforced plastic sandwich construction, three have also been built for Israel in 1997. The T Craft, with their far lighter construction and smaller size, undertake maritime security patrols considerably closer to

16940-408: The sea has largely depended on a fleet's ability to wage sea battles. Throughout most of naval history, naval warfare revolved around two overarching concerns, namely boarding and anti-boarding. It was only in the late 16th century, when gunpowder technology had developed to a considerable extent, that the tactical focus at sea shifted to heavy ordnance. Many sea battles through history also provide

17080-698: The seas. So too did the Venetian Republic dominate Italy's city states, thwart the Ottoman Empire , and dominate commerce on the Silk Road and the Mediterranean in general for centuries. For three centuries, Vikings raided and pillaged far into central Russia and Ukraine , and even to distant Constantinople (both via the Black Sea tributaries, Sicily , and through the Strait of Gibraltar ). Gaining control of

17220-451: The shore and inspect various inlets and bays. SAS Tobie , SAS Tern , and SAS Tekwane are equipped with a single 12.7 mm Browning machine gun and have the capacity to embark a RHIB with a small complement of Naval Infantry to inspect vessels. Between 2004 and 2008, three German built Type 209/1400 submarines were delivered as a like for like replacement for the obsolescent Daphné -class submarines. The Heroine class represents

17360-400: The stress on sophisticated, but ill-suited, warships, three previously decommissioned Warrior-class strike craft were modernised and recommissioned as offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) between 2012 and 2014 – SAS  Isaac Dyobha , SAS  Galeshewe and SAS  Makhanda . As of February 2023, only Makhanda remains in service. From June 2022, the Patrol Flotilla was strengthened by

17500-702: The submarines are seaworthy. Highly sophisticated vessels, the Heroine class' utility, aside from traditional anti-ship engagement and area denial, is its intelligence collection via special forces deployment. A series of modifications have been made to the class so as to undertake these clandestine operations. Currently fitted only with regular torpedo tubes , the Heroines do have optional UGM-84 Harpoon integration capacity for further anti-ship potential, however, as of 2020, this has not been utilised. Similarly, whilst currently not able to deploy any land attack armaments, Germany

17640-418: The submarines were reported to be in need of "urgent and complete" refits. The recommended approach was to move to a contracting phase in 2020. The Armscor annual report to parliament indicated that should the refits not take place, the submarine capability would not available after FY2022/23. As of March 2021, the contracting phase had still not been initiated and no dates had been announced for any upgrades of

17780-606: The submarines. In August 2021 it was reported that Charlotte Maxeke was being refitted at the Armscor Dockyard. Funding in the amount of R189 million had reportedly been made available to ensure the completion of the refit during the 2023/24 financial year. Funding for the refit of Queen Modjadji was not available, though the reported focus of the Navy was to prioritise essential maintenance and repair of SAS Manthatisi (which had been last refitted during 2013/14) to ensure "expedited operational availability." As of 2024, none of

17920-570: The tanker Kama from the Russian Navy along with the destroyer Huainan , the frigate Rizhao and the support ship Kekexilihu from the Chinese Navy. Several vessels from the South African Navy were expected to participate including the frigate Mendi as well as the Warrior-class patrol vessel King Sekhukhune I and the hydrographic survey vessel Protea . In April of the same year,

18060-522: The technological achievements of the earlier Song dynasty, the Mongols also employed early cannons upon the decks of their ships. While Song China built its naval strength, the Japanese also had considerable naval prowess. The strength of Japanese naval forces could be seen in the Genpei War , in the large-scale Battle of Dan-no-ura on 25 April 1185. The forces of Minamoto no Yoshitsune were 850 ships strong, while Taira no Munemori had 500 ships. In

18200-455: The termination of the relatively advanced program to domestically build replacement submarines. A positive for the Navy during this period however was the acquisition of the multipurpose sealift/replenishment ship SAS  Outeniqua , a former Soviet-built Arctic supply vessel, in September 1992 as a replacement for the 35-year-old Tafelberg . Despite the austere cutbacks, the Navy was leading

18340-475: The time. During the late 1960s, the party tried to gain support by its resistance to the National Party's politics on giving land to the bantustans , insisting on a single citizenship for all South Africans. By the 1970s, the UP advocated federalism and a gradual retreat from official segregation and discrimination. The party supported links with the Commonwealth of Nations , and unsuccessfully campaigned against

18480-605: The training ship General Botha (the former 19th century cruiser HMS Thames ) – all formerly in Royal Navy service. As a result of the Great Depression in 1929, coupled with lack of government investment, the SANS by 1939 had been forced to return all vessels to the Royal Navy. At the outbreak of the Second World War , the service had only three officers and three ratings in its ranks. The British declaration of war against Germany on 3 September 1939 threw South Africa into

18620-437: The way for a South Africa that was slowly being welcomed back into the international community, even before the landmark elections of 1994 . In 1990, the survey vessel SAS  Protea became the first South African naval vessel to visit Europe since 1972, and in the same year SAS  Drakensberg and two Warrior-class strike craft , SAS  Jan Smuts and SAS  Hendrik Mentz , sailed for Taiwan in what would be

18760-483: Was addressed by the Strategic Defence Package of 1999. Better known as the infamous " Arms Deal ", the acquisitions in the package, and those persons involved, have been repeatedly subject to substantive allegations of corruption, fraud and bribery. A total of R30 billion (US$ 4.8 billion in 1999) was pledged to the purchase of modern military equipment. For the navy, its share led to a total transformation from

18900-694: Was devastating to the ships in the besieging fleet. These were the first of many encounters during the Byzantine-Arab Wars . The Caliphate became the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean Sea from the 7th to 13th centuries, during what is known as the Islamic Golden Age . One of the most significant inventions in medieval naval warfare was the torpedo , invented in Syria by the Arab inventor Hasan al-Rammah in 1275. His torpedo ran on water with

19040-469: Was first established as a sub-branch of the Navy in 1951 until 1955 and then reformed in 1979 until 1990, both times with the primary purpose of protecting the country's harbours. The Marines also acted as regular infantry during the war until 1988, as well as performing counter-insurgency operations inside South Africa. The Marines had an amphibious landing capability by operating from SAS  Tafelberg and SAS Drakensberg , with an elite company, named

19180-561: Was not yet established (see Medieval Asia section below). The people of the Zhou dynasty were known to use temporary pontoon bridges for general means of transportation, but it was during the Qin and Han dynasties that large permanent pontoon bridges were assembled and used in warfare (first written account of a pontoon bridge in the West being the oversight of the Greek Mandrocles of Samos in aiding

19320-442: Was only on the fringes of the Empire, in newly gained provinces or defensive missions against barbarian invasion, that the navy still engaged in actual warfare. While the barbarian invasions of the 4th century and later mostly occurred by land, some notable examples of naval conflicts are known. In the late 3rd century, in the reign of Emperor Gallienus , a large raiding party composed by Goths, Gepids and Heruli, launched itself in

19460-399: Was the jong . The jongs were large transport ships which could carry 100–2000 tons of cargo and 50–1000 people, 28.99–88.56 meter in length. The exact number of jong fielded by Majapahit is unknown, but the largest number of jong deployed in an expedition is about 400 jongs, when Majapahit attacked Pasai, in 1350. In this era, even to the 17th century, the Nusantaran naval soldiers fought on

19600-429: Was written in the Han dynasty that the people of the Warring States era had employed chuan ge ships (dagger-axe ships, or halberd ships), thought to be a simple description of ships manned by marines carrying dagger-axe halberds as personal weapons. The 3rd-century writer Zhang Yan asserted that the people of the Warring States period named the boats this way because halberd blades were actually fixed and attached to

#825174