About: dbkwik:resource/d_aklP53NlA5Va7KG5lCug==

Property	Value
rdf:type	Military Unit
rdfs:label	44 Parachute Brigade (South Africa)
rdfs:comment	44 Parachute Brigade was an all-arms formation of the South African Defence Force (SADF), which was founded on 20 April 1978 following the disbandment of 1 SA Corps. Upon formation, the brigade was commanded by Brigadier M. J. du Plessis, who was assigned the task of establishing the unit with the assistance of the Parachute Staff Officer, Colonel Jan Breytenbach. At the time du Plessis was the commanding officer of the Orange Free State (OFS) Command and had previous experience serving in 1 Parachute Battalion. Breytenbach had been a founding member of 1 Parachute Battalion and had also served in the South African Special Forces Brigade and 32 Battalion. The location that was chosen for the brigade's headquarters was in the lines of the OFS Command Headquarters, next to the old Tempe Airf
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Commander	Brig. M.J.du Plessis Col. Jan Breytenbach
Branch	70
Role	Air Supply Air-Landed Assault Ops Airborne Ops Heli-borne Assault Ops Ltd Amphibious deployment Parachute Depot Parachute School
Country	South Africa
Type	Air Supply Airborne Anti-Aircraft Airborne Engineers Airborne Signals Workshop / Maintenance
Caption	44
Dates	1978 --04-01 --04-20 April 1978 to Present Information Outstanding October 1963 – present
Unit Name	37 44 101
Disbanded	1999
commander2 label	1980
Anniversaries	--05-05
commander1 label	1978
abstract	44 Parachute Brigade was an all-arms formation of the South African Defence Force (SADF), which was founded on 20 April 1978 following the disbandment of 1 SA Corps. Upon formation, the brigade was commanded by Brigadier M. J. du Plessis, who was assigned the task of establishing the unit with the assistance of the Parachute Staff Officer, Colonel Jan Breytenbach. At the time du Plessis was the commanding officer of the Orange Free State (OFS) Command and had previous experience serving in 1 Parachute Battalion. Breytenbach had been a founding member of 1 Parachute Battalion and had also served in the South African Special Forces Brigade and 32 Battalion. The location that was chosen for the brigade's headquarters was in the lines of the OFS Command Headquarters, next to the old Tempe Airfield in Bloemfontein. The brigade's formation initially consisted of two Citizen Force units, 2 and 3 Parachute Battalions, which were manned by paratroopers who had completed their initial national service in 1 Parachute Battalion. Shortly after formation, it was realised that these two battalions, being infantry units only, were not capable of providing an effective and balanced force for conventional operations. An all-arms formation with an airborne capability was needed, and as a result, later on the brigade was expanded with various arms including engineer, artillery, signals, anti-aircraft, anti-tank, and maintenance and workshops units. The brigade remained in existence until 1999 when it was reduced in size and redesignated 44 Parachute Regiment. Prior to this, 44 Parachute Brigade undertook a number of operations in Angola during the South African Border War as well as counter insurgency operations inside South Africa.