The 4 Reconnaissance Commando was a South African Special Forces unit of the South African Defence Force that was formed in July 1978, specialising in amphibious operations.

History

In 1976, during Operation Savannah, a need was identified for more operational special forces units and in particular units with more specialised skills. In March 1976, Major Malcolm Kinghorn formed a sub-unit specialising in amphibious warfare operations and special reconnaissance for use in Angola during Operation Savannah. It was formed at Salisbury Island, Durban and consisted of a headquarters unit of Kinghorn and a NCO and two units of six men each and was called Charlie (C) Group of 1 Reconnaissance Commando.

On 1 May 1976, the Defence Minister approved the formation of 4 Reconnaissance Commando but it would take a further two years before it was formally established. The unit was formed on the 17 July 1978 as 4 Reconnaissance Commando at Langebaan with Major Kinghorn as the first commanding officer and the first RSM was Warrant Officer “Chili” du Plessis. It was initially made up of members of 1 Reconnaissance Commando. On 1 January 1979, Major Kinghorn was given a temporary rank of Commandant. During the 1981 reorganisation, 4 Reconnaissance Commando was renamed 4 Reconnaissance Regiment (4RR). The unit was said to be small with mainly white soldiers who operated in Angola and Mozambique

Structure In 1978, 4 Reconnaissance Commando was initially structured into three groups:

Alpha Group – amphibious operations training, Bravo Group – operational, Charlie Group – diving,

but when 4 Reconnaissance Commando was renamed 4 Reconnaissance Regiment in 1981 it was structured as:

4.1 Commando – operational component with five teams: Diving Team – offensive operational attack divers Boat Team – maintain and operate the teams boats and work with the naval vessels crews Offensive Team – carried out the special forces tasks Small Teams – carry out reconnaissance and lead the offensive teams to the targets Reconnaissance Team – handle intelligence gathering operations in larger teams

4.2 Commando – training element later called Special Forces Amphibious and Urban School

Re-organisation after 1992 The next reorganisation occurred in 1992 when the Special Forces HQ was disbanded and renamed the Directorate Reconnaissance Forces and 4 RR remained but 2RR, the citizen force unit, was disbanded. In 1993, a further reorganisation occurred when the Directorate Reconnaissance Forces was renamed as the 45 Para Brigade and 4 Reconnaissance Commando was renamed the 453 Para Battalion. The last change occurred in 1995, 45 Para Brigade became the Special Forces Brigade and subsequently 453 Para Battalion is now called 4 Special Forces Regiment.

Leadership

Notes

References

Further reading

External links https://www.recce.co.za/cold-war-africa/