17 Field Artillery
17 Field Artillery Regiment was a reserve South African Artillery unit.
| 17 Field Artillery Regiment | |
|---|---|
 17 Field Artillery Regiment emblem | |
| Active | 1975–1991 |
| Country |  South Africa |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Type | Regular artillery |
| Role | Field Artillery |
| Size | Regiment |
| Part of | South African Army Artillery Corps Army Conventional |
| Garrison/HQ | Pretoria University of Pretoria Campus, Poynton Building |
| Motto(s) | Eminus Ferimus (From a distance) |
| Engagements | South African Border War |
| Battle honours | South-West Africa |
| Artillery Battery Emblems |  |
| Artillery Beret Bar circa 1992 |  |
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History
17 Field Artillery Regiment was formed in 1975 as a Citizen Force unit in Pretoria.
17 Field was originally an offshoot of the Regiment University of Pretoria.
Divisional Support
It was a new artillery counter-insurgency unit whose purpose was to provide support for 73 Motorised Brigade from 1975 to 1991. 17 Field Artillery also assisted 81 Armoured Brigade.
Artillery Type
The term Field Regiment was not quite descriptive of this unit which comprised a number of artillery elements such as field guns, medium mortars and a locating artillery element being essentially radar. It could also be referred to as a composite regiment.
Commanders
- Commandant M. van Rooyen
- Commandant K.R.W. Harrison
- Commandant A.H. van Tonder
Operations
17 Field Regiment received indirect operational experience when it received experienced national servicemen returning from SWA and Angola. Members also did service as infantry in the operational area. The first actual operation duty for the regiment occurred in 1982 when a battery under command of Capt H.J. Botha was sent to Sector 70. Another battery was sent as well to Sector 10 as Infantry to fill a strength requirement for the Brigade. A battery under Commandant Botha was also sent to the border in Sector 10 in 1988. The expected operation did however not occur.
Renamed
17 Field Artillery was also known as the Pretoria Artillery.
Amalgamation
17 Field Regiment was eventually amalgamated into the Transvaalse Staatsartillerie in October 1991.
Insignia
References
- Further reading: Wilsworth, Clive. First In, Last Out: The South African Artillery in Action: 1975–1988. 30 Degrees South. ISBN 978-1-920143-40-4.