44 Parachute Brigade (South Africa)

44 Parachute Brigade (SADF)
44 Parachute Brigade Beret Badge
Founded	1978
Disbanded	1999
Country	South Africa
Branch	South African Army
Role	Airborne Ops Air-Landed Assault Ops Heli-borne Assault Ops Ltd Amphibious deployment Parachute School Parachute Depot Air Supply[1]
Part of	South African Army Infantry Formation
Anniversaries	5 May (Paratroopers Remembrance Day)
Commanders
1978–1979	Brig. M.J.du Plessis (co-founder)
1980–1982	Col. Jan Breytenbach (co-founder)

44 Parachute Brigade was a parachute infantry brigade of the South African Army. It was founded on 20 April 1978,^[2]: 5 by Colonel Jan Breytenbach, following the disbandment of 1 SA Corps and the battle of Cassinga. Upon formation, the brigade was commanded by Brigadier M. J. du Plessis, who was assigned the task of establishing by working with the Parachute Staff Officer, Colonel Jan Breytenbach. At the time du Plessis was the commanding officer of the Orange Free State Command (OFS Cmd) and had previous experience serving in 1 Parachute Battalion. Breytenbach had also been a member of 1 Parachute Battalion and had also founded 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 Cmd Headquarters, next to the old Tempe Airfield in Bloemfontein.

The brigade's units initially consisted of two Citizen Force units, 2 and 3 Parachute Battalions, that were manned by paratroopers who had completed their initial national service in 1 Parachute Battalion.^[3] 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 engineering, 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 re-designated 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.