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1967 a replenishment vessel. (SAS Tafelberg). In 1969 a locally built torpedo-recovery and

dive- support ship was commissioned, and a Submarine Service was established.

The SAN had wished to acquire the British Oberon Class submarines, but due to the British

arms boycott, the SAN had to buy three French-built Daphne class submarines in 1970/71. The
last British naval vessel to be acquired was hydrographic survey ship in 1972. Between 1977

and 1986 the Navy acquired nine missile carrying strike-craft, and in 1981 it acquired four

mine-sweepers.

In 1987 the SAN commissioned a second combat support ship (SAS Drakensberg) which was

the largest ship of any kind to be designed and built in South Africa.

In 1993 the SAS Tafelberg was decommissioned from service and replaced in the same year

by the Ukranian-built Arctic support-ship Juvent, which was converted by the SAN into a
combat-support ship and commissioned as SAS Outeniqua.

In 2000 the Navy bought six used “white elephant” Type 351 mine-sweepers from Germany,

of which only two were commissioned and served very briefly. Between 2006 and 2008 the
SAN acquired three new submarines and during this same period four new frigates were

acquired. None of the last purchases of submarines and frigates remained new for very long
and today they are a testament to the sad state of our once-proud navy.

HMS Thames / SATS General Botha

There is often confusion as to the connection between the SATS General Botha and the SA

Navy: she was a training ship for young men intent on entering the merchant navy and not for
those entering the combat navy. But there can be no doubt about her contribution to the

development and training of the many recruits who chose to enhance their maritime skills. Her

story is therefore included here.

HMS Thames was a Mersey Class cruiser. The laying of her keel took place in Pembroke

Dockyard on 14 April 1884 and she was launched in 1885. Completion was in July 1888. She
had a displacement of 4,050 tons, was 300 feet long (91.4 meters), with a beam of 46 feet (14

meters), and a draught of 20 feet 2 inches (6.1 meters). She was a twin-screw vessel comprising

2 horizontal direct-acting compound expansion steam engines, which provided 6,000 hp