Books on South African Parachute Battalions.
South African special forces were internationally considered to be among the best in the world, particularly in bush warfare. Their operational and fighting capabilities are world renowned, proven year in and year out during the country's 30 year long border/bush war in Angola as well as operating with the Rhodesian Special Forcces in Mozambique.
In April 1961, South Africa's first elite forces started with the formation of the Parachute Battalion (called Parabats), after selected members of the South African Army received parachute training at UK's RAF Abingdon.

During the first few years of its existence, the Parabats were the only special forces of its time in the South African Defence Force, until the formation of the Recces and 32 Battalion.

On 26 August 1966, the Parabats first participated in operations as part of the South African Border War in South-West Africa (now Namibia). This involvement was eventually to last for more than twenty years.

In April 1978, 44 Parachute Brigade was established, with the addition of 2 and 3 Parachute Battalions.

On 4 May 1978 South Africa's first major airborne operation (Operation Reindeer) took place. A large group of paratroopers, from 1, 2 and 3 Battalions, attacked a large SWAPO base in Cassinga, Angola, successfully capturing it.

Following the end of the Border War in 1989, the Brigade was scaled down slightly and began preparing for a new role, that of conducting operations internally in South Africa in order to quell increasing levels of violence between various political groups.

In January 1991 the Brigade conducted its first operational jump in an urban counterinsurgency role when 2 Parachute Battalion deployed to Natal as part of Operation Eardrum to quell the violence. The Brigade took part in many similar operations in the following years, helping to minimise the violence sufficiently to allow South Africa's first democratic elections to go ahead in April 1994.


Below is a list of the current books now available from us (click on the link under book description). There have been other publications and most are now 'Out of Print' and are hard to get / fetch high prices. Should there be a relevant title that we should know about, please let us know.