Faculty of Military Sciences

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The Faculty of Military Sciences is an academic-military institution that provides world class military contextualised higher education through teaching and learning, research, community interaction and professional military development.

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3D simulation of incompressible Poiseuille flow through 180° curved duct of square cross-section under effect of thermal buoyancy
(Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 2019-08-04) Mokeddem, Mourad; Laidoudi, Houssem; Makinde, Oluwole Daniel; Bouzit, Mohamed
In this paper, three-dimensional numerical simulations are carried out to investigate and analyze the gradual effects of thermal buoyancy strength on laminar flow of an incompressible viscous fluid and heat transfer rate inside a 180° curved channel of square cross-section. The governing equations of continuity, momentum and energy balance are obtained and solved numerically using finite volume method. The effect of Dean number, De, and Richardson number, Ri, on dimensionless velocity profiles and Nusselt number are examined for the conditions: De = 125 to 150, Ri = 0 to 2 at Pr = 1. The mean results are illustrated in terms of streamline and isotherm contours to interpret the flow behaviors and its effect on heat transfer rate. Dimensionless velocity profiles and the local Nusselt number at the angle 0° and 90° are presented and discussed. Also, the average Nusselt number on surfaces of curved duct is computed. The obtained results showed that by adding thermal buoyancy to computed domain, some early Dean vortices are observed at the angle 0° and new sort are observed at 90°. Furthermore, increase in Dean number increases the heat transfer rate. In other hand, increase in Richardson number decreases the average Nusselt number of 180° curved duct.
61 Tunneling Company : South African miners in the Middle East during the Second World War
(Department of History, University of the Free State, 2012) Kleynhans, Evert
The South African Engineering Corps (SAEC) provided a variety of specialised units to assist the Allies during the Second World War. These units performed outstanding work in the East and North African theatres, as well as in Italy. Through their concerted efforts, they were able to provide much needed assistance to the troops on the ground. South African engineering troops, however, served in lesser known territories as well. The likes of 61 Tunnelling Company, under the auspices of the Mines Engineering Brigade (MEB) SAEC, was but one of these specialised units called upon to renderThe South African Engineering Corps (SAEC) provided a variety of specialised units to assist the Allies during the Second World War. These units performed outstanding work in the East and North African theatres, as well as in Italy. Through their concerted efforts, they were able to provide much needed assistance to the troops on the ground. South African engineering troops, however, served in lesser known territories as well. The likes of 61 Tunnelling Company, under the auspices of the Mines Engineering Brigade (MEB) SAEC, was but one of these specialised units called upon to render services to the Allied forces in the Middle East. The company, representing a cross-section of miners from the Witwatersrand, was tasked to dig a series of tunnels that continued to the completion of the Haifa-Beirut-Tripoli (HBT) railway line. Upon completion of the task, the unit further carried out two more tunnelling tasks in the Middle East, namely at Ras Bayada and at the Kasmieh Irrigation Scheme. Due to the specialised nature of this unit, its exploits during the war only received minimal attention in the written histories of the South African forces. This article thus explores the history of 61 Tunnelling Company’s exploits in the Middle East during the Second World War services to the Allied forces in the Middle East. The company, representing a cross-section of miners from the Witwatersrand, was tasked to dig a series of tunnels that continued to the completion of the Haifa-Beirut-Tripoli (HBT) railway line. Upon completion of the task, the unit further carried out two more tunnelling tasks in the Middle East, namely at Ras Bayada and at the Kasmieh Irrigation Scheme. Due to the specialised nature of this unit, its exploits during the war only received minimal attention in the written histories of the South African forces. This article thus explores the history of 61 Tunnelling Company’s exploits in the Middle East during the Second World War.
Accolades and albatrosses : the South African National Defence Force's centenary and the commemoration of milestones in South African military history
(Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2012) Visser, Deon
Peoples, societies, institutions and other entities frequently record their histories in terms of successive epochs, and commemorate those histories according to perceived milestones or turning points in their development. Since much of human history has been dominated by strife and warfare, national and international milestones are frequently embedded in notions of a military past. Milestones in military history may be divided into three broad categories, namely those representing significant strides in the evolution of warfare, those associated with bravery, heroic sacrifice and great loss, and those of decisive political importance. Defence forces in general, and individual military units in particular, are extremely conscious of their past and often commemorate milestones through customs, traditions, and splendid parades and ceremonial displays. This year (2012), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) celebrates its centenary against the complex background of South Africa’s long history of internal strife interspaced with participation in foreign conflicts. This article reflects on the commemoration of South Africa’s military history within the context of the divergent historical heritages of the SANDF and its predecessors. It commences with a brief background on memory, identity and the commemoration of history and military history. Thereafter it outlines the commemoration of a few of the foremost milestones in South African military history associated with the evolution of warfare, with bravery, heroic sacrifice and great loss, and with political change within its historical and current context.
Airpower in the Union of South Africa's First World War campaign in German South West Africa
(Historical Association of South Africa, 2017) Garcia, Antonio
During the Great War, aircraft were used primarily for reconnaissance and artillery spotting. The Union of South Africa's First World War campaign in German South West Africa (GSWA) allowed for South Africa's first employment of military aeroplanes in conventional warfare. The creation and employment of the South African Aviation Corps (SAAC) within the Union Defence Force (UDF) provided ground forces with a substantial force multiplier in terms of forward reconnaissance. The aerial reconnaissance allowed General Louis Botha and his subordinate commanders to gain a better understanding of the tactical picture and facilitated the battle concept. This paper discusses the role and impact of aerial operations during the GSWA campaign. The campaign was characterised by sweeping envelopments which were executed by the Union's commandos. During the latter part of the campaign aeroplanes provided the UDF with intelligence in terms of the location and concentration of German forces, which assisted in their final encirclement.
Akademiese steun by die militere akademie : die aanspreek van andershede in die SA Weermag
(Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University, 1992) Smith, L. M.
Die Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap is blootgestel aan snelle veranderinge wat noodwendig 'n neerslag vind in die SA Weermag en die Militêre Akademie op Saldanha. Dit is egter nie net die veranderinge wat hul invloed laat geld nie, maar ook die gebeure wat die veranderinge voorafgegaan het. Die Fakulteit Krygskunde aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch (soos enige ander Suid-Afrikaanse tersiëre opleidingsinstansie) moet dus hul taak volvoer met inagneming van 'n buitengewone geskiedenis en die eise van 'n dinamiese toekoms. Studente wat aanmeld vir 'n B. Mil. graad by bogenoemde fakulteit het deel aan sekere gemeenskaplikhede, maar ook andershede wat spruit uit elk se agtergrond. "Andersheid" word omskryf as die persoonlike verskille wat elke individu of groep uniek maak. Dit is belangrik dat die leser kennis neem daarvan dat elke student van gelyke waarde geag word en dat "andersheid" nie sinoniem is vir "minderwaardigheid" nie.
All splendid, but horrible : the politics of South Africa's second "Little Bit" and the war on the western front, 1915-1918
(Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2012) Van der Waag, Ian
South Africa’s decision to enter the First World War was not easy. After a difficult interplay between Whitehall and Tuinhuis, the Botha government agreed to secure limited strategic objectives in neighbouring German South West Africa. An armed insurrection had to be suppressed first. When both these objects were achieved, and following a further British appeal, South African troops moved further afield. This move, representing South Africa’s second ‘little bit’, was a dangerous step for the Botha government. The despatch of troops to France was controversial. Yet, by the end of 1915, South African expeditionary forces were en route to Europe and East Africa. This paper investigates the political crisis in South Africa and the difficult decision to send troops out of Africa, their deployment in an environment entirely foreign to the South African way of war, and the impact of the Western Front on the drawing of ‘lessons’ by post-war Union authorities.
Analysing the changes in the bathymetry of Saldanha Bay between the years 1977 and 2021
(CONSAS Conference, 2022-12) Du Toit, Louis; Henrico, Ivan; Bezuidenhout, Jacques; Mtshawu, Babalwa
The construction of the Saldanha Port has been the reason for the major changes in the bathymetry and sediment dynamics observed in Saldanha Bay in the last decades. In this paper, newly acquired soundings from the National Hydrographer were used to analyse the changes between 1977 and 2021 - over a 44-year period - in the bathymetry of Saldanha Bay. The Ordinary Kriging (OK) interpolation method, available through the Geostatistical Wizard in ArcGIS Pro, was used for creating surface models to conduct comparisons with the bathymetry of Saldanha Bay. The results indicate a general increase in depth since 1977 of between 0.395 and 3.203 m, and an average increase in depth within the Big Bay of 1.799 m. Between 1977 and 2021, a total volume loss of 49 364 560.0 m3 in sediment was calculated - an indication of how the sedimentation process in Saldanha Bay has changed subsequent to the construction of the harbour.
Analysis of heat transfer in Berman flow of nanofluids with Navier slip, viscous dissipation, and convective cooling
(Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2014-03-31) Makinde, O. D.; Khamis, S.; Tshehla, M. S.; Franks, O.
Heat transfer characteristics of a Berman flow of water based nanofluids containing copper (Cu) and alumina (Al2O3) as nanoparticles in a porous channel with Navier slip, viscous dissipation, and convective cooling are investigated. It is assumed that the exchange of heat with the ambient surrounding takes place at the channel walls following Newton’s law of cooling. The governing partial differential equations and boundary conditions are converted into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations using appropriate similarity transformations. These equations are solved analytically by regular perturbation methods with series improvement technique and numerically using an efficient Runge-Kutta Fehlberg integration technique coupled with shooting scheme.The effects of the governing parameters on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, skin friction, pressure drop, and Nusselt numbers are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively.
Analysis of thermal stability in a convecting and radiating two-step reactive slab
(Hindawi, 2013) Makinde, O. D.; Tshehla, M. S.
This paper investigates the combined effects of convective and radiative heat loss on thermal stability of a rectangular slab of combustible materials with internal heat generation due to a two-step exothermic chemical reaction, taking the diffusion of the reactant into account and assuming a variable (temperature dependent) preexponential factor. The nonlinear differential equation governing the transient reaction-diffusion problem is obtained and tackled numerically using a semidiscretization finite difference technique. A special type of Hermite-Pade approximants coupled with perturbation technique are employed to analyze the effects of ´ various embedded thermophysical parameters on the steady state problem. Important properties of the temperature field including thermal stability conditions are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively.
Anatomy of post-communist European defense institutions : the mirage of military modernity
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2020) Jordaan, Evert
In Anatomy of post-communist European defense institutions: The mirage of military modernity, Thomas-Durell Young’s aim was to determine why Central and Eastern European (CEE) states have failed to apply democratic defence governance concepts, despite 25 years of Western assistance programmes.
Die Anglo-Boereoorlog as stimulus vir die stigting van Afrikaanse plattelandse trustmaatskappye en eksekuteurskamers
(Historical Association of South Africa, 2000) Ehlers, A.
Die ontwikkeling van 'n Afrikaanse etniese bewussyn ná 1870 is deur die Anglo Boereoorlog (1899-1902) verhoog. In die Kaapkolonie is mense in lojalistiese en republikeinse kampe verdeel. Op die ekonomiese terrein het Afrikaanssprekendes met 'n republikeinse voorkeur hulle steun onttrek aan ondernemings wat die Britse oorlogpoging goedgesind was. Inisiatiewe wat vanaf 1900 geloods is, het in die Wes-Kaap daartoe aanleiding gegee dat die Paarlse Afrikaanse Trust Maatskappy Beperk en die Afrikaanse Onderlinge Voogdy en Assuransie Maatskappy Beperk tot stand kom. In hierdie artikel word die ekonomiese impak van die koloniale inisiatiewe in Kaapse Afrikanergeledere ondersoek.
The "apostles of terror" : South Africa, the East African campaign, and the Battle of El Wak
(Historical Association of South Africa, 2018-11) Kleynhans, Evert Philippus
Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, the Union Defence Force (UDF) had to undergo a rapid transformation from an ageing defence force to one that could project offensive power across Africa. The formation of the 1st South African Division (1st SA Div) during 1940, and the subsequent deployment of South African troops to the East African theatre, afforded the UDF the opportunity to test its military capabilities under operational conditions against the Italian threat in Ethiopia (then Abyssinia) and Somalia (then Italian Somaliland). It had been 21 years since the Union of South Africa was last in a state of war, and the UDF’s first battle in East Africa is a prime tool by which to measure concepts such as force design, military innovation and the operational employment of forces, to name but a few. The Battle of El Wak was not only the UDF’s initial battle in the East African campaign, but also South Africa’s first battle during the Second World War. By drawing from primary archival material and secondary sources, the article concludes that the Battle of El Wak had a definite impact on the entire South African campaign in East Africa.
Application of successive linearisation method to squeezing flow with bifurcation
(Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2014-01-02) Motsa, S. S.; Makinde, O. D.; Shateyi, S.
This paper employs the computational approach known as successive linearization method (SLM) to tackle a fourth order nonlinear differential equation modelling the transient flow of an incompressible viscous fluid between two parallel plates produced by a simple wall motion. Numerical and graphical results obtained show excellent agreement with the earlier results reported in the literature. We obtain solution branches as well as a turning point in the flow field accurately. A comparison with numerical results generated using the inbuilt MATLAB boundary value solver, bvp4c, demonstrates that the SLM approach is a very efficient technique for tackling highly nonlinear differential equations of the type discussed in this paper.
The application of Supers theory in the military : culture and gender in the life roles of young professional officers
(AOSIS OpenJournals, 2001-01) Kotze, M. E.
Abstract: Political and societal changes in South Africa have resulted in the fundamental transformation of amongst others the personnel composition of the National Defence Force in order to be more representative of the South African population as a whole. As a corollary to this process, the South African Military Academy is making a determined effort to increase the number of black and female students within its student population.
An Australian war correspondent in Ladysmith : the siege report of Donald Macdonald of the Melbourne Argus
(Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University, 2000) Van der Waag, Ian
Some one hundred years ago, South Africa was torn apart by the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). To mark this cataclysmic event, Covos-Day is publishing a series of books. The first is a facsimile of Donald Macdonald's enduring story of "How we kept the flag flying" through the siege of Ladysmith and this is followed by several other titles including another Ladysmith-siege diary: one written by George Maidment, a British army orderly. Such a publication programme is a monumental and laudable effort. It allows both reflections upon a calamitous episode in South African history and, as is the case of "How we kept the flag flying", an opportunity for the collector to acquire old titles, long-out-of-print, at reasonable prices. Donald Macdonald was born in Melbourne, Victoria on 6 June 1859. After a short career as a teacher, he joined the Corowa Free Press and, in 1881, the Melbourne Argus. A nature writer and cricket commentator, he arrived in South Africa on 21 October 1899, the day of the battle at Elandslaagte, as war correspondent to the Melbourne Argus. This book, "How we kept the flag flying", was born from his experiences and frustrations whilst holed-up in Ladysmith throughout the 100-day siege, whilst the war raged and was reported on by journalists elsewhere.
The background radiation and exposure levels at various South African west coast military units
(Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2014) Bezuidenhout, Jacques
The West Coast of South Africa between St Helena Bay to the north and Langebaan Lagoon to the south is characterised by numerous granite protrusions. These outcrops are elements of the underlying Cape Granite Suite, which forms the bedrock of a large part of the Western Cape. Granite contains high levels of natural radionuclides, which results in high levels of natural background radiation in the surrounding area. The impacts of these high levels of radiation exposure on military personal are of concern. There are four military units located in this part of the West Coast, namely SAS Saldanha, 4 Special Forces Regiment, Langebaan Road Air Force Base and the Military Academy. Different sites in and around these military units were selected and soil samples were taken. Laboratory gamma ray measurements were done to determine the levels of natural radioactive nuclides in the soil samples. The radioactive nuclide concentrations were interpolated and then mapped with the help of geographic information systems (also known as geospatial information systems or GIS) software. An evaluation of the annual dose rate of military personnel at the units on the West Coast was made and found to range between 0,017 mSv/y and 0,163 mSv/y. These values were mapped and compared to the average global annual dose rate of 0,070 mSv/y. This article reports on an investigation of these results and the overall exposure levels of personnel from the various military units on the West Coast of South Africa.
Bambatha at Mpanza : the making of a rebel
(Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University, 2004) Thompson, P. S.
Bambatha is widely known as the chief who led a group of men to confront the Natal colonial government in protest against poll tax. He lived in a broken, sandy and stoney area known as Mpanza valley, to the north of Greytown, in the Natal colony of the former British Empire. The inhabitants of this valley were the Zulu tribe called Amazondi (officially called Abasengome). This land was dry and poor for cultivation and for game. It was a farmland owned by white men but settled by the Amazondi since 1854 as a “private location” of indigenous people who did not live in an officially designated Native Location (an exclusive site for the settlement of indigenous people). The white people were called the thorns. Bambatha led the last armed resistance of the Africans before the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. He was eventually captured and beheaded. He provided the source of strength to boost the morale of those who continued with the struggle for liberation in subsequent years. This is the perception around Bambatha and his rebellion in 1906. But how exactly did it happen that he became a defiant chief who did not acquiesce to the demands of the colonial government? This book provides a descriptive analysis of the career of Bambatha until his flight to Zululand after the failure of his endeavour-armed resistance.
The battle of Kursk : an appraisal of the Soviet and German operational doctrines
(Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free State, 2003) Esterhuyse, Abel; Jordaan, Evert
Operation Zitadelle (Citadel), the German attack on the Kursk salient on 5 July 1943, constituted the final attempt by the German Army to retain its operational initiative on the Eastern Front. The Russians knew that the Kursk salient was a great temptation to the German Army. The German General Staff's classic reaction to an enemy promontory, an enemy -held outpost stretching beyond the general run of the front line, had always been to pinch the promontory off by attacking each of its flanks simultaneously. This was precisely what the Germans did at Kursk when Field Marshall HG von Kluge attacked the salient from the north, while Lieutenant-General FE von Manstein struck it from the south.
Battle on the Lomba, 1987 the day a South African armoured battalion shattred Angola’s last mechanised offensive : a crew commander’s account
(Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2015) Esterhuyse, Abel
Writing about the Namibian Border War and South African involvement in the Angolan Civil War is difficult. Many South Africans have been conscripted or willingly served in the military at the time and find it difficult to distance themselves from their own experiences and their personal involvement in many of the operations that were conducted by the South African military. The issue is also clouded by the current South African government’s association with what happened on the other side of the hill[i]and, more specifically, their support for the winning narrative of the Cuban–Angolan forces. Many previous South African Defence Force (SADF) soldiers are also facing the wounds of post-traumatic stress because of their exposure to the battlefield experiences of the war. It is very often difficult to navigate between perceptions and reality and to find the truth in the debate about who won the so-called Battle for Cuito Cuanavale.
Between history, amnesia and selective memory : the South African armed forces, a century's perspective
(Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy), 2012) Van der Waag, Ian; Visser, Deon
2012 has a double significance for this year sees the centenary of the founding of the African National Congress (8 January) and of the creation of the Union Defence Forces (1 July), two organisations that have for much of the twentieth century shared a contested history. Yet, in a remarkable bouleversement, South Africa has come through this difficult past and, over the past two decades, a new South African society has been recreated following an interesting period of adjustment following the end of the Cold War and the growth of democracy in the developing world. These changes have necessarily affected her armed forces and the roles defined for them. Some commentators, particularly in the years immediately following 1994, asserted that military power had lost all of its vaunted, Cold-War importance in a new postmodern environment. Others still, recognising future challenges, argued that South Africa, beset with far-reaching socio-economic crises, could no longer afford the burden of military forces. Most scholars agree now that these perspectives were short-sighted and that, while the risk of major conflict has receded, the events of 9/11, and its consequences, demonstrate that the continental and international landscapes are less certain, less stable and less predictable, than that for which many had hoped. Clearly, South African interests are intertwined inextricably in regional and global affairs and if she is to protect these interests and ensure her security, she must maintain credible military force capable of meeting an array of contingencies. It was with this in mind that the strategic arms deal, since the subject of much debate, was passed by parliament:[i] the promise of a full technological transformation, to accompany the human transformation, offered.

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