Identity
Person No.
33026
Old ROH no.
1321
Service No.
72265465PE
Last Name
First Name
William Russel
Initials
W R
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
25
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
Unknown
Cause of Death
Killed in the collision between SAS President Kruger and SAS Tafelberg (Mess 12), 18 February 1982
Military Service
Branch
Navy
Rank
Petty Officer
Regiment
Unit
Secondary Unit
H.Q.
Defence Force
SADF 3,848
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Memorial
Memorial
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Coordinates
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Operation
Operation
Dates
1982-02-18
About
At about 03:50 on 18 February 1982, during night station-keeping / replenishment exercises, SAS President Kruger collided with the replenishment ship SAS Tafelberg and sank about two hours later. Fourteen men in Mess 12 were killed by the impact; Chief Petty Officer D. Webb and Able Seaman G.T. Benjamin died while abandoning ship (Webb’s body recovered by SAS Protea on 19 February). Source: Bennett, Three Frigates (2006).
Notes
Husband of Leslie Lorraine Smith, of Kommetjie, Cape Province. ***He was mustered as a Chef on the SAS President Kruger. ***Officially declared dead on 26 Aug 1982.
Listed by Chris Bennett, Three Frigates (2006), among the fourteen Mess 12 personnel killed by the impact when SAS President Kruger collided with SAS Tafelberg at about 03:50 on 18 February 1982; bodies went down with the ship.
Research notes
Bennett, Chris. Three Frigates: President Class Frigates bring the SA Navy to maturity. Just Done Productions / Lulu, 2006 (ISBN 978-1-920169-02-2).
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Bennett — Three Frigates (President Class)
open source ↗
Mess 12 — PK/Tafelberg collision, 18 Feb 1982
-
SADF.info Border Roll of Honour
open source ↗
SADF.info Border RoH
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
-
The War in Angola
open source ↗
War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), pages 136-137 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
-
samilhistory.com
open source ↗
samilhistory.com Remembrance / Peter Dickens SAS President Kruger honour roll
Stories 2
In the early hours of Thursday 18 February 1982, SAS President Kruger , oldest of the three Type 12 Frigates of the South African Navy, collided with the replenishment vessel, SAS Tafelberg . Both ships were severely damaged but TAFELBERG returned safely to Simon?s Town. President Kruger sank approximately two hours after the collision when efforts to keep her afloat failed. 14 men from Mess 12, Chief Petty Officers
Petty Officer William Russel Smith of SAS President Kruger was among the fourteen men in Mess 12 killed when the frigate collided with SAS Tafelberg in the early hours of 18 February 1982 and sank south of Cape Point.
Bennett (Three Frigates) records that only two men in Mess 12 survived the impact (CPO Leonard Mack and PO Roodt); the remainder, including William Russel Smith, were lost with the ship.
Bennett (Three Frigates) records that only two men in Mess 12 survived the impact (CPO Leonard Mack and PO Roodt); the remainder, including William Russel Smith, were lost with the ship.
Dedications 1
Still fondly remembered Jan Macdonald macdonald_jan@hotmail.com 2002-07-11 16:57:52