During the period 1940–1945, the SA Army Engineer Corps which had started the war with a strength of 54 officers and 585 sappers, rose to the strength of approximately 16 000 men belonging to over 70 different companies or units.In the development of the Corps, three aspects of military engineering had to be considered and the obvious sapper groups were the Base, Lines of Communication and Field or Fighting Groups, each with its own particular tasks but motivated by the basic requirements of maintaining the mobility and comfort of the ground forces.

[3] Hence, the 70 different units covered the whole spectrum of military engineering, such as: On 29 December 1944, in recognition of outstanding achievements by the SA Army Engineer Corps during World War II, King George VI approved the design of the Corps emblem, a bursting grenade, to be a device of 9 flames instead of the original seven, and authorised the use of the motto "Ubique", meaning "Everywhere".

The Active Citizen Force was resurrected in early 1946 and Government Notice 1540 of 19 July 1946 announced the establishment and designation of several ACF units including two engineer regiments.

In 1969, the Directorate of Engineers was established at Kroonstad, but in 1972 it was moved to SA Army Headquarters, Pretoria where it was developed to what it is today.

Subsequently, due to policy changes, its activities were confined to the operational area, in support of the SA Army, with great success.

On 26 November 1982, the Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Johannes Geldenhuys presented the Command Directive for the formation to the Director of Engineers.