Buffel

The Buffel (English: Buffalo) is a MRAP infantry mobility vehicle used by the South African Defence Force during the South African Border War. The Buffel was also used as an armoured fighting vehicle and proved itself in this role. It was replaced by the Mamba from 1995 in South Africa,[1] but remains in use elsewhere, notably Sri Lanka.

For other uses, see Buffel (disambiguation).
Buffel
Decommissioned Buffel in Port Elizabeth.
TypeMPAV
Place of originSouth Africa
Production history
DesignerCouncil for Scientific and Industrial Research
Specifications
Mass6.14 t
Length5.1 m (16.73 ft)
Width2.05 m (6.73 ft)
Height2.95 m (9.68 ft)
Crew1+10
Main
armament
Optional M1919A4 / FN MAG 7.62 mm MG
EngineMercedes-Benz OM352 6-cylinder or Atlantis Diesel Engines 352 6-cylinder diesel[1]
Suspension4×4 wheeled
Operational
range
1000 km (620 mi)
Maximum speed Road 96 km/h (60 mph)
Off-road 30 km/h (19 mph)

Production history

The Buffel was the first truly effective landmine-protected armored personnel carrier to enter service anywhere.[2] The South African Army began deploying it in the operational area from 1978. The Buffel was an improvement over the Bosvark which offered little protection to the driver. In 1974, 54 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416-162 chassis had been hastily converted into Bosvark by 61 Base Workshops in Pretoria. Bosvark offered limited landmine protection to the crew, but compensated for this with good off-road mobility.[1][3] It is estimated that around 2,400 Buffel were delivered before production stopped. Sri Lanka purchased Buffels in the 1980s, and in the early 1990s the vehicle was exported to Uganda.[1]

The Buffel (Afrikaans for Buffalo) was not a wholly South African built vehicle, but made use of the chassis, engine and some other components of the Mercedes-Benz U416-162 Unimog,[1] which were married to the armoured driver's cab and separate armoured troop compartment. The driver's cab was situated on the left with the engine compartment on the right. Later models replaced the original Mercedes-Benz OM352 engine[1] with copies built under license by Atlantis Diesel Engines factory near Cape Town.

Land mine protection was provided by the V-shaped hull underneath these compartments, which quite effectively deflected the blast. The troop compartment contained two plastic tanks in the vee beneath the floor, a 200-litre diesel tank and a 100-litre water tank. The water tank provided drinking water to the occupants by means of a tap at the rear of the vehicle. It was a commonly held misconception amongst the troops that the weight of the water added to the blast protection.

In order to help dissipate the energy from hitting a mine, the large tyres were sometimes filled with water, adding about 500 kg per wheel to the vehicle weight.[4]

Variants
Rhino (left) and Bulldog (right) of the South African military, Swartkop Air Force Base.
Buffel Mk IIA at the Gerotek Test site.
  • Buffel - original
  • Buffel Mk 1 - Improved engine and bushguard/bumper
  • Buffel Mk 1B - Disc brakes replaced drum brakes[1]
  • Log Buffel - Logistic/Cargo version, a standard Buffel with the seat assembly removed from the troop compartment
  • Moffel - See Buffel Mk IIA below.[1]
  • Unicorn - Sri Lanka Army produced version of the Buffel original.
Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force Unicorn
Unibuffel Mk II of the Sri Lankan Army
  • Buffel Mk IIA - Essentially a rebuild of earlier Mk 1s with an enclosed troop compartment, a rear exit door and large bulletproof windows on the sides and rear. Referred to as Moffel.[1]
  • Buffel Mk IIB - Cargo carrier. The SA Army ordered 57 of these in the early 1980s. Payload capacity stated as 2.637 tons.[1]
  • Bulldog - based on SAMIL 20 truck with the driver's cab on the right. The Bulldog was utilized by the SAAF for patrolling airfields. A variant called the Ystervark was produced and used in the anti-aircraft role.[1]
  • Rhino - A further development of the Bulldog but with the driver seated inside a fully enclosed troop compartment. 20 were produced for the SAAF.[1]

Operators
Map with Buffel operators in blue with former operators in red

Current operators

Former operators

Combat history

See also

Vehicles of comparable role, performance, and era

References
  1. "Surviving The Ride". 30 Degrees South. ISBN 978-1-928211-17-4. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
  2. Heydenrychsays, Willem (2019-10-31). "Buffel APC/MPV". Tank Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  3. Engelbrecht, Leon (2010-01-21), Fact file: Mamba APC/MRAP, DefenceWeb, retrieved 2013-07-09
  4. Heydenrychsays, Willem (2019-10-31). "Buffel APC/MPV". Tank Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  5. "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
  6. Camp, Steve; Helmoed-Römer, Heitman (November 2014). Surviving the Ride: A pictorial history of South African Manufactured Mine-Protected vehicles. Pinetown: 30 Degrees South. pp. 31, 239. ISBN 978-1928211-17-4.
  7. "Ugandan People's Defence Force". defenceweb.co.za. 2015-01-30. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2015-06-28.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. "Scramble for the Congo - Anatomy of an Ugly War" (PDF). ICG Africa. 2000-12-20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  9. "Uganda: SA Sends in Police Armour as Museveni Faces Civil Unrest". South Scan. Washington, D.C. 22 April 2005. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  10. "United Nations Register of Conventional Arms: Report of the Secretary-General" (PDF). New York: United Nations. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  11. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190317/news/mali-needs-us-341034.html
  12. Pretty, Ronald. Jane's Weapon Systems, 1986–87 (1986 ed.). Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd. p. 1021. ISBN 978-0710608321.

External sources/Bibliography
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