As a Brit living in SA since 1975, I have to say that the achievements of the South African arms industry / SADF during the dark days of border war /sanctions and beyond were bloody impressive. What they managed to do with very limited resources was way above and beyond, goes to show that with the right attitude and dedication you might not be able to 'make a silk purse out of a pig's ear,' but you can get bloody close to it.
@bellotacositacandy Yes; a large immigrant population, of which I am one. Due to sanctions, and a lack of resources as a result, what a small portion of the South African population managed to achieve was exceptional, which was my point. It is a country which has a small part of the population in a first world environment and a large part in a third world environment. That was true back in the day and remains true.
I've heard a quote to this effect. It goes something along the lines of- "if all you have is a rifle, the differance between an Abrams and a sherman is largely academic"
@@joshuadickinson4614 Yes, the SADF ran into soviet armor, but not very much of it in any of their conflicts. The reason they were able to get away with using lighter wheeled units like the Rooikat & the Ratel was they were primarily being used against foot mobile infantry that occasionally had light armor like a BMP-1 or a BTR-152 as support. Cuba didn't bring in Heavy Armor until 1976 & even them the primary armor units were PT-76's & BMP's. Only a handful of T-54/55's & T-62's were ever used & mostly by Cuba Troops. Yes Cuba left those tanks in theater, but have you seen any photos of these tanks in the last decade? I'm not sure since the collapse of the USSR in 1989 they have received ANY spare parts & almost all maintenance has been barely trained locals, the threat of T-72's was real, but I have yet to see any evidence that ANY were ever delivered. The SADF, IF the Cubans weren't involved, dealt with infantry or Irregular formations 85% to 90% of the time, which is why the SADF Armored Corps is PRIMARILY wheeled for logistical & budgetary reasons. Does the SADF Need SOME Heavy Armor? YES, their less than friendly neighbors do have some armor that is a threat, if it's a T-55/62, a Rooikat is at a severe disadvantage, but a large portion of the boarder nations Armor is either LIGHT Armor or T-34/85's where an up to date RooiKat probably has an advantage over their opponents. South Africa operates the largest Armor formation in Southern Africa & quite possibly of any nation south of the Sahara. It's not like if Mexico had a communist revolution in 1982 & the Soviet "Cuba" division & a half dozen Guards Mechanized Brigades were rushed to Mexico to prop up the new "People's" administration, the SADF's adversaries just don't have that much heavy armor.
I served in the SADF during Operation Moduler Southern Angola in 1987. I drove a Ratel 90 for Anti Tank Platoon 72 4SAI/ 62 Mech Combat Charlie. Ops Moduler was the first tank on tank conflict in Africa since WW2. We were fighting T54/55s primarily crewed by Cubans with Soviet advisors. The arms embargo against South Africa was the best thing to happen. My personal weapon was the R4, a South African made Israeli Galil 5.56.
YESSSSSS!!!! HE FINALLY DID IT!! Where are my South Africans at!? This is cause for celebrations mense💪🏽let it also be known that prototypes of the MK 1B were created with a turret similar to the Leopard 2A5 (with those arrow shaped armour sheets) called the MK 1B Optimum. Additionally there is a 120mm smoothbore gun and an upgraded turret similar to the Leopard 2A4 known as the TTD, however we have no use for those upgrades just yet.
@@mr.gunzaku437 You're totally right. South Africa showed the world they're hatred for those who made this all possible in the first place. Britain Germany and France should have protected their brothers
Thank you 🙏 for this video, I worked in Seattle with a former Australian ODF , he moved his family to South Africa 🇿🇦, after opening his own machine shop, decided to rejoin the SAF as a mechanic, no one at work could understand him, with my international experience, I quickly be came a translator, he was one of the best machinists I had encountered in a long time
My Father joined the SA Army Pantzer corps at age 17 after WW11. He was part of the crew that demonstrated the Centurion when ii first arrived in SA. He was one of few to demonstrate what he explained as "the stabiliser" keeping aim on target whilst moving. In the 70's he was RSM of 61 BWP the military base that supported Littelton Engineering Works responsible for all the conversions leading up to the Olifant. All I knew at the time (school boy) was that they were converting to an automatic gearbox. I served in the infantry what a mistake. Pantzer corps in SA was a competent outfit with mature leadership. Thanks for including SA in your repertoir.
Your skills as an infantryman are usefull as tanker, i've been with mechanised infantry, Air assault and the para's before joining the "pantzers". And everything usefull i addopt. Like deployment experience you wouldnt get with the tanks. De groeten uit Nederland
@@para-tanker Thankyou for the response Demian. Soos jy kan aflei van my naam en van is ek 3/4 Nederlands die ander 1/4 is Frans (Thirion). Wish I could be in Holland for Christmas. Voorspoed en goeie wense vir 2021.
Romanian here. I'd quote General "Mad Dog" Mattis, but I'd rather not use profane language. TR85 is a T-55 with an extra roadwheel and some POS romanian built components, like the engine, FCS etc Basically a discount T-55 with worse-than-made-in-china equipment. Maybe TR85M1 is worth a few minutes (along with DMT85M1) because the modernisation was done to NATO standards at the behest of Clinton, but the other post-1945 AFVs aren't worth even a mention. I'd argue that it would have been better to just buy Leopard 1s instead of modernizing TR85s to the M1 model. We use the Ghepard SPAAG anyway, so there would have been commonality and easier maintenance
@@tamaslapsanszki8744 I used to think that TR-85M1 uses engine of almost identical construction to the MTU 830 used in Leopard 1. To be honest Leopard could be a better base for modernisation since it is just a well made tank. But as Canadion Leopard C2 Mexas shows, it is a fuckin expensive thing to do. Just like Romania, Poland went for local modernization of the old Soviet design. In 1991 there were 3 designed versions of what will become the PT-91 Twardy tank. The country budget was so short on money that they picked 1st the cheapest version for production. To buy Leopards at that time - out of anybodys imagination. Such high was the cost of any single German AFV. Later on PT-91M Pandekar was made for Malaysia (3rd version pricy but very effective) and Polish PT-91 got partaly upgraded to mix of 2nd design version and few parts of the 3rd. Not sure about Romanian terrain demanding tank tactics, but Im sure it is far from the Polish one. If you take a look on my coutry geographic profile you will see its is a HUGE tank battlefield. Its a fucking flat pan with 1 mid size river in the middle of it. Poland for the first time since WWII has less than 1000 MBTs in service. It sounds crazy but its way too low if 330 of this bulk are shitty old T-72M1. Barely redone in 2019 The recent works were: the main tank overhaul and replacing int. and ext. digitalized communication systems. They set modern thermal sights for gunner and commander+more modern ammo (on the way) and thats it. Maybe 2 batalions will get the active multispectral camo cover. But its more likely to see this on the recently revised (nice and neat top notch thermal cameras/sight with pan. displays and FCS modernized a bit) PT-91.
@@HanSolo__ The prime mover is a reverse engineered MTU 800hp diesel engine similar to Leo1, but with local technology, so highly unreliable. The same unreliability and lack of practicality plagued every important component, for isntance the FCS. The M1 modernization somewhat alleviated the poor quality of the locally built components by modernizing the tank with foreign components (thanks capitalism). Currently the max power is 860 hp, for a weight of 50t, max speed 60 km/h on road, but with a piss poor hp/t ratio. Although the tank is longer than a T-55 and has a custom built turret, it still has the same issues with crew comfort. The turret is so cramped that the recommended max height of the crew is 1.68 m. The typical jingoistic attitude is that TR85M1 is the best of the best, built by local people, a marvel of the engineering and manufacturing industry blah blah blah. The truth is it's a modernized T-55 that relies on the assistance of a US Army or Marine armored unit to be effective, and the undivided support of half the Romanian Airforce. The 100 mm APFSDS rounds do not have the punching power to actually be a threat in an armored engagement, and the armor is barely passable for 1960s standards, not even worth discussing in the 21st century. Also, given Romania's geography which has mountain ranges, hilly terrains and large plains, 20ish TR85M1s are not enough to pose any threat. I am not an expert, all I have said is my opinion based on the facts that I was able to research in romanian articles
@@tamaslapsanszki8744 Thanks 😉 I dont think T-55 had any bad armor in the 60s even for the 70s standards it was quie effective. The 100mm gun is the other thing. Yet APFSDS to my knowledge are a fairly fresh when it comes to design. Sure the 100mm gun with its WWII roots is not anything special but here it simmilar case - the Polish 2A46 125mm gun in T-72M1 is still waiting for any decent ammo. Polish made T-72M1 always worekd poorly (not reliable) compared to Soviet T-72B or T-80. Not to mention the protection. PT-91 came to address just that problem. But before current refinement and modifications it was more cramped tha regular T-72. It still kinda is but also fits modern targeting standards (huner-killer mode capable) Latest news showed possibility of cooperative modernization of the Korean K2 Black Panther to European demanding field - what in short is more room over crew heads, more armor and some more armor on top. All covered with Active Protection System (hard-kill) simmilar technolody to the one used in Israeli Trophy sustem. Its called K2PL program. Lighter K2 IMO looks like solid bet for Romania if MOD would try looking for modern MBT made to suit simmilar terrain conditions.
I gotta love the olifant because my favorite tank is the Centurion, and this is basically just the ultimate in modernization projects of that vehicle :)
I too love anything Centurion related. But can you imagine if once again the Israelis helped out... a Shot/Olifant hybrid, that would rule the African continent lol
@@DavidLee-df888 I forget which variant it was, maybe the Olifant MK1b, which *was* basically built upon the Shot. Also going off memory here, but the idea to replace the Olifant engines came from Israel.
We lack the funds because corruption is rife. Most government officials engage in the gravy train to some degree. Not sure what we'll do when we can't afford petrol anymore though 😒
@@no_comms_no_bombs Nexter, Giat, Safran, everything is part of a huge (partly) state-owned conglomerate in France. Does not really matter who goes under and who flourishes, technologies and facilities are simply rebranded because of some finance or marketing plan.
I remember months ago (maybe years) when you said you'd love to cover more South African Vehicles (When talking about the Rooikat), so I am really grateful for you covering 2 more in the recent months (The G6 and this also). So I just want to say Thank you very much for covering these vehicles, not only because they are super insightful and interesting, but it also brings us (South Africans) into the spotlight which we really do appreciate ❤️ Thank you for all the covering of our land and air vehicles so far! I really look forward to more content if you have any planned for the future! Keep up the great work man c:
This is probably the most modernized Centurion ever, it's not going to compete against modern MBT but for South Africa's neighbor this thing is truly beyond impressive compared to the old lightly modernized T-55 from the same period.
I've always been fascinated at how much mileage the S Africans were able to get out of otherwise outdated equipment! With well-trained crews and units, Olifants could probably far more modern tanks a run for their money!
Yep, though it's a shame that our current military lacks the experience, cohesion and competence to make that happen, Long gone are the days when we had 1 of the strongest and most respected militaries in the world, replaced now by idiots who only got in because the bar was lowered and too fat to even fit in the vehicles. smh
Proving the capability of the Centurion decades after its conception it also done well in the first Gulf War, was one of the only tanks capable if traversing a dune because its transmission wasn't a computer the US loved the Cent AVRE for that reason and to see it still getting use in another adaption speaks volumes for British engineering tying in with your comments about the Challenger 2 in you last video about our engineering capability the Centurion should be the example they follow imo
@@_Matsimus_ no complaints bro just keep the vids coming 😁 Ps i know it's not really your type of content but my father was a romeo mike (specialforce unit from 101) and he would probably shed some light on south African tactics if you'd be interested
Thanks! Enjoyed that - yep, I'm ex SAAF - flight engineer who did a fair share of operational duty - was part of one ops when the 80's variant was up there - making loads of holes in USSR produced vehicles!
@@colinm2056 the book in the video. www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/south-african-armoured-vehicles-a-history-of-innovation-and-excellence.php?sid=d8c4ca6ee825cb6671b177c92d90fcc0
Thanks a lot for making more vids of South Africa. We don’t get a lot credit for are country. And as a South African I I will tell you people what really is going on in South Africa
It's rare to see a South African armoured fighting vehicles on here (well, anywhere actually) so yeah..... it's pretty cool. Brilliant idea for the water storage, for obvious reasons, but I reckon it'll be hot when you try and drink it through. Great work mate, enjoyed the video.🇬🇧🇿🇦✌✌
Well actualy the water is really cool and refreshing surprisingly, I'm an ex ratel gunner from 1979 and 13 yrs onwards and the ratel and buffel also had water storage under there hulls with little press button taps on the sides lmao..it helped take allotta impact in a landmine hit and made for a awesome always at hand water supply for all who needed a refill haha..the water stayed good for verry long periods of time too because the vehicle is always on the move and shaking the water up, I've spent many cool evenings after a hot day next to my ratel shaving and washing myself using that water while in the bush hehe..verry handy that option was indeed 😉👍..peace ✌
@Jim lastname the semple tank was an emergency production that used sheet metal and a tractor chasis because for some reason new zealand thought tanks were silly and not adept machines of war. than shat themselves seeing the germans and the ever growing threat of japan. new zealand didnt have the production lines for tanks though back then, at least not proper production lines. so something is better than nothing.
@Jim lastname no, but asking where someone is from is 1) kinda creepy and 2) also I don't see how their answer would change anything or why you need to know that
I've waited for this olifant video for a while now, but the wait was so woth it. Dr Dewald did a great job with his new book. Just knew I had to get it since their is not alot of information availbale when it comes to SA armour. Tanks again Matt for showcasing SA armour.
I was trained in the Mk 1 in 1984/85. Fantastic experience as I was always interested in tanks as a kid. Any target up to 1200m was a gauranteed hit with the APDS round. The operational area would usually be close quarters and the biggest threat where RPGs, nit enemy vehicles. I understood that there was very close cooperation between Israel and RSA . One example was the development of the aircooled engine. I think I still have the training manuals😀.
Finally Mat! I've been waiting for this as i am a fan of the Centurion line of evolution. Even went down the British tech tree in World Of Tanks just for the Centurions!
@@thetad1242 quickly: what's 1776 minus 1652? The answer is 124. The immigrant beat the local by 124 years. And they said time travel was impossible? Hah! Us Africans are the pioneers of time travel. Back To The Future stole it from us (those pesky Yanks again.)... 🤣🤣
I have a soft spot for these, It really goes to show that even now, the Centurion is still a tank to be respected, a tank conceptualised in 1943, being able to potentially hold it's ground against tanks like the T-72m, is absolutely insane imo, granted the Olifant has certainly had more than a few upgrades, it's still that old design at it's core. A part of me kinda wants to see an Olifant mk3, pushing the Centurion to match M1A2s, perhaps even the Challenger, as some sort of franken-tank.
The other reason we havent worked on our tank division much is because we have the Rooikat 105, its better suited to the engagements in the african terrain, and BAE have also been working on new hulls for the Ratel now named the Iklwa (a Zulu short spear)
its a shame that people think this little of our military everyone gets judged by the actions of a few individuals and suddenly everyone is an idiotic incapable fool if you want to blame someone for the rapid decline of the military blame the government that keeps slashing the defense budget by a few billion each year the troops are trying to make do with what they have and it ain't a lot
@@mybru1 I live in SA and i've seen the dumb shit out military does... Sure we had that cool 200 SANDF vs 3000 Rebels back in 2013/2014 but other than that the SANDF is bad... SA people need to start opening their eyes and see what our military is, instead of defending them the whole time.
In South Africa we do not refer to the suffix letter after the mark number as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc but simply as A, B, C. I really enjoyed the video, even saw some of my own photos in it. To help with your pronounciation of Dr. Venter's surname say the "V" as a "f". In Afrikaans the letter "V" is pronounced as a "f".
My grandpa was in the 1st Special service battalion (if I remember correctly) he worked with the Olifants during the border war. Pretty interesting stories came from that
Overall, like Israel, very "tailor made" vehicles, fitting SA needs for armor for their type of conflicts on their terrain with their tactics ! Very well done SA !
@12:16 - A quick Google search for 150mm heat rounds turned up no hits. Can you please provide a reference where T72s have ever had a 150mm round? Are you referring instead to armor thickness? The wording is confusing...
1:27 I am a pleb, when it comes to reading actual books. But, since I read "Tank Archives" a lot (I am a complete sucker for that blog site), might I recommend, "Designing the T-34: Genesis of the Revolutionary Soviet Tank" by Peter Samsonov??? Could be worth a try?
I most certainly am going to pick up some flak for this remark but...........I can't help feeling the days of the MBT are numbered especially in the Southern African bush where you can do so much more with so much less. During the Angolan war (Battle of Cuito) Ratel 90 ICV's knocked out more Soviet tanks than the Olifant MBTs. One particular Ratel Z3 prototype with Anti-Tank missiles (Major Nortman) despatched 2 Soviet tanks, damaged a 3rd and destroyed a few light support vehicles! Tanks are expensive, their deployment costly. They are thirsty and require huge logistics and support to keep them in the field and they make very pretty nice big fat targets for enemy aircraft that don't miss!! Detractors please note. I say obsolete in the Southern African battle space which is my reference. I don't know about the rolling hills and lush valley's of Europe. This part of the world is very hard on all vehicle types - breakdowns / maintenance especially tracked vehicles which is why S. Africa has a preference for fast moving, hard hitting wheeled light armour (your Rooikat video refers - fast in the bush, shoots APDSFS, HEAT HESH) th-cam.com/video/UFYzq5Wk2rI/w-d-xo.html . There is a trade-off with less armoured protection but I will take it.
It seems like a sensible solution. Especially, as they used the double hull to introduce torsion bar suspension. Then we know where some of the extra space given by a modern diesel comes from. When you have small use of a tank and hostile nations that really has problems with paying off even russian tanks - then..... Personally I have for quite some time had the notion, that Denmark should keep some of the old Leo 1's and use them as BTN - reserve - but that again depends on terrain. But they would be nice to have in the event of a hostile river crossing at an unexpected place. You could argue the 105 mm. L7 is a bit of a bebe-gun compared to the chimnys the russian tank have. But the South Africans have sensible notion, that if you can hit a square foot at 2000 yard - well they you are good to go. And in Europe the distances will - in practicable terms be a about half of that. But with the present unpleasantries going on it seem likely that the Russians have other worries than invading their neighbours.
@@donovanclack1384 that's true. SA also invented the V-hull. Although they pioneered military concepts. They even helped build SA's first special forces. Yes, controversial, but the recees got their initial experience against zanla.
interesting to know that the olifant wasn't the backbone of the SADF during the border conflicts it was their APCs and IFVs like the Ratel 90 they fight against Angolan and Cuban T 55, later the Ratel added a ATGM ZT3 ingwe and destroyed several T 55
I bless the tanks down in Africa
Dowwwwn in africccaaa
There's nothing more an armored vehicle could ever dooOo
Gonna take some time to shoot the things we never haaaaaad
I like these comments, in Toto.
Boy she's sitting there idling for you dudu dundu du du dumb du
South African here, waited for this video for so long
Is it really worth it to have a tank if this shitty country cant even get basic training down
@ADN 20 years ago ya
You guys have some seriously underrated designs
@@colonelstriker2519 g6 comes to mind
Same here
As a Brit living in SA since 1975, I have to say that the achievements of the South African arms industry / SADF during the dark days of border war /sanctions and beyond were bloody impressive. What they managed to do with very limited resources was way above and beyond, goes to show that with the right attitude and dedication you might not be able to 'make a silk purse out of a pig's ear,' but you can get bloody close to it.
I think a very nice summation, thank you.
Thank you for your kind words Cousin Jack 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
@@tituspullo9210 You are most welcome.
@bellotacositacandy I am aware; I have lived in South Africa for 45 years. What is your point?
@bellotacositacandy Yes; a large immigrant population, of which I am one. Due to sanctions, and a lack of resources as a result, what a small portion of the South African population managed to achieve was exceptional, which was my point. It is a country which has a small part of the population in a first world environment and a large part in a third world environment. That was true back in the day and remains true.
Even an "Obsolete" Tank is a "Giant Metal Monster", UTTERLY terrifying & demoralizing to the side WITHOUT an Armored Answer.
I've heard a quote to this effect. It goes something along the lines of-
"if all you have is a rifle, the differance between an Abrams and a sherman is largely academic"
The enemy were armed and supported by the Soviet Union.
@@irishboer7124 I wasn't refering to this specific case. I know they didn't just have rifles.
hell the t62 was specifically mentioned in the video.
@@joshuadickinson4614 Yes, the SADF ran into soviet armor, but not very much of it in any of their conflicts. The reason they were able to get away with using lighter wheeled units like the Rooikat & the Ratel was they were primarily being used against foot mobile infantry that occasionally had light armor like a BMP-1 or a BTR-152 as support.
Cuba didn't bring in Heavy Armor until 1976 & even them the primary armor units were PT-76's & BMP's. Only a handful of T-54/55's & T-62's were ever used & mostly by Cuba Troops. Yes Cuba left those tanks in theater, but have you seen any photos of these tanks in the last decade? I'm not sure since the collapse of the USSR in 1989 they have received ANY spare parts & almost all maintenance has been barely trained locals, the threat of T-72's was real, but I have yet to see any evidence that ANY were ever delivered.
The SADF, IF the Cubans weren't involved, dealt with infantry or Irregular formations 85% to 90% of the time, which is why the SADF Armored Corps is PRIMARILY wheeled for logistical & budgetary reasons.
Does the SADF Need SOME Heavy Armor? YES, their less than friendly neighbors do have some armor that is a threat, if it's a T-55/62, a Rooikat is at a severe disadvantage, but a large portion of the boarder nations Armor is either LIGHT Armor or T-34/85's where an up to date RooiKat probably has an advantage over their opponents.
South Africa operates the largest Armor formation in Southern Africa & quite possibly of any nation south of the Sahara. It's not like if Mexico had a communist revolution in 1982 & the Soviet "Cuba" division & a half dozen Guards Mechanized Brigades were rushed to Mexico to prop up the new "People's" administration, the SADF's adversaries just don't have that much heavy armor.
I served in the SADF during Operation Moduler Southern Angola in 1987. I drove a Ratel 90 for Anti Tank Platoon 72 4SAI/ 62 Mech Combat Charlie. Ops Moduler was the first tank on tank conflict in Africa since WW2. We were fighting T54/55s primarily crewed by Cubans with Soviet advisors. The arms embargo against South Africa was the best thing to happen. My personal weapon was the R4, a South African made Israeli Galil 5.56.
That's a nice looking tank. The South Africans have good taste.
Are you also south African
Very different country now. Violent shithole.
@@aquilatempestate9527 Rhodesians never die!
@@plated3390 Salute brother.
@@aquilatempestate9527 I'm not sure how the could have ended Apartheid without the "violent shithole" outcome.
Last time I was this late was when South Africa had nukes for deterrence.
I'm getting the metal gear solid flashback for some reason
Fokken sad
We probably would of created fusion 20 years ago but stuff happened
Yeah they dismantled their nuclear Arsenal before South Africa was given over to Black rule.
@@VictorianTimeTraveler I don't want to get too political, but.. Probably not a bad move considering the state of their government at the moment.
YESSSSSS!!!! HE FINALLY DID IT!! Where are my South Africans at!? This is cause for celebrations mense💪🏽let it also be known that prototypes of the MK 1B were created with a turret similar to the Leopard 2A5 (with those arrow shaped armour sheets) called the MK 1B Optimum. Additionally there is a 120mm smoothbore gun and an upgraded turret similar to the Leopard 2A4 known as the TTD, however we have no use for those upgrades just yet.
Gotta Represent my bru!
Impressed
Ayo in here
Isja ons se tanks is gevaarlik
Awe’s
As a South African 🇿🇦, this is very interesting and informative. Thanks mate, your pronunciation of the Afrikaans terms can also be applauded.
Now if only we can get Nicholas" The Chieftain" Moran to come to South Africa and do a series of "Inside the Hatch" that would be fantastic
www.primeportal.net/tanks/jacques_pienaar/olifant_mk2/ Here Your Wish Is Granted.
He's white, they hate him. They hate all whites. He'd be a corpse nothing flat just walking down the street in most neighborhoods.
Yes yes
Mr. Gunzaku I was about to say that’s racist but I remembered the disbanding of the SDF
Edit: SADF
@@mr.gunzaku437 You're totally right. South Africa showed the world they're hatred for those who made this all possible in the first place. Britain Germany and France should have protected their brothers
Thank you 🙏 for this video, I worked in Seattle with a former Australian ODF , he moved his family to South Africa 🇿🇦, after opening his own machine shop, decided to rejoin the SAF as a mechanic, no one at work could understand him, with my international experience, I quickly be came a translator, he was one of the best machinists I had encountered in a long time
What machine shop company name did he open
My Father joined the SA Army Pantzer corps at age 17 after WW11. He was part of the crew that demonstrated the Centurion when ii first arrived in SA. He was one of few to demonstrate what he explained as "the stabiliser" keeping aim on target whilst moving. In the 70's he was RSM of 61 BWP the military base that supported Littelton Engineering Works responsible for all the conversions leading up to the Olifant. All I knew at the time (school boy) was that they were converting to an automatic gearbox. I served in the infantry what a mistake. Pantzer corps in SA was a competent outfit with mature leadership. Thanks for including SA in your repertoir.
Your skills as an infantryman are usefull as tanker, i've been with mechanised infantry, Air assault and the para's before joining the "pantzers". And everything usefull i addopt. Like deployment experience you wouldnt get with the tanks.
De groeten uit Nederland
@@para-tanker Thankyou for the response Demian. Soos jy kan aflei van my naam en van is ek 3/4 Nederlands die ander 1/4 is Frans (Thirion). Wish I could be in Holland for Christmas. Voorspoed en goeie wense vir 2021.
@@johanvanzyl8479 ik begrijp redelijk veel van het Afrkaans, geen probleem.
Je wilt naar Nederland komen?
The last vehicles SANDF spent money on was BMWs for generals
You so so wrong. It's Mercedes-Benz!
On a side note the Saffa's 155mm gun is an absolute beast. You're all more than welcome in Australia
I'm Romanian, and I wish so much for a video on our main battle tank, the TR-85(and its variants). Respect from Romania!
Greatings from Poland! Love the TR-85 M1
Romanian here. I'd quote General "Mad Dog" Mattis, but I'd rather not use profane language. TR85 is a T-55 with an extra roadwheel and some POS romanian built components, like the engine, FCS etc Basically a discount T-55 with worse-than-made-in-china equipment.
Maybe TR85M1 is worth a few minutes (along with DMT85M1) because the modernisation was done to NATO standards at the behest of Clinton, but the other post-1945 AFVs aren't worth even a mention. I'd argue that it would have been better to just buy Leopard 1s instead of modernizing TR85s to the M1 model. We use the Ghepard SPAAG anyway, so there would have been commonality and easier maintenance
@@tamaslapsanszki8744 I used to think that TR-85M1 uses engine of almost identical construction to the MTU 830 used in Leopard 1. To be honest Leopard could be a better base for modernisation since it is just a well made tank. But as Canadion Leopard C2 Mexas shows, it is a fuckin expensive thing to do.
Just like Romania, Poland went for local modernization of the old Soviet design. In 1991 there were 3 designed versions of what will become the PT-91 Twardy tank. The country budget was so short on money that they picked 1st the cheapest version for production. To buy Leopards at that time - out of anybodys imagination. Such high was the cost of any single German AFV.
Later on PT-91M Pandekar was made for Malaysia (3rd version pricy but very effective) and Polish PT-91 got partaly upgraded to mix of 2nd design version and few parts of the 3rd.
Not sure about Romanian terrain demanding tank tactics, but Im sure it is far from the Polish one. If you take a look on my coutry geographic profile you will see its is a HUGE tank battlefield. Its a fucking flat pan with 1 mid size river in the middle of it. Poland for the first time since WWII has less than 1000 MBTs in service. It sounds crazy but its way too low if 330 of this bulk are shitty old T-72M1. Barely redone in 2019 The recent works were: the main tank overhaul and replacing int. and ext. digitalized communication systems. They set modern thermal sights for gunner and commander+more modern ammo (on the way) and thats it. Maybe 2 batalions will get the active multispectral camo cover. But its more likely to see this on the recently revised (nice and neat top notch thermal cameras/sight with pan. displays and FCS modernized a bit) PT-91.
@@HanSolo__ The prime mover is a reverse engineered MTU 800hp diesel engine similar to Leo1, but with local technology, so highly unreliable. The same unreliability and lack of practicality plagued every important component, for isntance the FCS. The M1 modernization somewhat alleviated the poor quality of the locally built components by modernizing the tank with foreign components (thanks capitalism). Currently the max power is 860 hp, for a weight of 50t, max speed 60 km/h on road, but with a piss poor hp/t ratio. Although the tank is longer than a T-55 and has a custom built turret, it still has the same issues with crew comfort. The turret is so cramped that the recommended max height of the crew is 1.68 m. The typical jingoistic attitude is that TR85M1 is the best of the best, built by local people, a marvel of the engineering and manufacturing industry blah blah blah. The truth is it's a modernized T-55 that relies on the assistance of a US Army or Marine armored unit to be effective, and the undivided support of half the Romanian Airforce. The 100 mm APFSDS rounds do not have the punching power to actually be a threat in an armored engagement, and the armor is barely passable for 1960s standards, not even worth discussing in the 21st century. Also, given Romania's geography which has mountain ranges, hilly terrains and large plains, 20ish TR85M1s are not enough to pose any threat.
I am not an expert, all I have said is my opinion based on the facts that I was able to research in romanian articles
@@tamaslapsanszki8744 Thanks 😉
I dont think T-55 had any bad armor in the 60s even for the 70s standards it was quie effective. The 100mm gun is the other thing. Yet APFSDS to my knowledge are a fairly fresh when it comes to design. Sure the 100mm gun with its WWII roots is not anything special but here it simmilar case - the Polish 2A46 125mm gun in T-72M1 is still waiting for any decent ammo. Polish made T-72M1 always worekd poorly (not reliable) compared to Soviet T-72B or T-80. Not to mention the protection. PT-91 came to address just that problem. But before current refinement and modifications it was more cramped tha regular T-72. It still kinda is but also fits modern targeting standards (huner-killer mode capable)
Latest news showed possibility of cooperative modernization of the Korean K2 Black Panther to European demanding field - what in short is more room over crew heads, more armor and some more armor on top. All covered with Active Protection System (hard-kill) simmilar technolody to the one used in Israeli Trophy sustem.
Its called K2PL program.
Lighter K2 IMO looks like solid bet for Romania if MOD would try looking for modern MBT made to suit simmilar terrain conditions.
Better late than never, and bloody glad to see it
"" THE SAFE WORD IS "POLICE BRUTALITY" ""
th-cam.com/video/YdKpLMZwHNM/w-d-xo.html
I've been waiting since the Rooikat, and I'm very happy I held out
Mr. Frodo, look! It's an Olifant!
Tolkien was a South African after all...
@@michaeloosthuizen2383 - that he was, all the way from Bloem...
@@michaeloosthuizen2383 I didn't know JRR Tolkien was South African
I gotta love the olifant because my favorite tank is the Centurion, and this is basically just the ultimate in modernization projects of that vehicle :)
I too love anything Centurion related. But can you imagine if once again the Israelis helped out... a Shot/Olifant hybrid, that would rule the African continent lol
@@DavidLee-df888 Or a Shot with a Magach 7C~ish armor package with Olifant internals.
@@DavidLee-df888 I forget which variant it was, maybe the Olifant MK1b, which *was* basically built upon the Shot. Also going off memory here, but the idea to replace the Olifant engines came from Israel.
Yes!! Finally more vehicles of my homeland, keep it coming, thanks for the overview
14:36 "the Fire Control System allows the gunner and commander to target anime"
They must hate anime
Thanks i miss heari that word lel
Armored support is great when You have to put down hordes of disgusting neko-girls.
@@VictorianTimeTraveler Dear God I want to ram all those annoying anime girls in a Leopard 2
An honorable pursuit
th-cam.com/video/f5r-AyTPN3M/w-d-xo.html
When you have a need but lack the funds to address it
you have to get creative and stretch every buck into two.
Wow! great job gentleman.🇿🇦
We lack the funds because corruption is rife. Most government officials engage in the gravy train to some degree. Not sure what we'll do when we can't afford petrol anymore though 😒
@@Sajuuk I think he was talking in past tense...
Just a correction, the Leclerc doesn't have the "amx 56" designation. Leclerc ist not made by amx, it's made by GIAT. Other than that great video
TIL
Hasn't GIAT gone bankrupt? I heard Nexter took over
@@no_comms_no_bombs Nexter, Giat, Safran, everything is part of a huge (partly) state-owned conglomerate in France. Does not really matter who goes under and who flourishes, technologies and facilities are simply rebranded because of some finance or marketing plan.
Glad to see that people are noticing more and more how wonderful our countries tanks are. I am from South Africa.
It's amazing to see what south africa accomplished with its limited resources and the other restrictions during the development
The extent of the modifications bring to mind the Italian dreadnoughts that were upgraded to the point of basically being new ships.
I remember months ago (maybe years) when you said you'd love to cover more South African Vehicles (When talking about the Rooikat), so I am really grateful for you covering 2 more in the recent months (The G6 and this also).
So I just want to say Thank you very much for covering these vehicles, not only because they are super insightful and interesting, but it also brings us (South Africans) into the spotlight which we really do appreciate ❤️
Thank you for all the covering of our land and air vehicles so far! I really look forward to more content if you have any planned for the future!
Keep up the great work man c:
If you are wondering why we don't have funds for anything, it is due to the amount of corruption within our country
New sort of people running things... who could see this coming? Truly surprising.
@@aquilatempestate9527 don't really know much about South Africa. What happened
@@entity6609 where do we start, leads down to one simple thing... Greed at the cost of the people
As much as the Olifant looks sexy, it also looks incredibly bare bones, it doesn't seem to have an machine guns or sensor equipment on the turret.
@@entity6609 they wanted independence, they got it, then fucked up there own homelands
This was awesome. Now you got the info for the G6 Rhino. Go South Africa.
Also Ratel IFV
Strange way to write Suid Afrika.
@@patriotenfield3276 already done it bud
@@_Matsimus_ I believe you were maybe thinking of the Rooikat. There is nothing on your channel on the Ratel. If so..
Thanks man from South Africa and love armoured vehicles!
Wait a minute....
This is probably the most modernized Centurion ever, it's not going to compete against modern MBT but for South Africa's neighbor this thing is truly beyond impressive compared to the old lightly modernized T-55 from the same period.
I've always been fascinated at how much mileage the S Africans were able to get out of otherwise outdated equipment! With well-trained crews and units, Olifants could probably far more modern tanks a run for their money!
Yep, though it's a shame that our current military lacks the experience, cohesion and competence to make that happen, Long gone are the days when we had 1 of the strongest and most respected militaries in the world, replaced now by idiots who only got in because the bar was lowered and too fat to even fit in the vehicles. smh
@@frenchfry9370 An ongoing battle in the US, and one we are losing at the moment...
@@frenchfry9370 Our SANDF is bankrupt according to articles on ENCA, Business Tech etc. Perpetual stealing tends to have that unexpected effect
Proving the capability of the Centurion decades after its conception it also done well in the first Gulf War, was one of the only tanks capable if traversing a dune because its transmission wasn't a computer the US loved the Cent AVRE for that reason and to see it still getting use in another adaption speaks volumes for British engineering tying in with your comments about the Challenger 2 in you last video about our engineering capability the Centurion should be the example they follow imo
Really impressive what SA did on their own
They didn't
It's a centurion
I'm an Afrikaans speaker and the way you say Afrikaans word are quite funny 🤣🤣
I've been waiting for this for so long
lol I’m sorry 😞
@@_Matsimus_ no complaints bro just keep the vids coming 😁
Ps i know it's not really your type of content but my father was a romeo mike (specialforce unit from 101) and he would probably shed some light on south African tactics if you'd be interested
afrikaanse is riool
Dit was egter 'n goeie drie
Thanks! Enjoyed that - yep, I'm ex SAAF - flight engineer who did a fair share of operational duty - was part of one ops when the 80's variant was up there - making loads of holes in USSR produced vehicles!
We at ZANDF recommend Dewald's book 100%
Greetings from South Africa.
Which book is this?
@@colinm2056 the book in the video. www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/south-african-armoured-vehicles-a-history-of-innovation-and-excellence.php?sid=d8c4ca6ee825cb6671b177c92d90fcc0
one of your best videos yet. Love to see more in this series!!
Thanks a lot for making more vids of South Africa. We don’t get a lot credit for are country.
And as a South African I I will tell you people what really is going on in South Africa
It's rare to see a South African armoured fighting vehicles on here (well, anywhere actually) so yeah..... it's pretty cool. Brilliant idea for the water storage, for obvious reasons, but I reckon it'll be hot when you try and drink it through. Great work mate, enjoyed the video.🇬🇧🇿🇦✌✌
Well actualy the water is really cool and refreshing surprisingly, I'm an ex ratel gunner from 1979 and 13 yrs onwards and the ratel and buffel also had water storage under there hulls with little press button taps on the sides lmao..it helped take allotta impact in a landmine hit and made for a awesome always at hand water supply for all who needed a refill haha..the water stayed good for verry long periods of time too because the vehicle is always on the move and shaking the water up, I've spent many cool evenings after a hot day next to my ratel shaving and washing myself using that water while in the bush hehe..verry handy that option was indeed 😉👍..peace ✌
Finally a channel hat covers the olifants... I’ve been waiting forever
I'd recommend doing a video about that Owen's tank from New Zealand
@Jim lastname the semple tank was an emergency production that used sheet metal and a tractor chasis because for some reason new zealand thought tanks were silly and not adept machines of war.
than shat themselves seeing the germans and the ever growing threat of japan.
new zealand didnt have the production lines for tanks though back then, at least not proper production lines.
so something is better than nothing.
@Jim lastname why you gotta know that?
@Jim lastname no, but asking where someone is from is 1) kinda creepy and 2) also I don't see how their answer would change anything or why you need to know that
@Jim lastname ill humor you, even though i don’t know why you wanna know, somewhere in the usa
Vanilla Centurion still looks rather modern to me, but the Olifant looks like an faux Abrams made from a Centurion.
I've waited for this olifant video for a while now, but the wait was so woth it. Dr Dewald did a great job with his new book. Just knew I had to get it since their is not alot of information availbale when it comes to SA armour. Tanks again Matt for showcasing SA armour.
Please do a video on G5 and G6 artillery systems of South Africa also
Im impressed more by the fact that this vehicle is built from an aging beast of its time, just impresive.
I was trained in the Mk 1 in 1984/85. Fantastic experience as I was always interested in tanks as a kid. Any target up to 1200m was a gauranteed hit with the APDS round. The operational area would usually be close quarters and the biggest threat where RPGs, nit enemy vehicles. I understood that there was very close cooperation between Israel and RSA . One example was the development of the aircooled engine. I think I still have the training manuals😀.
Finally Mat! I've been waiting for this as i am a fan of the Centurion line of evolution. Even went down the British tech tree in World Of Tanks just for the Centurions!
When our army was still worth something.
Terrorising the likes of us
@@thetad1242 quickly: what's 1776 minus 1652? The answer is 124. The immigrant beat the local by 124 years. And they said time travel was impossible? Hah! Us Africans are the pioneers of time travel. Back To The Future stole it from us (those pesky Yanks again.)... 🤣🤣
I have been waiting for this for a while.
Thank you.
Good one Mat, nice bit of innovation by SA, just watch the dropping of the very important “U” in Armour! Harera
ive also waited so long for this vid
Ah finally a tank I was waiting for. Thanks Mat
I have a soft spot for these, It really goes to show that even now, the Centurion is still a tank to be respected, a tank conceptualised in 1943, being able to potentially hold it's ground against tanks like the T-72m, is absolutely insane imo, granted the Olifant has certainly had more than a few upgrades, it's still that old design at it's core.
A part of me kinda wants to see an Olifant mk3, pushing the Centurion to match M1A2s, perhaps even the Challenger, as some sort of franken-tank.
Fuck yeah! Always love learning about South African weapons.
Never heard of this one. Awesome vid!
I remember these rumbling down the streets of our town in the 80’s.
British: "But can the water be heated? We may have a deal South Africa"
How else can you have cups of tea whilst on patrol!
The other reason we havent worked on our tank division much is because we have the Rooikat 105, its better suited to the engagements in the african terrain, and BAE have also been working on new hulls for the Ratel now named the Iklwa (a Zulu short spear)
Have yet to watch it but I am pleased you made this video. Many thanks from South Africa.
It's so depressing seeing all this amazing gear and knowing that the "soldiers" don't even know how to use the stuff...
Oh?
its a shame that people think this little of our military everyone gets judged by the actions of a few individuals and suddenly everyone is an idiotic incapable fool if you want to blame someone for the rapid decline of the military blame the government that keeps slashing the defense budget by a few billion each year the troops are trying to make do with what they have and it ain't a lot
@@mybru1 I live in SA and i've seen the dumb shit out military does... Sure we had that cool 200 SANDF vs 3000 Rebels back in 2013/2014 but other than that the SANDF is bad... SA people need to start opening their eyes and see what our military is, instead of defending them the whole time.
@@justryan6480 everyone is entitled to their opinions you have yours I have mine
@@mybru1 you speak well. Thank you. Though I hope your country will be able to move through and come out okay :)
In South Africa we do not refer to the suffix letter after the mark number as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc but simply as A, B, C.
I really enjoyed the video, even saw some of my own photos in it.
To help with your pronounciation of Dr. Venter's surname say the "V" as a "f". In Afrikaans the letter "V" is pronounced as a "f".
Hehe. I'm south african and I quiet happy that you did a video about the olifant :3
My grandpa was in the 1st Special service battalion (if I remember correctly) he worked with the Olifants during the border war. Pretty interesting stories came from that
1SSB was a Pantserkar unit equipped with the Ratel 90, not Olifant.
Overall, like Israel, very "tailor made" vehicles, fitting SA needs for armor for their type of conflicts on their terrain with their tactics !
Very well done SA !
@12:16 - A quick Google search for 150mm heat rounds turned up no hits. Can you please provide a reference where T72s have ever had a 150mm round? Are you referring instead to armor thickness? The wording is confusing...
SA is mainly loam and clay, sand some coastal areas. Namibia however lots of sand on the west side
More videos on South African equipment please
@Robert Brown already seen those videos by Forgotten Weapons, praise be to Gun Jesus
I love how the crew at the beginning are doing the "Queen Elizabeth" wave. Actually snorted when I noticed.
1:27 I am a pleb, when it comes to reading actual books. But, since I read "Tank Archives" a lot (I am a complete sucker for that blog site), might I recommend, "Designing the T-34: Genesis of the Revolutionary Soviet Tank" by Peter Samsonov???
Could be worth a try?
The effort and dedication you put in your work is immaculate, keep it up bro!! I like your topics and non biased on point info
Thank you sooo much for this video Matsimus!!! 🥳
I find this tank to be visually pleasing.
Too nice video showing characters and historic steps of production of olifant tank ..of South Africa republic...nice video thanks
I've been waiting for this!!!
Olifant a heavy modified old (Centurion) tank, reminds me of Denmarks modified M-41 dk
Didn't Taiwan also still use the M41?
@@stephanl1983 yes i think Chile too but the danish version is out of service since late 90s
I most certainly am going to pick up some flak for this remark but...........I can't help feeling the days of the MBT are numbered especially in the Southern African bush where you can do so much more with so much less.
During the Angolan war (Battle of Cuito) Ratel 90 ICV's knocked out more Soviet tanks than the Olifant MBTs. One particular Ratel Z3 prototype with Anti-Tank missiles (Major Nortman) despatched 2 Soviet tanks, damaged a 3rd and destroyed a few light support vehicles!
Tanks are expensive, their deployment costly. They are thirsty and require huge logistics and support to keep them in the field and they make very pretty nice big fat targets for enemy aircraft that don't miss!!
Detractors please note. I say obsolete in the Southern African battle space which is my reference. I don't know about the rolling hills and lush valley's of Europe. This part of the world is very hard on all vehicle types - breakdowns / maintenance especially tracked vehicles which is why S. Africa has a preference for fast moving, hard hitting wheeled light armour (your Rooikat video refers - fast in the bush, shoots APDSFS, HEAT HESH)
th-cam.com/video/UFYzq5Wk2rI/w-d-xo.html .
There is a trade-off with less armoured protection but I will take it.
Dankie
Please review the Buffel next !
It seems like a sensible solution. Especially, as they used the double hull to introduce torsion bar suspension. Then we know where some of the extra space given by a modern diesel comes from.
When you have small use of a tank and hostile nations that really has problems with paying off even russian tanks - then.....
Personally I have for quite some time had the notion, that Denmark should keep some of the old Leo 1's and use them as BTN - reserve - but that again depends on terrain. But they would be nice to have in the event of a hostile river crossing at an unexpected place. You could argue the 105 mm. L7 is a bit of a bebe-gun compared to the chimnys the russian tank have.
But the South Africans have sensible notion, that if you can hit a square foot at 2000 yard - well they you are good to go. And in Europe the distances will - in practicable terms be a about half of that.
But with the present unpleasantries going on it seem likely that the Russians have other worries than invading their neighbours.
That accuracy would be hard to beat, smaller round in the right placement will still devastating!
How this wide chassis would be transferred by transport vehicles?
Yeah! I was waiting the whole video for this scene at 17:08 where the gun slams on its max and min positions. Hilarious. thanks.
Maybe I'm cracking up, but from the side view the turret reminds me of a WWII King Tigers'.
Pretty cool beast of a machine.
Can you please do a video on the ratel
A great fiction book that mentions SADF vehicles is Vortex. Interesting read.
Just bought a 1/35 scale model of it. It looks better than its specs and the camo is fantastic.
Scale modeler here. Who makes this model?
@@johanboshoff5554 kontak Aviation Shop in Krugersdorp
Looking forward to seeing more countries build their own defense vehicles in the future.
Matsumus needs to visit the South African war museum. Some very impressive equipment and access to it!
What a good tank and no money to run it
Love your show brother. And my father was in sadf I'm in the san no matter what I love my south africa
There is a history of them down the road from me at the Natal mounted rifles, standing there as gate gargoyles and yard decor.
It's so wild to think some parts of almost 80 year old centurian are still inside the new tank.
Great video
Please cover Rhodesian armoured vehicles.
Rhodesia forever
They don't have any most came from sa
They had a few but nothing to write home about
As the war the fought did not need it
@@donovanclack1384 that's true. SA also invented the V-hull.
Although they pioneered military concepts. They even helped build SA's first special forces. Yes, controversial, but the recees got their initial experience against zanla.
Beautiful, just Beautiful!!!!!!
Actually be interested in knowing your thoughts on the Japanese 1-400 submarine. It was an aircraft carrier submarine.
I think I'll get myself a copy of that book Matsimus, it looks really interesting.
Good presentation.
interesting to know that the olifant wasn't the backbone of the SADF during the border conflicts
it was their APCs and IFVs like the Ratel 90
they fight against Angolan and Cuban
T 55, later the Ratel added a ATGM ZT3 ingwe and destroyed several T 55
Do a video on the " Husky" mine detection vehicle!
WELCOME BACK!!!