The Buffel was the primary mine-protected APC of the South African Army during the Angolan conflict. It was certainly not the most comfortable vehicle, but it offered the necessary protection. The Buffel was also used as an armoured fighting vehicle and proved itself in this role. It has been replaced by the Mamba The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... The Mamba is an Armoured Personnel Carrier based on the Unimog that is ideally suited for regions with weak or no road infrastructure. ...

Production History

The Buffel was introduced in 1978 after it was found that the South African Army had the need for a basic mine protected vehicle. More than 1400 were delivered before production stopped. A few of these vehicles found their way into other Armies.

The Buffel was not a wholly South African built vehicle, but made use of the chassis, engine and some other components of the Mercedes Benz Unimog, which were married to the armoured driver's cab and separate armoured troop compartment. Later examples did not use the original Mercedes engine but copies built by Atlantis Diesel Engines factory near Cape Town. Mercedes-Benz Logo from 280 SE Mercedes-Benz is a German brand of automobiles, buses, coaches and trucks from the DaimlerChrysler company (formerly known as Daimler-Benz), commonly known as Mercedes. ... Unimog The Unimog (from the German UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät, meaning universal motor machine/equipment) is a series of trucks from Daimler-Benz designed shortly after WWII, originally to be used as slow-moving tractors for Germanys turnip harvest. ...

Land mine protection was provided by the V-shaped undersides of 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 troops that the weight of the water added to the blast protection.

Variants

• Buffel
• Buffel Variant 1 - Improved engine and bushgaurd/bumper
• Bulldog
• Log Buffel - Logistic/Cargo version
• Moffel - Open cargo-bed version

Operators

Namibia

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Uganda

United States of America?[1]

Combat History

Angola

Namibia

Sri Lanka

Iraq?[2]

See also:

Infantry fighting vehicle

List_of_AFVs

Mamba.