Eland Mk7

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Eland Mk7

Reumech Eland at Bridge 14, Angola
Type Armoured Car
Place of origin South Africa
Service history
In service 1962 – 1990
Used by See Operators
Wars Angolan Civil War
Rhodesian Bush War
South African Border War
Namibian War of Independence
1994 Bophuthatswana coup d'état
Operation Boleas
Western Sahara War
Second Congo War
Chadian Civil War
Northern Mali conflict
Production history
Designed 1962[1]
Manufacturer Sandock-Austral
Reumech OMC
Produced 1964[1] – 1980s[2]
Number built 1,600[3]
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Weight 6 tonnes (6.6 short tons; 5.9 long tons)[4]
Length 5.12 m (16 ft 10 in)[4]
 length 4.04 m (13 ft 3 in) (hull)[4]
Width 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)[4]
Height 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)[4]
Crew 3 (commander, driver, gunner)[5]
Main
armament
 90mm Denel GT-2 (29 rounds)
60mm Brandt mortar (56 rounds)
Secondary
armament
 2x 7.62mm M1919 Browning machine guns[6] (2400 - 3800 rounds)[5]
Engine General Motors 2.5 l (150 cu in) inline 4-cylinder water-cooled petrol[6]
Transmission 6-speed manual constant mesh[5]
Suspension Independent 4X4; active trailing arms[5]
Ground clearance 380 mm[5]
Fuel capacity 142 litres[5]
Operational
range
 450 km[4]
Speed 100 km/h[3]

The Eland is an air portable[7] light armoured car based on the Panhard AML.[6] Designed and built by South Africa for long-range reconnaissance,[8] it mounts either a 60mm breech-loading mortar or a GIAT 90mm gun on a very compact chassis.[6][9] Although lightly armoured, the vehicle's permanent 4X4 drive makes it faster over flat terrain than many tanks.[10]

Eland was developed for the South African Defence Force (SADF) in South Africa's first major arms programme since World War II, with prototypes completed in 1963.[11] By 1991, 1,600 examples had been built for home and export;[3] prominent foreign operators included Morocco and Zimbabwe.[12] Local overhauls incorporating hard lessons from Pretoria's internal operations have resulted in a vehicle capable of withstanding the unforgiving Southern African environment and highly mobile operational style of the SADF.[5]

Development history

Background

For many years the standard armoured car of the South African Defence Force was the Daimler Ferret, which was developed in the late 1940s and armed with a single general-purpose machine gun. By the mid 1960s, Ferret spares were becoming difficult to obtain, and its armament was obviously less than adequate. In 1961, South Africa accordingly secured a similar platform with a much wider range of armament installations: the French Panhard AML.[1] Between 1962 and 1964, Panhard approved a licence for the AML's domestic production in South African plants.[13] The result was the VA (Vehicle A) Mk2, first offered to the SADF's armoured car regiments and reconnaissance commands in 1964.[1] Bids were accepted from four local companies for the manufacture of 300 AMLs with working armament, along with another 150 turretless demonstrators; this contract was claimed by Sandock-Austral, now Land Systems OMC.[11]

Sandock VAs initially fared rather poorly; all 56 models furbished in 1966 were rejected by the South African Army. An extensive rebuild programme followed - the Panhards were returned to the manufacturer, completely disassembled, restructured, and trialled again.[3] These new vehicles claimed a local content of forty per cent but remained heavily bolstered by components imported from France in 1961.[11] Upon undergoing several upgrades to the steering (Mk2) and brakes (Mk3), each vehicle was also equipped with a custom fuel system;[10] the electric clutches were concurrently replaced by more conventional hydraulics (Mk4).[6] While South Africa's AMLs remained externally similar to their French counterparts, up to two-thirds of their design was of indigenous origin by 1967, the main part of that balance being a new water cooled inline-4 cylinder petrol engine installed in the Mk5.[3] Subsequent models were thus officially designated Eland.[1]

Layout of Eland variants are much the same. A driver is seated towards the front and the turret bolted near the centre, in addition to the transmission and turbocharged motor housed at the rear.[14] Operated by a crew of three, it houses a small and remarkably lightweight 4X4 frame with a height of 2.5 metres, a length of 5.12 metres, and a weight of 6 metric tons. Powered by a GM engine, Eland Mk5s boasted a 450-kilometre range and consumed 25 litres of fuel per 112.5 km.[5] Most were armed with the 60mm gun-mortar, and two 7.62mm Browning machine guns (Eland-60). The second most common version, Eland-90, was mounted with a 90mm gun. When first introduced, this weapon was more suited to a main battle tank, but in decades since wheeled fighting vehicles had become increasingly versatile. The SADF made extensive use of both, finding an Eland-60 particularly useful for reconnaissance and patrol during counter-insurgency operations.[5]

Service life

Elands now formed the mainstay of South African armoured units, although as early as 1969 SADF officials were discussing their replacement or supplementation with something more suited to countering tank warfare.[15] Having undergone extensive upgrade programmes in the early 1970s, there were now 369 Eland-60s and 131 Eland-90s under active service. Anticipating conventional military threats to South Africa from abroad, the SADF ordered another 356 vehicles and began fitting the existing fleet with ENTAC missiles for deployment in anti-tank roles.[15] This was followed swiftly by the introduction of the Eland Mk6 - Mk5 conversions of older machines.[11] Between 1974 and 1975, up to 1,016 Mk6s were refurbished by Sandock-Austral.[11]

The vehicle was first tested in combat against Cuban and People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) forces[16] during Operation Savannah.[9] In late 1975, reports of shipments of Soviet T-34 and PT-76 tanks to the MPLA perturbed South African advisers then involved with the Angolan Civil War.[17] Accordingly, the State Security Council approved the deployment of 22 Eland-90s to Silva Porto in mid-October.[18] Elands were to acquire a fearsome combat reputation in Angola, where they earned the moniker "Red Ants" due to unorthodox but effective crew tactics and the lack of any equivalent MPLA hardware.[19] Nevertheless, crews found fighting capability constrained when operating on terrain better suited for tracked vehicles, and criticised the lowness of the body, which made sighting difficult over thick bush. Additionally, five were immobilised in hostile territory thanks to mechanical failure, at least three of them on roads.[15]

The Eland-90 continued to enjoy considerable success in SADF service, proving to be a robust and popular car with the Special Service Battalion[10] and 61st Mechanised Infantry Group.[8] During Operation Sceptic (1980), Operation Protea (1981) and Operation Askari (1983), several proved capable of eliminating Cuban T-34[20] and T-54/55 tanks[21] at close range.[22] The SADF began to dispense with its Elands in the mid-1980s, replacing them with the larger and notably more dependable Ratel-90.[15]

Once employed only as a scout car, the Eland auspiciously doubled as a conventional reconnaissance asset, an assault gun, and an ersatz tank destroyer[5] - but its obsolescence was highlighted by several factors, namely a flammable petrol engine which was especially vulnerable to rocket-propelled grenades, and its four wheels limited off-road mobility.[17] The effectiveness of the low pressure 90mm gun against modern tanks was also questionable; at the Battle of Cuvelai in January 1984, Eland-90s' HEAT shells - barring a lucky shot - rarely penetrated the opposing T-55s without multiple hits.[23]

The final variant to be released was Eland Mk7, introduced in 1979.[11] It included new power brakes, a new transmission, a lengthened hull, and an extended turret for accommodating taller South African servicemen.[8] A domed cupola with vision blocks was also added, allowing commanders to see through a full 360 degrees.[11] Mk7's motor is fixed on rails to simplify maintenance; it can be changed in under forty minutes.[5] Some were immediately exported to Zimbabwe Rhodesia to replace the older Mk4s then in service with the Rhodesian Security Forces, while others went on to serve throughout the remainder of the South African Border War.[24] Eland's continued shortcomings, however, initiated a series of experiments at the Bloemfontein School of Armour to find a suitable replacement, resulting in the Rooikat: an eight-wheeled, diesel-engined, vehicle.[17] The Mk7, with its rudimentary fire control and lack of turret stablisers, was no longer considered necessary. Over 1,033 Elands have now been retired from service or sold off to foreign governments and corporations;[25] the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has adopted some 176 Rooikats in their place.[26]

Combat history

Affectionately known as "Noddy Cars" to their crews, SADF Elands were deployed extensively throughout the Angolan Civil War.[27] Under pressure from General Viljoen and Jonas Savimbi, the first examples were flown in during Operation Savannah in late 1975 to reinforce South African advisers then instructing the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).[18] UNITA still occupied Nova Lisboa, Angola's second largest city, but their MPLA rivals controlled eleven of the sixteen district capitals and were making gains with the assistance of Cuban armour.[17] The new Eland-90s and their experienced crews, however, were more than a match for anything the MPLA could muster.[28] FAPLA infantry encountered these vehicles first at Humbe and Rocadas; neither trained nor equipped to resist such firepower, most were compelled to withdraw northwards.[29] This disadvantage allowed the light, fast-moving Elands to fight a mobile war, seizing the initiative and keeping FAPLA constantly off balance.[29] Throughout Savannah SADF columns were able to cover an impressive 90 kilometres a day, even when the rainy season slowed momentum.[17]

It was intended for the Elands to support motorised infantry on good roads, but since no other armour was available the South Africans deployed them as column spearheads.[29] This left the cars particularly open to Cuban or FAPLA ambush with RPG-7s, B-10 recoilless rifles, and rocket artillery.[15] At the Rio Quicombo for example, two RPGs bombarded the lead Eland, blowing off a wheel, disabling the main gun, and peppering the crew with shrapnel.[17] During the Battle of Ebo, a FAPLA recoilless rifle struck a command Eland, overturning it and mutilating radio equipment. Unable to identify the weapon's position, another three Elands were shot out before they could engage, although at least one crew made it to safety.[30] When two more Eland-90s arrived, the Angolans retaliated with a BM-21 Grad, destroying a fifth vehicle.[30] A reserve squadron was called up; this time they silenced the recoilless rifle.[31] Damaged Elands which could not be extricated by the reserve were later claimed by FAPLA on site and towed away for propaganda purposes.[30]

Neither Cuba nor the MPLA fielded any vehicle matching the Eland, and their BRDM-2s bore little comparison.[15] Savannah's first armour-to-armour engagement was fought on a highway stretch about 10km from Catengue, when Eland-90s knocked out seven FAPLA armoured cars advancing on Nova Lisboa.[17] On 18 December 1975, another troop of Battle Group Orange encountered T-34s of the Cuban Army.[32] A single Eland swung forward and lobbed a 90mm round into the lead tank, destroying it and forcing the others to withdraw.[33]

During the Rhodesian Bush War, Rhodesian Armoured Corps manned Eland-90s in several engagements with the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), and Mozambican troops. Eland-60s were used for airfield security, although some did support mechanized operations in 1978.[24] The armoured cars were directed to patrol particularly dangerous regions such as the Honde Valley, and often operated with little to no infantry support. Late in the war, Rhodesian engineers proved that even AP rounds fired from an AK-47 could sufficiently penetrate an Eland's frontal armour, but crewmen conceded that this disadvantage was offset by the vehicle's speed and weapon range.[24] The Zimbabwean Defence Forces subsequently deployed Eland-90s against ZIPRA dissidents in Bulawayo during 1981's Entumbane Uprising, destroying three BTR-152s and a BRDM.[24] At least 20 Elands also saw action when Zimbabwe participated in the Second Congo War.[34]

Because the Eland is widely regarded as a cheap and superior alternative to improvised technicals in harsh African conflict zones, it remains popular with several sub-Saharan armies and insurgent groups for use in fire-support or anti-infantry roles.[7]

Design

External

A boxy, squat, four-wheeled vehicle, the Eland's hull slopes downwards at the front and rear. There are semi-circular wheel arches with stowage bins adjacent to each rear wheel. Sand channels are mounted across the front of the hull, with headlamps located on either side of the towing shackle, beneath the channels. There are three periscopes fixed to the driver's top hatch. The gun turret, which overhangs at the rear, is shallow and rounded, with sloping sides and a prominent sighting periscope to the right. There is a domed cupola over the commander's hatch.

Armament

The Eland may carry one 90mm (3.54 in.) cannon with 29 rounds, or a breech-loaded 60mm (2.36 in.) HB 60 mortar with 56 rounds, in addition to 2,400 and 3,800 rounds stored for the machine guns, respectively.[8] Two smoke dischargers are located on either side of the manually-powered turret. Eland-90s may be assisted via a non-stabilised optical fire control system.[35]

Variants and upgrades

  • Eland-60: Armed with a 60mm mortar and twin medium machine guns or one heavy machine gun. Used for mobile indirect fire support.[8]
  • Eland-90: Modified version of the AML H 90 armoured car, retaining the Panhard chassis but having a new Hispano-Suiza designed turret with a 90 mm GIAT F1 rifled gun, a co-axial machine gun, and an anti-aircraft gun.[10] Provision also made for mounting up to four ENTAC or SS.11 missiles.[35]
  • Eland-20: 20mm autocannon fixed on a two-man turret; export models sold to Morocco and Uganda.[12]
  • Eland Mk1 (Panhard AML)
  • Eland Mk2 (improved steering)
  • Eland Mk3 (improved brakes)
  • Eland Mk4 (modified fuel system/clutch)
  • Eland Mk5 (first complete South African engine)
  • Eland Mk6 (upgraded stowage bins)
  • Eland Mk7

Operators

Operators of the Eland Mk7
  •  Malawi - Malawian Army: 13 Eland-90s purchased from the SANDF in 1994.[12]
  •  Morocco - Moroccan Army: 60[12] Elands delivered in 1981; provided with instructors for training the Moroccan crews.[17]

Former operators

  •  Rhodesia - Rhodesian Army: Up to 34[42] Eland-90s and Eland-60s acquired or on loan from South Africa, which initially limited their use in external raids. Disguised with South African Police licence plates prior to 1976.[24]

In popular culture

Several Eland-90s make an appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, battling MPLA troops during a fictitious engagement of the Angolan Civil War.[43]

In the Larry Bond novel Vortex, an Eland squadron annihilates a unit of attacking T-62 tanks during a hypothetical SADF invasion of Namibia. Eland-90s are prominently featured throughout the storyline.[44]

Eighteen Elands cannibalised for Ratel parts are surreptitiously appropriated from the SANDF for a mercenary unit in The Liberators, by Tom Kratman.[45]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Lesakeng". South African Armour Museum. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  2. ↑ Daniel Henk. South Africa's armaments industry: continuity and change after a decade of majority rule (2006 ed.). University Press America. p. 164. ISBN 978-0761834823. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Signe Landgren. Embargo Disimplemented: South Africa's Military Industry (1989 ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 83–88. ISBN 978-0-19-829127-5. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Heitman, Helmoed-Römer. South African Armed Forces. Buffalo Publications 1990. ISBN 0-620-14878-0 p 44.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 Heitman, Helmoed-Römer. South African Arms and Armour - A concise guide to armaments of the South African Army, Navy, and Air Force. Struik Publishers 1988. ISBN 0-86977-637-1 p 44-45.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Restoration of the Eland-60". Sandstone Estates. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Fact file: Rooikat armoured car". Defence Web. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 "AML-90". 61mech.org.za. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bell, Kelly. Operation Savannah: Task Force Zulu & the Rommel of Angola. Modern War, 2006, Volume 1 Issue 4 p. 45.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "How Green We Were". Senteniel Projects. 2000. Retrieved 2013-08-09. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Jane's Armour and Artillery, 2002, Volume 23 p. 244-245.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2013-06-20. 
  13. ↑ Kaplan, Irving. Area Handbook for the Republic of South Africa. p. 739. 
  14. ↑ Christopher F. Foss. Jane's World Armoured Fighting Vehicles (1976 ed.). Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd. p. 133. ISBN 0-354-01022 Check |isbn= value (help). 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Warwick, Rodney. Operation Savannah: A Measure of SADF Decline, Resourcefulness, and Modernisation. Scientia Militaria, 2012, Volume 40 Issue 3 p. 364-377.
  16. ↑ NEWSLETTER NO. 355 - JUNE 2008
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 Willem Steenkamp. Borderstrike! South Africa Into Angola 1975-1980 (2006 ed.). Just Done Productions. pp. 38–60. ISBN 1-920169-00-8. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Hamann, Hilton. Days of the Generals. pp. 30–35. 
  19. ↑ Siegfried Stander. Like the Wind: The Story of the South African Army (1985 ed.). Saayman & Weber Publishers. p. 92. ISBN 978-0797100190. 
  20. ↑ Mobile firepower for contingency operations: Emerging concepts for US light armour forces
  21. ↑ Christopher F. Foss. The illustrated encyclopedia of the world's tanks and fighting vehicles: a technical directory of major combat vehicles from World War I to the present day (1977 ed.). Chartwell Books. p. 93. ISBN 978-0890091456. 
  22. ↑ Tokarev, Andrei; Shubin, Gennady. Bush War: The Road to Cuito Cuanavale : Soviet Soldiers' Accounts of the Angolan War (2011 ed.). Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd. p. 128-130. ISBN 978-1-4314-0185-7. 
  23. ↑ Lessons of the Border War
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 "Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment Uncovered". rhodesianforces.org. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "South African Arms Supplies to Sub-Saharan Africa". SIPRI. 2011-1. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  26. ↑ South African Defence Review
  27. ↑ AllAtSea.co.za/army - Glossary of SA military terminology and slang
  28. ↑ Gleijeses, Piero. Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976. pp. 301–305. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Nortje, Piet (2003). 32 Battalion. Zebra Press. pp. 22–97. ISBN 978-1-86872-914-2. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 JUNE 2008 newsletter. South African Military History Society (Cape Town Branch), 2008, Volume 1 Issue 355.
  31. ↑ Battle for Ebo
  32. ↑ February 2007 newsletter. South African Military History Society (Johannesburg Branch), 2007, Volume 1.
  33. ↑ Du Preez, Sophia. Avontuur in Angola: Die verhaal van Suid-Afrika se soldate in Angola 1975-1976. J.L. van Schaik. p. 182. ISBN 978-0627016912. 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Scramble for the Congo - Anatomy of an Ugly War". ICG Africa. 2000-12-20. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Christopher Chant. A Compendium of Armaments and Military Hardware (1987 ed.). Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd. p. 32. ISBN 0-7102-0720-4. 
  36. ↑ DIO blindé au Bénin
  37. ↑ Senegal Instruction Operationelle Au Profit Des Forces Armees Beninoises
  38. ↑ Republique du Benin
  39. ↑ "Papers and death merchants". Africa Confidential. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2013-06-18. 
  40. ↑ Anthony H. Cordesman. A Tragedy of Arms: Military and Security Developments in the Maghreb (November 30, 2001 ed.). Praeger Publishers. p. 62. ISBN 0-275-96936-3. 
  41. ↑ Nelson, Harold. Zimbabwe: A Country Study. pp. 237–317. 
  42. ↑ Locke & Cooke, Fighting Vehicles and Weapons of Rhodesia (1995), p. 100.
  43. ↑ Treyarch (2012-11-30). Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Xbox 360 (v1.0). Activision. Level/area: Pyrrhic Victory. 
  44. ↑ [Bond]. Vortex (1991 ed.). Warner Books, Inc. p. 59. ISBN 978-0446363044. 
  45. ↑ [Kratman]. The Liberators (2011 ed.). Baen Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-4391-3402-3. 

External links

External images
Photo of the Eland-20
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