The Buffel (English: ''Buffalo'') is an

infantry mobility vehicle An infantry mobility vehicle (IMV) is a wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC) serving as a military patrol, reconnaissance or security vehicle. Examples include the ATF Dingo, Iveco LMV, Oshkosh M-ATV, AMZ Dzik, AMZ Tur, Mungo ESK, and B ...

used by the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

during the

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Ango ...

. The Buffel was also used as an armoured fighting vehicle and proved itself in this role. It replaced the older Bedford RL-based Hippo APC and itself was replaced by the Mamba from 1995 in South Africa, but remains in use elsewhere, notably Sri Lanka.

Production history

The Buffel was the first truly effective landmine-protected armored personnel carrier to enter service anywhere. 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 The Unimog (, ) is a range of multi-purpose tractors, trucks and lorries that has been produced by Boehringer from 1948 until 1951, and by Daimler Truck (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler AG) since 1951. In the United States and ...

416-162

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpar ...

had been hastily converted into Bosvarks by 61 Base Workshops in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

. The Bosvark offered limited landmine protection to the crew, but compensated for this with good off-road mobility. It is estimated that around 2,400 Buffels were delivered before production stopped. Sri Lanka purchased Buffels in the 1980s, and in the early 1990s the vehicle was exported to Uganda. The Buffel (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...

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 Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarte ...

U416-162

, which were fitted with a domestically designed armoured driver's cab and separate armoured troop compartment. The cab was situated on the left with the engine compartment on the right. Later models replaced the original Mercedes-Benz OM352 engine with copies built under license by

Atlantis Diesel Engines Atlantis Diesel Engines/ Engineering (ADE) is a South African manufacturer of diesel engines and components, notably for the mining, on and off road applications as well as defense force industries. The company operates from Germiston, Gauteng, ...

factory near

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. 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 fuel 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. 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.

Variants

SAA variants

*Buffel - original *Buffel Mk 1 - Improved engine and bushguard/bumper *Buffel Mk 1B - Disc brakes replaced drum brakes *Log Buffel - Logistic/Cargo version, a standard Buffel with the seat assembly removed from the troop compartment *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. *Buffel Mk IIB - Cargo carrier. The SA Army ordered 57 of these in the early 1980s. Payload capacity stated as 2.637 tons. SAAF variants Twinbuffels

*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. *Rhino - A further development of the Bulldog but with the driver seated inside a fully enclosed troop compartment. 20 were produced for the SAAF. Sri Lankan variants *

Unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

produced version of the Buffel original. Sri Lanka Military 0204

Unibuffel The Unibuffel is a mine-protected wheeled MRAP Infantry mobility vehicle used by the Sri Lankan military, which is an improved version of the Unicorn, made by the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. More than 53 Unibuffels had been ma ...

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

produced version of the Mk I and Mk II with Tata and Leyland engine and an enclosed troop compartment. Unibuffel Mk II of the Sri Lankan Army

Operators

Current operators

*: 1; ''Rhino'' variant. *: 47; other variants produced as the Unicorn and

. *: 55; 20 in service with the army and 35 in service with the national police. *

United Nations Mission in South Sudan The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission for South Sudan, which became independent on 9 July 2011. UNMISS was established on 8 July 2011 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1996 (201 ...

: 3 *: 1; ''Rhino'' variant. *

United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (, MINUSMA) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali. MINUSMA was established on 25 April 2013 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2100 to stabilise ...

; nine Unibuffels were deployed to Mail under urgent operational requirements for peacekeeping operations in Mali.

Former operators

*: Formerly around 2,400 in service; all retired and replaced by the Mamba. *

United Nations Transition Assistance Group The United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) was a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force deployed from April 1989 to March 1990 in Namibia, known at the time as South West Africa, to monitor the peace process and elections there. N ...

: 1 *: Possibly inherited from

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...

Combat history

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rh ...

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

* Sri Lankan Civil War

References

External sources/Bibliography

Video footage - Buffel

Video - The South African Buffel & How an MRAP Works

Buffel Mine-protected APC/ video footage
* Jane's Land Warfare Platforms 2014/2015: Logistics, Support & Unmanned

* Jane's Land Warfare Platforms 2015-2016: Logistics, Support & Unmanned * Jane's Military Vehicles & Logistics 2004-2005

{{MRAP vehicles Armoured personnel carriers of South Africa Vehicles introduced in 1978 Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War Cold War military equipment of South Africa