Centurion Reborn | Olifant Mk1A Main Battle Tank

Рет қаралды 51,958

Ай бұрын

The Olifant Mk1A derives its name from the African Elephant, symbolizing its sheer strength and dominance. Introduced in 1983, it served as the primary Main Battle Tank of South Africa until the adoption of the Olifant Mk2 in 2006, and a pivotal component of the nation's military strategy leading up to the conclusion of the Cold War era. As the heaviest military vehicle in the former South African Defence Force (SADF), the Olifant Mk1A stood as a formidable battlefield asset during the South African Border War (1977-1989), adapted specifically for the challenges of South African terrain and climate.
Join this channel to get access to exclusive perks:
/ @tanksencyclopediayt
If you liked this video, please consider donating on Patreon or Paypal!
Patreon: / tankartfund
Paypal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/tanke...
Article: tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwa...
Sources:
61 Mech Battalion Group Veterans Association. 2016. Olifant Mk1A.
www.61mech.org.za/equipment/o... Date of access: 16 Sep. 2017.
Beyleveldt, J. 2017. SA Pantserskool - SA School of Armour (SAW/SANW). Facebook post. Date of access: 16 Sep. 2017
Carroll, S. 2017. Interviews with member of SA Armour Museum. Date 2-4 Oct. 2017.
Collins, D.C. 2017. SA Pantserskool - SA School of Armour (SAW/SANW). Facebook post. Date of access: 16 Sep. 2017
de Vries, R. 2013. Eye of the storm: Strength lies in mobility. Tyger Valley, South Africa: Naledi.
Erasmus, R. 2017. Interviews with curator of SA Armour Museum. Date 2-4 Oct. 2017.
Harmse, K. Sunstan, S. 2017. South African Armour of the Border War 1975-89. Oxford, Great Britain: Osprey Publishing.
Gardner, D. 2017. SA Pantserskool - SA School of Armour (SAW/SANW). Facebook post. Date of access: 30 Sep. 2017
Jordan, L. 2017. Tankers in Angola. Facebook post. Date of access: 16 Sep. 2017
Jordan, L. 2017. Tankers in Angola. Facebook post. Date of access: 30 Sep. 2017
Naish, H. 2017. Tankers in Angola. Facebook post. Date of access: 30 Sep. 2017
Niemann, P. 2017. SA Pantserskool - SA School of Armour (SAW/SANW). Facebook post. Date of access: 16 Sep. 2017
Retief, A. 2017. General Officer Commanding SA Army Armour Formation. SA Armour Museum. Date 27 Oct. 2017.
SADF living history group. 2015. Armour. sadfgroup.org/equipment/armour/ Date of access: 16 Sep. 2017.
Steenkamp, W. & Heitman, H.R. 2016. Mobility Conquers: The story of 61 mechanised battalion group 1978-2005. West Midlands: Helion & Company Limited
VEG Magazine. 2005. The development of the Olifant tank: Centurion Mk.3. Issue 2. Victor Logistics.
VEG Magazine. 2005. The development of the Olifant tank: Centurion Mk.5. Issue 3. Victor Logistics.
VEG Magazine. 2005. The development of the Olifant tank: Goodbye to the Centurion. Issue 4. Victor Logistics.
VEG Magazine. 2005. The development of the Olifant tank: Olifant Mk1A. Issue 6. Victor Logistics.
VEG Magazine. 2005. The development of the Olifant tank: Olifant Mk1A & 1A GHV. Issue 7. Victor Logistics.
Tank Encyclopedia Magazines and Books: payhip.com/TankEncyclopedia
Reddit: / tankencyclopedia
TE Shop: www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/Goo...
Our website: www.tanks-encyclopedia.com
Gaming News Website: www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/games/
Facebook: / tanksencyclopedia
Twitter: / tanksenc
Discord: / discord
Email: tanks.encyclopedia@gmail.com
An article by Dewald Venter
Narrated by Jungleson
Edited by Mace
Sound edited by Jungleson

Пікірлер: 128

@dannyzero692 Ай бұрын

I find the aesthetic of modernized vehicles extremely interesting.

@verstappen9937 Ай бұрын

Yeah they’re pretty cool

@mathiasbartl903 Ай бұрын

Have you seen the Iranian M-60?

@dannyzero692 Ай бұрын

@@mathiasbartl903 yeah it looked kinda goofy

@robert-trading-as-Bob69 Ай бұрын

I was at School of Armour in 1989 and 1990. There were a couple of knocked out T 54/55 tanks there, taken out by APFSDS rounds. The Angolan bush is much more dense than South African bush, and the fighting took place during the rainy season up there, so the dense bush was covered in leaves. The skirmish took place at close quarters, where the SA troopers superior training and response times saw the enemy off. On two of the Soviet produced tanks I inspected, there was a single hole drilled through the turret, with two gauges, or divots nearby from the discarding sabot which barely had time to seperate from the 'dart'. That indicates how close the encounters took place. The gauges were about 5 -6 cms deep. There were also captured T34's there, probably T34 - 85's.

@benlewis4241 Ай бұрын

Did they seem to be Angolan or Cuban manned?

@robert-trading-as-Bob69 Ай бұрын

@@benlewis4241 No clue, sorry. I don't recall that there were any unit markings at all, this was 35 years ago. It was during Ops Modular or Hooper. I recall discussing the terrain and the bush with Major Les Rudman, but can't recall his story on the kills. In my defence, and this isn't a joke, he used to eat raw garlic for breakfast, so I couldn't concentrate properly. I recall that he had a signed copy of a book on the battle from Helmoed-Romer Heitman including photos showing how green the dense bush was. I apologize for my hazy memory.

@malfiq 27 күн бұрын

@@robert-trading-as-Bob69 Are there human remains inside the Soviet tank?

@robert-trading-as-Bob69 27 күн бұрын

@@malfiq Jeez, you're morbid. NO. They were used for evaluation, therefore when I saw them 2 years after their capture, they were relatively clean for being left outside. Someone, however, did decide to steal about 3 large ammo boxes of 7.62mm rounds and hide them in one of the T54/55 tanks until the search died down. Since I was not supposed to be there, and also because I swiped a metal Soviet ammo case from that tank, I could not tell anyone about the pilfered ammo. One of the T34's that was captured in Angola did indeed have the body of the Angolan tank commander within it, the rest of the crew having fled. A tank driver was tasked to move the tank, and did so, stopping at a temporary laager overnight, where he removed the body, and buried it in a shallow grave. If I recall correctly, the tank commanders nom de guerre was 'Geronimo'. There are known gravesites of a few South African soldiers that are stiil up there, and attempts are being made by ex-SADF servicemen to locate and repatriate the remains, part of this project will include trying find the Angolan tankers remains and return them to his wife. That particular T34 was not at School of Armour, but on display elsewhere.

@malfiq 27 күн бұрын

@@robert-trading-as-Bob69 sorry, I was curious, thank you for the insights, it's very thought provoking.

@Nofanboyz 22 күн бұрын

The accent is downright hilarious when he days "ollyfont." 🎉🎉🎉🎉

@comentedonakeyboard Ай бұрын

Mistaking South Africa for Tansania sounds like a very common, perfectly understandable and not at all suspicious mistake to me.

@basilisk.. 11 күн бұрын

Yeah no, someone wanted SA to get those tanks🤷‍♂️👀

@farmergeo4712 Ай бұрын

Very interesting!! I did my South African military service during 1967... and were trained on the Centurian at the School of Armor.. Course T67. We did all the theory but never got the opportunity to do the practical. We were trained as Troop Leaders having to qualify as drivers / radio operators / gunners / and crew commanders. We then did the above training on the Sherman 17 pounder fitted with the 9 cylinder Lycoming radial aero engine. During subsequent training camps our Regiment ... Prince Alfred's Guard converted to the Panhard Armored Cars / and the South African version ... Eland ..using a water cooled GM engine. Interesting times!!

@KonradvonHotzendorf 19 күн бұрын

Kortgat

@1994CivicGLi Ай бұрын

Rare occasion of South Africa using tracked vehicles

@Frenzyv2 26 күн бұрын

We love our wheels

@user-bm2rq9dx5y 14 күн бұрын

Yeah the wheels were good for most of the battlefield

@Ghoulza 9 күн бұрын

tanks are not good for long distances and high maneuver warfare, both of which SA specializes in

@dannyarcher6370 7 күн бұрын

@@Ghoulza specialised *

@Ghoulza 7 күн бұрын

@@dannyarcher6370 yes, ok specialised in.... :(

@ivantsang2156 Ай бұрын

Interesting South Africa mange to get their hands with a bunch of T-55 and improving their own tank technology, cool story 🎉

@clintlubbe1232 Ай бұрын

Serendipitous... ha ha...back in the day the secret agents knew what has to be done.

@splashafrica 11 күн бұрын

Same tanks ended up in Rhodesia did a video on them 😅

@donedwards3353 Ай бұрын

These are beautiful tanks

@woff1959 22 күн бұрын

Nice video! Slight correction. No SADF tanks were lost in Operation Hooper, that was Packer when three Olifants ran onto a minefield In March-Aprill, 1988.

@kunyaco11 Ай бұрын

Thanks for the informative video. Haven't heard too much about the Olifant.

@Watsonsrep3-qk4uj 28 күн бұрын

I will never forget seeing this beasts going on rail to South-West Africa through Orange Free state fields for the battle of Quito Cannival as a kid !

@mikearmstrong8483 Ай бұрын

Arms embargo: "There we go; problem solved." Someone with spare parts wants money: "Hmmm .... well .... maybe not solved."

@meitynajoan5553 Ай бұрын

I love OnlyFant Mk1A

@bushboi 26 күн бұрын

I was recently at the Armour museum at Tempe military base, I was lucky enough to see many SADF/SANDF vehicles including the Oliphant Mk.1, Mk.2, Mk.2 Optimum and the TTD

@farproduct9508 23 күн бұрын

My uncle was a tank gunner on one of them during his time in the army, he both loved and hated that thing with a passion 😂

@BD90.. Ай бұрын

Olifant MK2 next please

@TanksEncyclopediaYT Ай бұрын

We will be publishing a video on the Olifant Mk1B first

@gunterschmidtke9391 Ай бұрын

proud to write the first comment to this interesting video, more of this, please

@thundermite1241 Ай бұрын

Would the gm diesel happen to be a detroit diesel 8v92t or a 12v71

@20chocsaday 18 күн бұрын

An old factory in Britain was shut down and the local newspaper said we would now need to buy our tank ammunition from South Africa.

@splashafrica 11 күн бұрын

SA arms industry needs the business to not collapse entirely its probably cheaper all round to just buy it then to try and figure out a domestic solution

@PhansiKhongoloza 10 күн бұрын

@@splashafricayou're obviously referring to the current government right?

@splashafrica 9 күн бұрын

@@PhansiKhongoloza yes well considering the current 1 is the only one thats not tested its steel in proper combat it makes sense for it's arms industry to decline but still it's an expensive industry to break into it still be cheaper to simply buy it then to try and set up a local manufacturing supply chain in the UK

@PhansiKhongoloza 9 күн бұрын

@@splashafrica That's no excuse. There is a huge market out there. Loads of potential customers. They've ruined it! Fucked it up along with the rest of country.

@liamquigley4670 Ай бұрын

I would love to see a comparaison between this and the Israeli Shot

@abrahamlevi3556 21 күн бұрын

The secret of the Shot-Cal ( acronym for Continental engine) is the fantastic US made Allison transmission that fits perfectly into the power train. The entire power train, starting with the RR Meteor engine and the horrendous transmission where drivers couldn't engage the right gear at will was replaced, and the US made reliable Continental diesel engine significantly increased range. The difference was visible during the defensive battle on the Golan Heights on6/7/8 of October , 1973. The Shot-Cal battalions had a much longer range, and drivers could "dance" among the defensive ramps without any issues with the clutch and gear..

@ODGreenZa 29 күн бұрын

When we used to produce top military vehicles

@oelschig123 17 күн бұрын

I was a toring tiffie at school of armour on these tanks 88-89

@Jack_the_back Ай бұрын

The Aw-lor-four-nt cracked me up, its Or- lee-funt

@gimmedat5541 Ай бұрын

No it's "oily-fund"

@Jack_the_back Ай бұрын

@@gimmedat5541 Thats not how I was taught to say it

@Frog13799 29 күн бұрын

The oilie part in Afrikaans isn't really pronounced the same as oil is in English, its more extendended ooil, sounds more like awl than oil, let's try awl-i-phant the a in phant isn't pronounced as an A but more an Ah

@Jack_the_back 29 күн бұрын

@@Frog13799 Thats pronunciation you put is exactly how I meant it to be, Im just not good with words

@dougerrohmer 25 күн бұрын

Willy-phunt?

@CARL_093 Ай бұрын

cool

@kunyaco11 Ай бұрын

One of the confiscated T-55s is at the South African Military Museum.

@codiemorgan1356 20 күн бұрын

You forgot to mention they kept it in running condition.

@tomsmith2209 Ай бұрын

There's some realy old soviet tanks in Ukraine. I'd be interested to see them squre off against ths Olifant/Centurian. Thanks for the presentation.

@splashafrica 11 күн бұрын

Theres only 1 South African built vehicle in that war an APC equipped with a Ukrainian built 30mm cannon Estonia donated some armoured csrs that where SA designed but they are British built

@wingtip76 Ай бұрын

World War Two vintage but I guess any gun is better than no gun.

@robertpatrick3350 Ай бұрын

Almost identical gun to 1st series of Abrams tank…… sufficient for everything up to the most recent ‘T’ tanks with appliqué armour.

@danieltynan5301 29 күн бұрын

@@robertpatrick3350 these updates basically brought them up to date with anything that came afterwards.

@dannyzero692 9 күн бұрын

@@wingtip76 saying that the Olifant (Centurion) was a WW2 vintage isn’t exactly correct, the Centurion Mk1 developed in WW2 was equipped with the 17 pounders same as the Sherman Firefly. The Olifant use the L7 105mm which was a late 1950s design which is nowhere close to WW2 level and is an early to mid Cold War design.

@Ghoulza 9 күн бұрын

@@dannyzero692 yip, this is late 50's tech so not WW2, we upgraded them to be comparable for most tanks of the 70's and 80's

@TheRealEtaoinShrdlu 18 күн бұрын

Ratel is (more accurately) pronounced RAH-till. It is Afrikaans for Badger. You can technically call it a Badger as well, because the export models have been called that.

@Ghoulza 9 күн бұрын

there is an IFV that we are making called the badger so that would get confusing, it was designed to replace the ratel but money problems stopped production and they have only reciently started it again

@Mr.Brownstain-xf2ne 18 күн бұрын

Must of been nice for tankers not to worry about drones

@splashafrica 11 күн бұрын

Drones actually did feature in Angela SA had them in the 80s but yeah warfare has changed significantly SA taught the world about mine resistance back then and today every army has some casper variant now the world is teaching us cyberwarfare and kamikaze drones

@alexread4803 Ай бұрын

PLEASE SEE THIS COMMENT, I love panther to a huge extent, especially the idea of fall ones such as the paper tanks coelian or whatever but there ei some picture I have found, which originally I've only seen models based of off, which was similar to that of a berge panther but containing a shielded 2cm flak and not that of the early production ones rather it was a different shield entirely and was mounted onto the middle on seemingly the turret ring, the driver/ machine gunner had one big hatch over the front to exit that was open in the photo I found. I believe it was in 1945 in cezchosovlaika? Apparently although all I've seen is reddit talk about it, I would really like/love someone insight I to this one off,in my eyes at least, dream tank to some. Please provide me with something, make a video or something or if there's maybe a page about it on the encyclopedia

@TanksEncyclopediaYT Ай бұрын

If you have the picture, you could send it to us via email: tanks.encyclopedia@gmail.com We'll be happy to take a look.

@arkexplorer9328 8 күн бұрын

Wasn't the Olifant that huge double tank thing

@basilisk.. 11 күн бұрын

SA military and airforce used to be great

@I-Am-Bacon 16 күн бұрын

"The Olofont"

@paulpereira2832 17 күн бұрын

The T-55s were later donated to the Rhodesians who didn't have tanks of their own.

@squickey 13 күн бұрын

My only question is when is the tech tree for South Africa gona show up in Warthunder 😂😋

@splashafrica 11 күн бұрын

SA vehicles are in the British tech tree if i recall correctly

@warkopvalhalla708 6 күн бұрын

Since 2021

@christobosman5710 29 күн бұрын

That is why their is a saying , n Boer maak n plan , meaning , a Boer make a plan , and that is no bull shit .

@craigbritz1684 26 күн бұрын

What's a Boer?

@christobosman5710 25 күн бұрын

@@craigbritz1684 the Boer s as in tribe or nation was the ones that fought the wars against the the then mighty Britain and defeated their 450 000 strong British soldiers , the word boer is also a reference to the South African farmer .

@dougerrohmer 25 күн бұрын

@@christobosman5710 Hate to break it to you, maat. But we only won the first time. The Second Boer War didn't go so well. It turns out that 450 000 is enough to neutralise 50 000 Boers, especially when the Boer's run short of ammo, food and equipment. Bloody Royal Navy. And of course it didn't help when Kitchener said "Let's invent concentration camps for the women and children!"

@LilMissMurder3409 18 күн бұрын

@@craigbritz1684 A small animal that takes a kak tank and makes it less kak.

@splashafrica 11 күн бұрын

@@christobosman5710you thinking of the 2nd war we lost that one we won the negotiation thanks largely to Jan Smuts

@user-to5bb1st7w 16 күн бұрын

Why are they being embargoed?

@TanksEncyclopediaYT 16 күн бұрын

Apartheid.

@PhansiKhongoloza 10 күн бұрын

Good question. As apart from the Afghans, South Africa is the only other country to actually take on and defeat the the USSR and their proxies on the battlefield.

@leonardblignaut665 18 күн бұрын

Please investigate the correct pronunciations of key names, such as Olifant and Unita etc.

@ruvanefriebus-cv6td 20 күн бұрын

What?

@KonradvonHotzendorf 19 күн бұрын

Why?

@stephenchisadza4975 3 күн бұрын

Israel and Jordan doing what they have always done to this day

@WernerShadow 10 күн бұрын

We procured them illegally we had sanctions at the time

@JGCR59 Ай бұрын

Seriously I wonder why South Africa just didn't produce its own hulls. The technology of building a tank isn't exactly rocket science after all

@Militaryheritage Ай бұрын

Later vid as part of the TTD

@vvr881 Ай бұрын

The would but they needed tanks in a hurry...the war in Angola was getting very hot

@benlewis4241 Ай бұрын

Making and Welding rolled homogenous armour is actually fairly tough, particually as you have to lift the entire hull to let gravity help do the welds. Some of the cast parts are equally tough. Problem is once you have built the heavy industry and experience for this, you may as well build a few thousand to make the investment worth it which is a hard sell to a cash strapped military with few armoured threats.

@ianjardine7324 Ай бұрын

True getting good consistent weld penetration is vital to the hull integrity and not easy when dealing with the thick steel needed for tanks. It requires highly skilled welders top of the line equipment and excellent quality control procedures which rely on delicate sophisticated sensors to map the entire depth of the joint. When the Chieftains were built only Britain America Germany and the Soviet's were doing it and the Soviet's never got the consistent quality. This is why the Chieftain had a cast turret as the thicker steel and complex shape made welding too risky.

@benlewis4241 Ай бұрын

@@ianjardine7324 Well said!