View source for Buffel

{{short description|Infantry mobility vehicle}}
{{other uses}}
<!-- SCROLL DOWN TO EDIT THE ARTICLE -->
{{Infobox weapon|is_vehicle=yes
|         name=Buffel
| image= Buffel armoured personnel carrier (9673155629).jpg
| image_size = 300
|      caption= Decommissioned ''Buffel'' in [[Port Elizabeth]].
| type=MPAV
|       origin=South Africa
|designer=[[Council for Scientific and Industrial Research]]
|         crew=1+10
|       length= 5.1 m (16.73 ft)
|        width= 2.05 m (6.73 ft)
|       height= 2.95 m (9.68 ft)
|       weight= 6.14 [[tonne|t]]
|       armour=
|      primary_armament=Optional [[M1919 Browning machine gun#M1919A4|M1919A4]] / [[FN MAG]] 7.62 mm MG
|    secondary_armament=
| engine_power=
|   suspension=4×4 wheeled
|   speed= Road 96 km/h (60 mph)<br> Off-road 30 km/h (19 mph)
|     pw_ratio=
|        vehicle_range= 1000 km (620 mi)
}}

The '''Buffel''' (English: ''Buffalo'') is an [[infantry mobility vehicle]] used by the [[South African Defence Force]] during the [[South African Border War]].  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 APC|Mamba]] from 1995 in South Africa,<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman">{{cite book |url=http://www.30degreessouth.co.za/surviving_the_ride.htm|title=Surviving The Ride |date=19 September 2014 |isbn=978-1-928211-17-4 |publisher=30 Degrees South |access-date=2015-07-24}}</ref>  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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Heydenrychsays|first=Willem|date=2019-10-31|title=Buffel APC/MPV|url=https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/South_Africa/buffel-apc-mpv|access-date=2021-02-03|website=Tank Encyclopedia|language=en-US}}</ref> 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]] 416–162 [[chassis]] had been hastily converted into Bosvarks by 61 Base Workshops in [[Pretoria]]. The Bosvark offered limited landmine protection to the crew, but compensated for this with good off-road mobility.<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/><ref>{{Citation
 | last = Engelbrecht
 | first = Leon
 | title = Fact file: Mamba APC/MRAP
 | publisher = DefenceWeb
 | date = 2010-01-21
 | url = http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6254:fact-file-mamba-apcmrap&catid=79:fact-files&Itemid=159
 | access-date = 2013-07-09 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/>

The Buffel ([[Afrikaans]] 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]] U416-162 [[Unimog]],<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/> 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<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/> with copies built under license by [[Atlantis Diesel Engines]] factory near [[Cape Town]].

Land mine protection was provided by the [[v-hull|V-shaped hull]] underneath these compartments, which quite effectively deflected the blast. The troop compartment contained two plastic tanks in the V-shape 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&nbsp;kg per wheel to the vehicle weight.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Heydenrychsays|first=Willem|date=2019-10-31|title=Buffel APC/MPV|url=https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/South_Africa/buffel-apc-mpv|access-date=2021-02-03|website=Tank Encyclopedia|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Variants==
SAA variants
[[File:Buffel Mk IIA.jpg|thumb|Buffel Mk IIA at the Gerotek Test site.]]
*'''Buffel''' - original
*'''Buffel Mk 1''' - Improved engine and bush guard (bumper)
*'''Buffel Mk 1B''' - Disc brakes replaced drum brakes<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/>
*'''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'''.<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/>
*'''Buffel Mk IIB''' - Cargo carrier. The SA Army ordered 57 of these in the early 1980s. Payload capacity stated as 2.637 tons.<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/>

SAAF variants
[[File:Twinbuffels.JPG|thumb|Rhino (left) and Bulldog (right) of the South African military, [[Air Force Base Swartkop|Swartkop Air Force Base]].]]
*'''Bulldog''' - based on [[SAMIL Trucks|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 ''[[Cape porcupine|Ystervark]]'' was produced and used in the anti-aircraft role.<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/>
*'''Rhino''' - A further development of the Bulldog but with the driver seated inside a fully enclosed troop compartment. 20 were produced for the SAAF.<ref name="Surviving The Ride Steve Camp and Helmoed-Romer Heitman"/>

Sri Lankan variants
*'''[[Unicorn class|Unicorn]]''' - [[Sri Lanka Army]] produced version of the Buffel original.
[[File:Sri Lanka Military 0204.jpg|thumb|[[Special Task Force (Sri Lanka)|Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force]] Unicorn]]
*'''[[Unibuffel]]''' - [[Sri Lanka Army]] produced version of the Mk I and Mk II  with [[Tata Motors|Tata]] and [[Leyland Motors|Leyland]] engine and an enclosed troop compartment.
[[file:Sri Lanka Military 0200.jpg|thumb|Unibuffel Mk II of the [[Sri Lankan Army]]]]

==Operators==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->
[[File:Buffel operators.png|thumb|400px|Map with Buffel operators in blue with former operators in red]]

===Current operators===
*{{flag|Malawi}}: 1; ''Rhino'' variant.<ref name=trade>{{cite web|url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |title=Trade Registers |publisher=Armstrade.sipri.org |access-date=2014-11-20}}</ref>
*{{flag|Sri Lanka}}: 47;<ref name=trade/> other variants produced as the [[Unicorn APC| Unicorn]] and [[Unibuffel]].<ref name=SurviveRide>{{cite book|last1=Camp|first1=Steve|last2=Helmoed-Römer|first2=Heitman|title=Surviving the Ride: A pictorial history of South African Manufactured Mine-Protected vehicles|date=November 2014|pages=31, 239|publisher=30 Degrees South|location=Pinetown|isbn=978-1928211-17-4}}</ref>
*{{flag|Uganda}}: 55; 20<ref name=zaf>{{cite web|url=http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37705%3Auganda-peoples-defence-force&catid=119%3Aafrican-militaries |title=Ugandan People's Defence Force |publisher=defenceweb.co.za |date=2015-01-30 |access-date=2015-06-28 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230214309/http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37705%3Auganda-peoples-defence-force&catid=119%3Aafrican-militaries |archive-date=2016-12-30 }}</ref><ref name=congo>{{cite web|url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/central-africa/dr-congo/Scramble%20for%20the%20Congo%20Anatomy%20of%20an%20Ugly%20War.pdf |title=Scramble for the Congo - Anatomy of an Ugly War |publisher=ICG Africa |date=2000-12-20 |access-date=2013-06-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029201147/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/central-africa/dr-congo/Scramble%20for%20the%20Congo%20Anatomy%20of%20an%20Ugly%20War.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-29 }}</ref> in service with the army and 35<ref name="UgandaPolice">{{cite news|title=Uganda: SA Sends in Police Armour as Museveni Faces Civil Unrest|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200505021115.html|work=South Scan|location=Washington, D.C.|date=22 April 2005|access-date=30 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230215120/http://allafrica.com/stories/200505021115.html |archive-date=December 30, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> in service with the national police.
*{{flagicon|United Nations}} [[United Nations Mission in South Sudan]]: 3<ref name="UN">{{cite web|title=United Nations Register of Conventional Arms: Report of the Secretary-General|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/d9bd7202606db03185257c62005498f6/b4b18fedf6983c3b85257d3900432399/$FILE/A%2069%20124.pdf|location=New York
|publisher=United Nations|date=15 July 2014|access-date=4 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805033952/https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/d9bd7202606db03185257c62005498f6/b4b18fedf6983c3b85257d3900432399/$FILE/A%2069%20124.pdf|archive-date=5 August 2017}}</ref>
*{{flag|Zambia}}: 1; ''Rhino'' variant.<ref name=trade/>
*{{flagicon|United Nations}}  [[United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali]]; nine [[Unibuffel|Unibuffels]] were deployed to Mail under urgent operational requirements for peacekeeping operations in Mali.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190317/news/mali-needs-us-341034.html |title = 'Mali needs us' {{!}} The Sunday Times Sri Lanka}}</ref>
===Former operators===
*{{flag|South Africa}}: Formerly around 2,400 in service; all retired and replaced by the [[Mamba APC|Mamba]].<ref name=SurviveRide/>
*{{flagicon|United Nations}} [[United Nations Transition Assistance Group]]: 1<ref name="trade"/>
*{{flag|Zimbabwe}}: Possibly inherited from [[Rhodesia]].<ref name="Jane">{{cite book | last = Pretty| first = Ronald|title = Jane's Weapon Systems, 1986–87| date = November 1986|edition= 1986|page= 1021 | publisher = Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd| isbn= 978-0710608321}}</ref>

==Combat history==
*[[Rhodesian Bush War]]
*[[Angolan Civil War]]
*[[South African Border War]]
*[[Second Congo War]]
*[[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]]

==See also==
===Vehicles of comparable role, performance, and era===
* [[Unibuffel]]
* [[Unicorn APC]]
* [[Gazelle FRV]]
* [[Hippo APC]]
* [[Casspir]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*Steve Camp & Helmoed-Römer Heitman, ''Surviving the Ride – A Pictorial History of South African-Manufactured Armoured Vehicles'', 30 Degrees South Publishers, Johannesburg (South Africa) 2014. {{ISBN|978-1-928211-17-4}} – [https://www.30degreessouth.co.za/surviving_the_ride.htm]
* Jane's Land Warfare Platforms 2014/2015: Logistics, Support & Unmanned {{ISBN|0710631308}} – [https://web.archive.org/web/20150502083819/https://www.ihs.com/products/janes-logistics-support-unmanned.html Jane’s Land Warfare Platforms: Logistics, Support & Unmanned]
* Jane's Land Warfare Platforms 2015-2016: Logistics, Support & Unmanned {{ISBN|0710631723}}
* Jane's Military Vehicles & Logistics 2004-2005 {{ISBN|0710626312}} – [https://web.archive.org/web/20150502083819/https://www.ihs.com/products/janes-logistics-support-unmanned.html Jane’s Land Warfare Platforms: Logistics, Support & Unmanned]

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTGG_4LFChI/ Video footage - Buffel]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NgPMnlbETo/ Video - The South African Buffel & How an MRAP Works]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTGG_4LFChI Buffel Mine-protected APC/ video footage]

{{South African AFV}}
{{SADF Vehicles}}
{{MRAP vehicles}}
{{Modern IFV and APC}}

[[Category:Armoured personnel carriers of South Africa]]
[[Category:Vehicles introduced in 1978]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Cold War military equipment of South Africa]]