Interview with a former Olifant tanker

A former Olifant tanker kindly accepted an interview for the blog. D. served during the 80s in an Olifant tank and participated in the conflics South Africa fought in this era.

1. Hello D., thanks for accepting an interview for alejandro-8.blogspot.com. Could you provide a brief overview of your career in the South African Defence Force (SADF)?

I started with tank training in 1979 at 1 Special Service Battalion (1 SSB) in Bloemfontein.  In 1984 I was part of the second tank deployment to the South West Africa/ Namibia operational area.  The first deployment was in 1976, but the tanks were not used at all.  This second deployment in 1984 deployment was a result of the sudden Soviet tank threat increase experienced during Operation Askari.  Up to this point the Ratel-90s of the SADF kept the tank under control.  During Operation Askari the tank threat increased significantly and it was decided to deploy a squadron (11 tanks) to 61 Mech Battalion in SWA/ Namibia.  We stayed there for about six months to do training and to conduct a couple of show of force exercises.  After that we returned to School of Armour in Bloemfontein and visited the deployed tanks on a rotation basis mainly for maintenance.

During 1987 I was deployed to Angola and detached to 61 Mech Battalion’s tank regiment to participate in Operation Hooper.  During this period we conducted attacks on 2 January 1988, 13/ 14 January 1988 and 14 February against a combined force made up of Angolans, Cubans, Russians and SWAPO.  In March 1988 I decided to end my military career and resigned from the SADF.

2. You used 2 local variants of the Centurion tank, named Olifant Mk1 and Mk1A. These were similar to Israeli upgraded Centurion. Could you provide a description on the main changes?

The Olifant Mk1A received the following improvements:

a. Additional storage bins at the back of the turret
b. Digital azimuth indicator for the gunner
c. The fitting of a protective frame to protect the smoke grenade launchers against vegetation while bundu bashing
d. The gunner was provided with an Eloptro MSZ-2 two-channel sight with an integral laser range-finder working in both channels.  The new laser replaced the old handheld laser.
e. The turret roof and bins

3. What do you think were the strong and weak points of the Olifant tanks?

Strong Points

a. I think the Olifant is such a good tank because I consider the Centurion as an exceptional tank in its overall design and its balance between firepower, mobility and armour.
b. Upgradeability
c. Relative reliable

Weak Points

a. Generally outdated, but for our local conditions and immediate threat still adequate.
b. Outdated gun with and the lack of modern fire control system.
c. Because of the Olifant’s weight, it did lack some manoeuvrability and speed
d. Requires a lot of crew maintenance

4. When training, at was the typical distance to the objective and speed of the tank when you fired? And the longest distance at which you ever fired?

Target ranges during training ranging from about 800 to 1800 meters.  Fire on the move were executed at speed around 10 to 25 km/h
The longest range I have fired was to targets at 3000 m with APFSDS on a test trial while testing a new fire control system

5. What was the maximum rate of fire (ROF) you achieved? Was there a big difference in ROF as you went through the different bins?

We never tried to achieve the maximum rate for the Olifant which was about 8 rounds per minute.  The doctrine was to use ammunition effectively and efficiently.  If the ready rounds are depleted it will obviously affects the rate of fire, unfortunately I haven’t got experience of it.

6. How was the night firing conducted? Did you use flares for battlefield illumination? What was the effective distance at which you could fire?

During training we used flares for illumination together with passive night vision equipment at a battle range of approximately 500 to 800 metres.  Both the driver and the gunner is equipped with night vision equipment.  I did only one operational mission during night time during an stand-off bombardment in support of the artillery.  On this occasion we have left our hide at dusk and approach the firing position during total darkness using our night vision equipment and the tank’s convoy light.  During the night we provided artillery support by firing about 900 rounds of HESH into the enemy’s base over a range of about 12,000 meters.  Early the morning before sunrise we withdrew back to our hide in the dark using no lights.  In my early days of training we used a very power Xenon search light attached to gun’s mantlet.

7. In terms of maintenance, was there any component or system that was more delicate? Were there any issues with the supply chain?

During my time in Angola the Olifant’s suffered the most from gearbox failures, worn out tracks and warn out sprockets on the final drives.  All of these maintenance issues can be allocated to the sandy conditions.  Because of the remoteness where we have operated the logistical supply chain was stretched beyond its capability.  It must be noted, as probably said already or elsewhere, we operated in a wilderness area about 300 km to the nearest populated place.  I called this area the end of the world.  There was a dirt runway about 100 kilometres from us which our air force used to supply us.  Unfortunately we have been there in the rainy season and as a result the runway was not usable all of the time.  On some occasions the operation were severely disrupted as the logistics couldn’t keep up with supplies and spares.

8. What was the maximum distance you covered in a day during deployments, exercises or combate? Did the tank cope well or needed extra maintenance?  

With our deployment in Angola the tanks were off loaded at Rundu (17° 53’ 14S and 19° 52’ 03E).  The 250 km to Mavinga in Angola took us about 7 days, i.e. approximately 35 km per day.  It may sound that the movement was very slow, but it must be taken into consideration that the area is an extremely dense bush terrain with no infrastructure such as roads and bridges.  The tanks were used to make a road through the bush to enable movement of the other vehicles.  Due to the heavy workload on the tanks and the soft terrain we had to stop every now and then to cool down the gearboxes.  The tracks also took heavy strain of the sand and the tracks were to be replaced about a month after our arrival at the battle front.  During our deployment in Angola approaching the we managed about

9. Did the engine or suspension struggle with the local conditions (hard soil or dust for example)?

As said before, the Olifant’s struggled a lot because of the sandy terrain.  The tracks and gearboxes were under heavy strain.  The driver’s changed their driving technique slightly by driving in a straight path as far as possible.  This approach helped with gearboxes, tracks and final drives, but the bins and smoke launchers suffered more because of damage caused by the trees.

10. What was the maximum speed you managed to get in an Olifant? And in reverse?

Maximum speed we got was about 48 km/h.  I never checked reverse speed but I assume we could get up about 10 km/h moving backwards.

11. Some wheeled vehicles designed by South Africa became famous due to their mobility. Was it a problem to operate with them? Was the Olifant mobility adequate to coordinate movements?

In the dense bush terrain of Angola the wheeled vehicles actually battled to keep up with the tanks.  One night after an attack during our retreat from the battle area we (the tanks) had to tow all of the wheeled vehicles up a very steep sandy crest.  During an attack we normally attacked in a V formation where the tanks forms the V and all of the other wheeled fighting vehicles inside the V,  the tanks determined the speed of the attack.

12. Centurion was widely exported tank and was developed by other countries. Did you get any information on the upgrades? Was there an element (ERA armour in later Israeli variants) you would have liked?

During the 1980s when I was still involved we didn’t really get any information on upgrades available except from the Israelis.  During those years Israel was sort of a very close ally to us.  Some training groups before me were trained in Israel on their Shot Kals.  I think most of our doctrines were also developed from that.

13. In Angola de Olifant faced T-54/55 and even T-62. What was your opinion of these tanks? Did they have any features that you lied/disliked (suspension, night sights, lower height)?

I was informally trained in 1984 on captured T-55 tanks and was not extremely impressed.  In my opinion it is most uncomfortable vehicle I ever in.  The turret is extremely cramped with the gunner sitting at somewhat of an angle.  The sighting system is poor as it hasn’t a wide angle sight, only a telescopic type of sight was fitted.  This has the disadvantage that the gunner has difficulty to find his target resulting into a longer time to fire.  The stabilisation control system in azimuth is also poor, gun laying using the stabilisation system was almost impossible as a result of overshoot.  The elevation control was good.  The elevation range of the gun (maximum depression of -5 degrees) is also a disadvantage.  The maintainability of the T-55 was poor and was difficult for the technical people to remove and replace components.  For example, the remove a T-55 power would take a couple of days whereas the Olifant’s power pack will be out within 30 minutes.  The T-55 was also a bit difficult to drive because of the manual gearbox and tiller bar steering mechanism.  However, I like the powerful engine and the engine air starting capability.  The smoke generator system was also a nice feature.  Ninety four (94) T-54s/ 55s were destroyed during 1987/ 1988 during the final stages of the conflict.  My guess is that the Olifants were responsible for about 15 to 20 of these kills.  The T-54/ 55s were never able to penetrate our armour once.  One tank was hit on the idler wheel which was replaced.  We have lost three Olifants in a minefield which the Angolans/ Cubans/ Russians biggest claim to fame.

14. In some literature it is possible to read that in Angola Soviet tanks were at a disadvantage because vegetation would cover sights and observation devices. Olifants were higher and did not struggle so much. Is this correct?

It is possible, but I still think because of the gunner’s poor sighting system and the azimuth control system causes a poor time the get on target.

15. When operating in Angola, what was the typical fighting distance? What about the ammunition load (Percentage of APDS, APFSDS, HEAT, HESH and WP)?

As a result of the dense bush the fighting range was sometimes as close as 40 meters.  My guess on the loading would be APFSDS (30), HEAT (12), HESH (18) and WP (12) giving a total ammunition load of 72 rounds.

16. What was the most common target in the operations in Angola (Tanks, fortifications, infantry, light vehicles...)?

Mostly tanks.  We were deployed rather late in the war, almost at the end of the because of the escalated tank threat.  Secondary targets were softer skin vehicles such as BTR-60, BRDMs and even a BM-21.  We also assisted the infantry with mop-up actions to clear bunkers using HESH.

17. HESH is a type of ammunition only used by a few countries. Can you comment on the characteristics? Did you find it useful?

In Angola we have used HESH on occasions very successfully to clear trenches and underground bunkers.  It lower the risk considerably to lose some of our infantry during target mop-up activities.

18. Did you receive any guidelines when engaging T-54/55 and T-62 tanks in terms of ammunition to use? Would you have chosen APFSDS, HEAT or even HESH?

APFSDS was definitely the ammunition of choice.  HEAT should also do the job, but my preference will be the superior APFSDS.  The APFSDS proofed themselves as exceptional ammunition against the T-54/ 55s sometimes at very shallow entry angles.

19. Olifant Mk1A had a hand held laser range finder. How practical was to use in combat/operations?

The Olifant Mk1A is fitted with laser range finder integrated into the gunner’s sight.  A handheld laser called the MT-18 was used on the Olifant Mk1.  The integrated laser range finder was one of the upgrades from Olifant Mk1 to the Mk1A.

20. Is there any anecdote you would like to share before we finish the interview?

Maybe not amusing nor funny, but an amazing fact is that a Centurion tank fired its first shot in anger on 11 February 1951.  The last shot in anger was fired by an Oilfant on 27 June 1988, 13,651 days (37 years) apart. 

Other interviews:

I am always looking for more veterans, active members or people related with the defence industry to accept interviews. If you enjoyed reading the material and would be happy to accept an anonimous interview you can get in contact with me. My e-mail can be found in this link at the heading. Otherwise leave a message in the comment sections.

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