![]() ![]() The engine is located at the rear left of the vehicle and proved more than sufficient to navigate rough terrain and to push through dense bush and small trees. ![]() The Ratel makes use of the Büssing D 3256 BTXF six-cylinder direct injection turbocharged diesel engine which produces 282 hp (14.8 hp/t). Unintentional tests have proven that the Ratel is as amphibious as a brick. The Ratel has 350 mm of ground clearance and can ford 1.2 m of water. A six-wheel 14:00 x 20, run flat configuration offered more reliability and required less maintenance than a tracked vehicle such as the American Bradley and Warsaw Pact BMP. The Ratel`s 6×6 wheeled configuration was designed for the African battle space and characterized by its versatility and cross-country capability. Ratels have also been exported to Cameroon, Djibouti, Ghana, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Senegal, Yemen and Zambia. Other units that made use of the Ratel were Citizen Force Mechanised Infantry units as well as other branches of the then SADF such as artillery, engineers and signals. They were fielded with SADF units such as the 61 Mechanised Battalion Group, 32 Battalion and 4 South African Infantry Battalion. The SADF doctrine of mobile warfare made maximum use of the Ratel`s characteristics and allowed them to influence the flow of the war and hold the line against numerically superior adversaries until peace was declared in 1988.Īpproximately 1400 Ratels were built. High-mobility operations saw Ratel formations often consisting of battalion-sized columns with mixtures of other South African produced military vehicles (Buffel, Eland, Samil, etc.) leaving their bases located near the northern border of South West Africa to conduct deep incursions into Angola against SWAPO training and logistic camps. Ratels, with their high speed and endurance, were employed to intercept SWAPO raiders when they crossed the border. The Ratel allowed the SADF to wage conventional warfare from 1976 onwards as the South African Border War escalated and cross-border operations became more frequent and more complex. The final upgrade of the Ratel to the Mk3 standard was implemented in 1985 and included more than 135 modifications. The Ratel 20 (armed with a 20mm main gun) was put into production and operationally deployed in 1976. These modifications were only later designated as the Mk2 standard. The first four production Ratels were put through their paces at the Elandsfontein vehicle testing grounds in 1975 followed by a batch of 13 Ratels (Mk1) which were delivered from 1975 onwards.Īfter operational field trial tests, improvements were implemented which focused on enhancing the Ratel`s “bush breaking capability” such as large covers to protect external headlights (which were covered by mesh wire at first) and a screen cover to keep leaves from being sucked into the engine. It was intended to carry troops rapidly into and out of battle, making mobility the primary characteristic, followed by firepower and armor. The SADF sought a highly maneuverable, ultra-reliable and easy to maintain ICV armed to the teeth, which could fulfill the doctrine requirements for mobile warfare based on an indirect approach and low force density.ĭesign work on the 6×6 wheeled Ratel began in 1968. The Ratel Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) was developed for the South African Defence Force (SADF) due to the inability of foreign imported armoured troop vehicles, such as the Saracen, to function in the Southern African environment. The first mass produce Infantry Fighting Vehicle in the world
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