Thank you for detailing these fascinating vehicles! Many years ago I had a workplace neighbor named Justis, who was a Ratel driver/mechanic during the Angolan conflict. He had a lot to say about Cubans, which was often since we were in Florida lol. But ever since then I've been interested about that war, especially as we were taught essentially nothing about South Africa (and Rhodesia), except SA bad.
I really want to dive more into this war if I'm able to. Problem is, South Africa's recently leaning more authoritarian like Zim and Mozambique. So I do need to be careful.
This baby had a lovely body roll at hi speed on the road. We unofficially locked all the diffs and drove in 6X6. Top end was lower but stability beter.
Thank you! I'll admit, I grew up around the news of the Ratel and Rooikat, so I might be a bit bias towards it 😅. Though I was trying to stay neutral and only focus on the technical side of things.
@@Hobambles your welcome and bias can't always be avoided. I found your vids fair and the stories within were interesting. Just curious what source do you use as I have some books and see vids on SA AF vehicles.
@NOLMAD6 Currently, the broad spec information is something like the Bovington Tank Meuseum or Wikipedia for the technical aspect. And I've spoken to a couple of people who were involved in the vehicle either as drivers, gunners or infantry. I've been asked to keep their identities and voices withheld, but use voice actors to tell their stories as they said it. With permission of course.
@@Hobambles wow ok real guys who drove the vehicles very nice. I would recommend the tank encyclopedia, they did a vid on the Ratel I while ago. It fan run but their content and website are as updates as they make it
The 'Command' Ratel was called the Log Ratel, short for Logistics. They looked similar to the Ratel 20, but had far more aerials for it's radios. My cousin was in Signals, and did a couple of camps up in the Kruger Park area. In his civvie job, he was a diesel mechanic, so removing the governor was childs play for him when the Tiffies wouldn't do it. As outdated as the Noddy Car (Eland) was, we were still training on it in 1989/1990. I ended up being a clerk working with the brand new Rooikat training team at School of Armour. Your video gives the impression that only Afrikaaners fought in the SADF, which couldn't be further from the truth, as most English-speaking South Africans were also subjected to National Service conscription. Foreigners who had lived here for 5 years were also eligible for service. Watching an Afrikaans NCO scream at a Welshman in Afrikaans for 5 minutes before realizing his mistake was one of the highlights of my military career! School of Armour trained and prepared crew commanders for the Olifant, Eland series, and the Rooikat. Crew Commanders for the Ratel was performed by MLW, or Mechanised Leader Wing just down the road from Pantserskool on Tempe Base, Bloemfontein. To be honest, I don't EVER recall seeing any Ratels around Tempe. Maybe their camouflage techniques were really good. The Bokkop were not named for their shoulder flashes, but rather the buck head on their green berets. Remember: Elke Bokkop is ń fokkop! (After 1994 I volunteered to become a Bokkop!)
The Command Ratel was not the Log Ratel at all. The latter was a prototype which never went into production due to budget cuts. It's on display in 1 SAI.
Now, this is REALLY interesting! I never knew that residents over 5 years were conscripted into national service. I would absolutely love to go into a deeper dive with the Bokkop and other infantry units in separate videos. I didn't know about the buck beret, though. I was advised it was the shoulder patch and didn't look further into it. Thank you!
@@Militaryheritage It might not have been it's official designation, but when I was taught vehicle recognition, it was called the Log Ratel. It might have been hard for the tank trained Sargeant Major to swallow that an ARMOURED CAR was a command vehicle, and not an Olifant!
@@dogamongstmen The Eland 90 was nicknamed the Noddy Car after the children's book series. Remember Noddy and Big Ears sitting in that tiny yellow and red car? The Eland 90 with it's huge looking 90mm gun seemed to big for the tiny Eland armoured car. Here's another one: all branches of military service had their derogatory nicknames, and for the Armoured Corps, we were called 'Trommel drywers' in Afrikaans. A 'trommel' is a metal trunk, and 'drywer' is driver... Infantry were 'Bokkop' or buck head because of the springbuck on their berets, and my favourite one was being called a 'Smartie' once, which is a box full of multi-coloured sugar coated chocolates. (looking something like a button) When I went on the Operational Medic course together with other units, we all wore our distinctive coloured berets: Black for Armoured, green for Infantry, maroon for Parabats, khaki for Personnel Services, bright blue for Maintenance Unit, dark blue for Engineers and purple for Medical Services. Seeing all the different coloured berets in a platoon did indeed look like Smarties spilled out of their box. Technical Service Corps members were called 'Tiffies' a nickname which came from the British Army when vehicle mechanics were called Artificers, and SAMS (South African Medical Services) were called Tampax Tiffies... they REALLY hated that nickname! Parabats, or Parachute Battalion soldiers were called 'Vleisbom', or Meat Bomb in English, but NEVER to a Parabats face unless you wanted to lose those teeth of yours. Sorry to carry on so long, but as I was replying, all the old nicknames came tumbling out of the hidden recesses of my memory. Oh! Anti-aircraft were called 'Budgie Gunners'. Maintenance Unit were 'Waterkoppies' or Water Heads because of their bright blue berets and their badge had wavy lines on it. Jet fighter pilots were called 'Vlamgatte' or Flame Arse. There were so many more, but my memory is letting me down. Airforce, Military Police, Regimental Police and Navy all had their nicknames too, but are forgotten for now.
it wasn't just Afrikaner's fighting the war, but English speaking South Africans as well, and also a very big shout out to the Portuguese speaking guys who served, especially the Cape Town recruits, they were known to be tough buggers.
Just one correction. The SAP was a Police Force and not a service. And was a completely different organisation. So when referring to anything pre 1994, please use South African Police Force.
@@Hobambles No worries. Now do a video on the SAP COIN UNITS. Especially the one attached to the SAP Security Branch, the one known as Koevoet. Which is the most successful counter insurgency unit in the history of counter insurgency.
Would you believe that I started getting a bunch of old video recommendations around the Koevoet? 😂 I'd have to do some serious book shopping for it first. But I also need to look after my own butt and make sure I'm not stepping on political toes. The last thing I need is attention of the wrong kind.
I'm not familiar with the Wolf series, but there is a fantastic existing documentary on the Casspir from back in the day that I don't think I could top quite yet.
Thank you! It's still early days, and I'm hoping to refine my process a lot more. I had a lot of fun making and editing this, so I'm deffo looking forwards to more!
Where have you been all my life man? I've been in love with south african vehicles ever since I first saw the Ratel 90 in war thunder, so this video is all I ever wanted and more.
The ratel is one of the first real ifv vehicles sorted to to long distance and Bush terrain a real winner I saw 2 units after being hit head on by rpg fire they were toast but that tupe of accuracy was few and far between thank God.
Good narrative, no ai crap; decent animation using game footage. I liked and subbed , love seeing small RUclipsrs, and I always comment to bump the algorithm for ya. Keep it coming bud
Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it! :D Oh, and I forgot to add. I'm with you on that shitty AI voice overs. Can't bloody stand them and totally lacking any personality.
damn good video, boet. my lineage is “close to South African”. my family left for the US in 1980, so that might give you a clue lol so i love learning about military history from Southern Africa. keep doing what your doing.
I just recently found your channel but I am really loving the videos so far! I also really like your visualization of the things you are talking about like the formation. Please continue making more
Thank you so much! I am planning a few more videos before I start on the big video I mentioned at the end, so you'll definitely see more content soon. :D
Hi there. Here's some historic aka's for the SA infantry soldier. "Boknaai" aka "gras-pol-innie-hol". I'm sure my infantry colleagues will forgive. They used to call us "siff tankers". Jip, we were always dirty, mixture of desert dust, grease and kordiet. Oh, then one of favourates "vleisbom" the parabats and "tampon tiffies" the medics. Never called the seiners or tiffies any funny names, had to keep good relations....
@@Hobambles Thats amazing like theres videos on the BMP series and Bradley but not much on less talked about ones like the M58 (APC before the M113 and Elvis commanded one iirc)
Would be cool if you would cover FAPLA/Cuban vehicles or strategies like how FAPLA used the BM21 Grad to defend Luanda in 1975 since most coverage around this war is more inclined towards South Africa.
@@Frog13799That's.... Odd. It's not showing up in the 'Held for review' tab either. Send me an email with your comment and I can answer you properly. :)
@@HobamblesI think its because I posted a link to the 61 mech veterans page, there is tons of info on operations there, I gave this link to my friend and your mail add so he can decide to contact you
@@Frog13799 Fantastic! Thank you so much. I did manage to do an interview with one guy from 61 Mech from there. I'd love to release it, but he specifically asked me not to. I can use his stuff anecdotally, which is nice though.
Oh yes it does. I love setting up a front line to hold REDFOR and getting a small squad of 20's, 90's, Rooikat's and Yestervarks to circle around and do some fucky-wucky stuff to their backlines.
I hope you found a copy of that book to help with your research in this video. I would love to see a video about SA development on mine resistant vehicles (Buffel, etc) and there convoy escort operations and road clearing operations. Cant wait to see more videos from this channel 🎉
Great video, glad to see someone covering SADF vehicles and history. I love looking into these topics and conflicts that are often forgotten about or overlooked (at least here in Canada & USA). Subscribed as I can't wait to see what videos you publish next! I vote for the G6 Rhino SPG personally. Any plans on covering Rhodesian equipment in the future? Lots of ingenious domestic designs came out of that war.
I'm super hesitiant about covering Rhodesian conflicts honestly. Given my location I could get in serious trouble and risk mine and my family's safety. I'll see what I can do though.
@@Hobambles I’m guessing you’re in Zim then? I don’t know the laws there but I assumed - perhaps naively - it would be fine if you didn’t get all political. I’d say don’t risk your safety for RUclips content, buddy. Thanks for replying back, keep up the good content.
@@plzdont5632 Spot on. I would absolutely love to dive into an archive and lose myself for a month or two pouring over Declassified information to get you guys the best content I can, but I just have to be so extremely careful about it. Thanks for your concern bud, much appreciated. :)
great stuff, would love to hear about some other south african armor, perhaps their tanks? TTD looks like a great domestic design that got screwed over by outside factors
Spent 16 months on "The border.13 months atOngwediwa and 3 months in Ondangwa.Went into Angola on convoy escort duties.This was 1982 to 1983 and in 1984
I spent 13 months teaching at Valambola technical institute while in the army.When doing a border camp we did a lot of vehicle block,looked for landmines,went into Angola and did some checks on the botder line itself.I loved it up there.I could talk for hours.
Could you please provide sources for armour protection tests conducted against various weapon calibres using the Rattle 20? I hope it isn't classified. If it is possible, I would like to flood the war thunder forms with it until my message is heard as the armour in war thunder doesn't even stop small arms fire from the front
Really great video mate thanks. this is right up my street I’m glad I came across your channel. Dropped a sub so you better make some more like this. What mod are you using for the lighting in ARMA it looks very cinematic?
Thank you! I do plan on making more content. No lighting mods, I just used ARMSCOR for the vehicle and set the day to early/midmorning with Zeus enhanced
I spoke to a driver who mentioned that during a return run from a simulated combat op, his air brakes failed and he careened off into the bush from a corner. He was fine, and nicknamed ' soos die kraai vlieg', As the crow flies in english. 😂
Strongly so! Though I'd stongly recommend playing co-op against AI. I only ever played PVP once and got bum rushed so hard that my entire defensive line shattered. Haven't done PvP since.
Thank you very much! I'm hoping to also do air and sea vehicles too. So please stay tuned! Fior the RTS, it's Wargame Red Dragon with the SADF dlc, and for the 1st/3rd person it's Arma 3 with the Armscor mod. :)
@@Hobambles The Ratel 20 (with Milan anti tank missile), Ratel 90, Eland 90, ZT anti tank missile carrier, the great abomination in this video that you referenced (idk what it's called), G6 rhino, Olifant and some Rookiats are all in the British tech tree in war thunder and man do I love being an absolute rat with the eland and the Sarc 6 pounder (ww2). I don't know how the olifants and Rookiats perform in the game as I haven't reached that point but Ratel 20 and 90 perform all right in a support and flanking role. Which makes sense with what you said. Meanwhile I don't like the play style of the G6 but I like the look of it. (Who thought to put a self propelled artillery piece in a game where it is classed as a tank destroyer)
Ahhh. I see. A bit daft to classify the G6 as a tank destroyer. Though I imagine it would excel in the role. SPG see tank - SPG aim at tank - no more tank - SPG happy.
I do hope you only cover the South African and war stuff related to it and not the current mess in Eastern Europe which is covered in lies and myths on both sides. **Cough cough human wave myth** Either way great vid wish to see more.
@@Hobambles I don't mind a joke on them but I think now knowing what people's reactions towards what is happening, and as a result showing who they really are I think it's best for your rep not to do into that for your sake. I really don't want anyone to go down that path that will lead to deserved hate down the road like others. I won't name but they done fuck up and it's only a waiting game before it hits them. I'm new to you and only see 3 main vids but are you planning on being a info channel for all things South Africa military history or just in a few topics? I like to see more because I do find this interesting and know a bit before I seen anything from you.
Ah, my mistake, sorry for the hostility. Yeah, I really do not want to get overly involved, and I really don't want to end up like History Legends or the others. As for being a South Africa only channel, that's a good question. I'm not entirely sure. A big issue I face is I live under what could be described as an authoritatian regieme, and the surrounding countries (Bar Botswana and Namibia) are farly similar, so I need to be quite careful who I talk about and how I talk about it. So we'll see how this goes in the long run.
@@Hobambles HL has been pretty spot on and fair about this matter sir. I mean the people talking trash about the Russians. I'm not saying they're prefect and don't have bad moments but pretty much everything said about them mostly in a bad light has been nothing but a lie. Sadly I do know the hell you're talking about, granted I don't live there but informed at the very least. Even if I don't totally agree with you I never wish to bring you any harm knowing what could happen. Sad SA wasn't prefect but it was such a nice country at one point and it only took a few years to see it flop the way it did.
Sir, I`m really fond of the videos but more prep is needed before posting. The Ratel used by SADF/SANDF is not equipped with a tyre inflating system. The new SLEP prototype does, which is yet to be chosen as an upgrade package. In SA we use the term gun and not cannon to describe the main armament for armour. The latter is the privy of artillery. Never ever has the Ratel been equipped with an APDS round. It can only fire HEAT, HE and smoke. "Better guns" - The Ratel 90 was a fire support platform and could not accommodate a bigger gun nor did it have to. The Olifant Mk1 and Mk1A were responsible for anti-armour. The fault lies with the Generals who were weary of deploying our own armour for fear of escalating the conflict. The ZT3s development has no bearing on the unwillingness to use tanks, it was simply a natural evolution for the vehicle chassis based on a needs analysis in the early 80s. The Patria is not to be renamed, it was named Badger from the get-go as the vehicle has several modifications for Southern African conditions. If at all possible, redo the video given the educational nature, accuracy is essential.
Oh! I did not know this. The Ratel vets that I had spoken to had mentioned this as a feature, and I took it at face value. Thank you for letting me know! Extra Edit's: • Got it. Gun, not cannon. Cannon is only used for Arty purposes. •It's interesting that you mention that the APDS was never used. A few vets I had spoken to mentioned an APDS round. But if you've more information on the HEAT and HE characteristics on the GT-2 gun, then I'd love to read more about it. • The 'better guns' was more a generalized statement than anything else, but I'm glad you brought it up. If you have any resources and sources you could recommend, then I'd be incredibly interested in getting more info.
The Soviet KPV machine gun in the ZPU-1, ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 is 14.5mm caliber, not 14.7 and the Zu-23-2 is a 23mm system, not 20mm. The 90mm F1 gun, being effectively a smoothbore (it has rifling but it is linear, not spiral - designed to fire fin stabilized rounds) can not fire APDS rounds. In the late 1980's or early 1990's GIAT developed an APFSDS-T round for the gun essentially to replace the standard HEAT round which was becoming increasingly obsolete due to advances in armor protection. South Africa never used that round nor to my knowledge did anyone else, although it is possible some unannounced sales were made. In the bush wars South African Eland's and Ratel 90's depended on the HEAT round for anti-armor work which was fine against T-34 but inadequate against T-54 as penetration of the frontal armor was not guaranteed (theoretically possible but reality is always different) and the engagement ranges short due to low muzzle velocity. SIBMAS - essentially a Belgian made clone to get around sanctions - is an interesting and apparently scandal-ridden case. Am curious to see the video on that.
@@MFitz12 Oh this is fantastic! I keep hearing how the HEAT rounds weren't good enough, but still don't understand WHY not. And I'm not able to find a lot of information on the subject. If you have any more information I'd love to know more. Thank you!
@@Hobambles The claimed penetration (on a test range) for 90mm HEAT was 320-350mm of RHA at 0 degrees (vertical). If the armor is sloped at 60-degrees penetration drops to 150mm. That is under perfect conditions. T-54 hull front had 97mm of armor at 58-deg (usually stated as 100mm @ 60-deG in publications but wrong IMHO). Turret front had a LOS thickness of 202mm, essentially matching the glacis armor. Perfect test range shots don't happen in combat. In the real world penetration of the frontal armor at combat ranges was not guaranteed and a "kill" less so. Those combat ranges were short due to the 90mm guns low muzzle velocity. Probably no more than 700 meters on a moving target. T-54 could accurately engage at well more than twice that distance. Taking on proper tanks with the 90mm F1 from an armored car was an act of bravery. Eland of course got replaced by Rooikat with a high velocity 76mm gun (derived from the famous Italian naval gun but using ammunition with a different primer) which could kill T-62's frontally at 1,500 meters or more reliably using SABOT rounds.
And now it's being used by the same people it was meant to keep down. All that cool epic based a e s t h e t i c military gear couldnt keep the settlers in power
It's way WAY more complicated, as with everything irl, but I do know that both Zulu and Xhosha peoples did serve in the force too. Given what the then government was doing, probably for the better. It's a real shame that the current government didn't capitalize on Mandela's success. Mandela was amazing.
White South Africans ,who built South Africa, handed over the best developed country in Africa to black South Africans, they promptly looted it into penury,same as Rhodesia
I do plan on driving down to Bloemfontein at some point to learn more about the prototypes at some point. But only after the aftermath of the SA elections stabilizes.
SPEED AND POWER
HOBS, YOU IDIOT! YOU REVERSED INTO THE BATTLE BUS!
@@HobamblesHaha,u really should upload more vids!!!
Don't you worry. I certainly plan to.
God speed Spiderman
@@Hobambles2 months later...
Thank you for detailing these fascinating vehicles! Many years ago I had a workplace neighbor named Justis, who was a Ratel driver/mechanic during the Angolan conflict. He had a lot to say about Cubans, which was often since we were in Florida lol.
But ever since then I've been interested about that war, especially as we were taught essentially nothing about South Africa (and Rhodesia), except SA bad.
I really want to dive more into this war if I'm able to. Problem is, South Africa's recently leaning more authoritarian like Zim and Mozambique. So I do need to be careful.
Rhodesians never die!
This baby had a lovely body roll at hi speed on the road. We unofficially locked all the diffs and drove in 6X6. Top end was lower but stability beter.
Ooo, now this I didn't know. I'll be sure to return to this when I eventually come back to this topic.
1977 Heidelberg Tvl, we were shown the Ratel.
Very impressive!
Oh, really? That's so cool! Do you remember if it was the 20mm or the prototype?
Love to hear about the Ratel from SA and giving his "honest" opinion on it. Glad to see your continuing your series. Always liked the Ratel
Thank you! I'll admit, I grew up around the news of the Ratel and Rooikat, so I might be a bit bias towards it 😅. Though I was trying to stay neutral and only focus on the technical side of things.
@@Hobambles your welcome and bias can't always be avoided.
I found your vids fair and the stories within were interesting. Just curious what source do you use as I have some books and see vids on SA AF vehicles.
@NOLMAD6 Currently, the broad spec information is something like the Bovington Tank Meuseum or Wikipedia for the technical aspect. And I've spoken to a couple of people who were involved in the vehicle either as drivers, gunners or infantry. I've been asked to keep their identities and voices withheld, but use voice actors to tell their stories as they said it. With permission of course.
@@Hobambles wow ok real guys who drove the vehicles very nice. I would recommend the tank encyclopedia, they did a vid on the Ratel I while ago. It fan run but their content and website are as updates as they make it
The 'Command' Ratel was called the Log Ratel, short for Logistics. They looked similar to the Ratel 20, but had far more aerials for it's radios.
My cousin was in Signals, and did a couple of camps up in the Kruger Park area.
In his civvie job, he was a diesel mechanic, so removing the governor was childs play for him when the Tiffies wouldn't do it.
As outdated as the Noddy Car (Eland) was, we were still training on it in 1989/1990.
I ended up being a clerk working with the brand new Rooikat training team at School of Armour.
Your video gives the impression that only Afrikaaners fought in the SADF, which couldn't be further from the truth, as most English-speaking South Africans were also subjected to National Service conscription.
Foreigners who had lived here for 5 years were also eligible for service.
Watching an Afrikaans NCO scream at a Welshman in Afrikaans for 5 minutes before realizing his mistake was one of the highlights of my military career!
School of Armour trained and prepared crew commanders for the Olifant, Eland series, and the Rooikat.
Crew Commanders for the Ratel was performed by MLW, or Mechanised Leader Wing just down the road from Pantserskool on Tempe Base, Bloemfontein.
To be honest, I don't EVER recall seeing any Ratels around Tempe. Maybe their camouflage techniques were really good.
The Bokkop were not named for their shoulder flashes, but rather the buck head on their green berets.
Remember: Elke Bokkop is ń fokkop!
(After 1994 I volunteered to become a Bokkop!)
The Command Ratel was not the Log Ratel at all. The latter was a prototype which never went into production due to budget cuts. It's on display in 1 SAI.
Now, this is REALLY interesting! I never knew that residents over 5 years were conscripted into national service. I would absolutely love to go into a deeper dive with the Bokkop and other infantry units in separate videos. I didn't know about the buck beret, though. I was advised it was the shoulder patch and didn't look further into it. Thank you!
@@Militaryheritage It might not have been it's official designation, but when I was taught vehicle recognition, it was called the Log Ratel.
It might have been hard for the tank trained Sargeant Major to swallow that an ARMOURED CAR was a command vehicle, and not an Olifant!
The Noddy Car???
@@dogamongstmen The Eland 90 was nicknamed the Noddy Car after the children's book series.
Remember Noddy and Big Ears sitting in that tiny yellow and red car?
The Eland 90 with it's huge looking 90mm gun seemed to big for the tiny Eland armoured car.
Here's another one: all branches of military service had their derogatory nicknames, and for the Armoured Corps, we were called 'Trommel drywers' in Afrikaans.
A 'trommel' is a metal trunk, and 'drywer' is driver...
Infantry were 'Bokkop' or buck head because of the springbuck on their berets, and my favourite one was being called a 'Smartie' once, which is a box full of multi-coloured sugar coated chocolates. (looking something like a button)
When I went on the Operational Medic course together with other units, we all wore our distinctive coloured berets: Black for Armoured, green for Infantry, maroon for Parabats, khaki for Personnel Services, bright blue for Maintenance Unit, dark blue for Engineers and purple for Medical Services.
Seeing all the different coloured berets in a platoon did indeed look like Smarties spilled out of their box.
Technical Service Corps members were called 'Tiffies' a nickname which came from the British Army when vehicle mechanics were called Artificers, and SAMS (South African Medical Services) were called Tampax Tiffies... they REALLY hated that nickname!
Parabats, or Parachute Battalion soldiers were called 'Vleisbom', or Meat Bomb in English, but NEVER to a Parabats face unless you wanted to lose those teeth of yours.
Sorry to carry on so long, but as I was replying, all the old nicknames came tumbling out of the hidden recesses of my memory.
Oh! Anti-aircraft were called 'Budgie Gunners'.
Maintenance Unit were 'Waterkoppies' or Water Heads because of their bright blue berets and their badge had wavy lines on it.
Jet fighter pilots were called 'Vlamgatte' or Flame Arse.
There were so many more, but my memory is letting me down.
Airforce, Military Police, Regimental Police and Navy all had their nicknames too, but are forgotten for now.
The algorithm sent me here and I like what I see so far
I have a lot planned, so I'll hopefully keep you entertained. 😁
Cant wait for the Olifant video. Maybe even the TTD gets a mention
Wait and you shall see. ;)
The conveniency of looking into South African armour a couple days ago, and this video popping up a day ago! 😭
This is a brilliant video! Thank you
I'd call that damn good timing then. :p I'm glad you enjoyed it.
it wasn't just Afrikaner's fighting the war, but English speaking South Africans as well, and also a very big shout out to the Portuguese speaking guys who served, especially the Cape Town recruits, they were known to be tough buggers.
So I've been told! I'm hoping to get a video out on the various units the SADF fielded and clear up.confusion I've caused.
Thanks for the shout out 🙂 from one of those Portuguese guys ;-)
There were also bushmen in the army. Great trackers. Respect.
Ah, the South African battle bus, always found this vehicle to be pretty neat. Was quite excited when I saw this pop up in my recommendations.
Thank ya! I'm glad you enjoyed. 😁
Less than 500 subs?
Nah.
This channel is great and I’m going to watch more content from it.
Cheers!
Thank you for your support!
Agreed,instant subscribe from me
Thank you!
Just one correction. The SAP was a Police Force and not a service. And was a completely different organisation.
So when referring to anything pre 1994, please use South African Police Force.
Oh! I didn't know that. My apologies. I'll see if I can edit the video to include that on a text overlay. Thank you!
@@Hobambles No worries. Now do a video on the SAP COIN UNITS. Especially the one attached to the SAP Security Branch, the one known as Koevoet. Which is the most successful counter insurgency unit in the history of counter insurgency.
@@Hobambles And of course the CASSPIR and WOLF series which were used by these units.
Would you believe that I started getting a bunch of old video recommendations around the Koevoet? 😂 I'd have to do some serious book shopping for it first. But I also need to look after my own butt and make sure I'm not stepping on political toes. The last thing I need is attention of the wrong kind.
I'm not familiar with the Wolf series, but there is a fantastic existing documentary on the Casspir from back in the day that I don't think I could top quite yet.
Great video, you have real knack for this! I love your usage of videogame footage to illustrate your points.
Thank you! It's still early days, and I'm hoping to refine my process a lot more. I had a lot of fun making and editing this, so I'm deffo looking forwards to more!
Excellent presentation and oration!!!
Thoroughly farkin enjoyable.
Glad you enjoyed it
I might be on the other side of the planet now, but I can recognize that Hobs voice anywhere! Great job Hobs!
Thanks Rooi! You in NZ? How ya keeping?
A South African Armor youtube channel? AND hes not afraid to swear?
Where have you been all my life? ❤️
Just a lil' north. 😜
yoo never thought i would see you here (i watched your SARC vs 3 panthers, great video)
Brings back memories.
I'd love for you to share some if possible. :)
Where have you been all my life man? I've been in love with south african vehicles ever since I first saw the Ratel 90 in war thunder, so this video is all I ever wanted and more.
Ah, y'know. Just here. Playing KCD and the like
Can you maje a video about the rooikat or the roivaalk?
It's on my planned list of things to do. :)
The ratel is one of the first real ifv vehicles sorted to to long distance and Bush terrain a real winner I saw 2 units after being hit head on by rpg fire they were toast but that tupe of accuracy was few and far between thank God.
Really? I woner what'd happen if the Ratel series adopted similar armour to what the Challenger 2 uses. 🤔
Good narrative, no ai crap; decent animation using game footage. I liked and subbed , love seeing small RUclipsrs, and I always comment to bump the algorithm for ya. Keep it coming bud
Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it! :D
Oh, and I forgot to add. I'm with you on that shitty AI voice overs. Can't bloody stand them and totally lacking any personality.
damn good video, boet. my lineage is “close to South African”. my family left for the US in 1980, so that might give you a clue lol so i love learning about military history from Southern Africa.
keep doing what your doing.
With what's happening recently, probably for the better. My next video I plan to be a fairly big one.
I just recently found your channel but I am really loving the videos so far! I also really like your visualization of the things you are talking about like the formation. Please continue making more
Thank you so much! I am planning a few more videos before I start on the big video I mentioned at the end, so you'll definitely see more content soon. :D
"Disclamer I like to use swear words" wait I've seen this before
You have! Probably from LordHardThrasher or History of Everything. :p
Very good video! Hoping that a brief history of the Rooikat is next?
Maybe. Maybe not. We shall see.
@@Hobambles Get a hold of the book "South African Armoured Vehicles: A history of innovation and excellence."
Fantastic! I shall see about getting a copy. Thank you!
Very nice video, any plans to cover some of the other SA vehicles like the G6?
I do have plans to cover the more dedicated Arty units eventually. But I need to get some more info first.
42 seconds in and I’ve finally learnt what Ratel means and I couldn’t have happier that it’s the honey badger. Honey badger don’t care!
Glad I was able to shed some light. :)
Really happy this popped up in my video recommendations looking forward to seeing where your channel goes.
Thank you! Welcome aboard, and I hope you enjoy the ride. :D
Awesome quality, I'm glad I found this channel!
Thank you very much!
i will be watching your stuff for years to come (i am currently rewatching lol)
Thank you!
Thanks for a very informative video! For some reason, the Ratel has always been very interesting to me.
Thank you! There will be an update video soon, as I got a few things wrong in this video. So please stay tuned!
great video, looking forward to more, especially thankful for included sources
Thank you! I'm getting g some more books up soon. So keep an eye out!
South Africa's collapse is such a tragedy
good job on 23k views wish you the best!
Thanks!
Thanks!
damn bro, what a great video. its simple to understand. kinda surprized when i realize this came from small channel.
Thank you! I did get a few things wrong, so make sure to look at the community posts.
Hi there. Here's some historic aka's for the SA infantry soldier. "Boknaai" aka "gras-pol-innie-hol". I'm sure my infantry colleagues will forgive. They used to call us "siff tankers". Jip, we were always dirty, mixture of desert dust, grease and kordiet. Oh, then one of favourates "vleisbom" the parabats and "tampon tiffies" the medics. Never called the seiners or tiffies any funny names, had to keep good relations....
This is wonderful! Thank you so much!
Seiners where referred to as interflora
Tampon what😮 We where the smarties because of our berets and yeah having a brain
Great video and nicely presented. Well done
Thank you! I think I've got a good formula down, but now I just need to refine it.
This channel is amazing! It would be great if you made more videos for niche and unknown armoured vehicles!
That's the current plan! As well as perhaps a few aircraft too. ;)
@@Hobambles Thats amazing like theres videos on the BMP series and Bradley but not much on less talked about ones like the M58 (APC before the M113 and Elvis commanded one iirc)
deflating the wheel provides extra ground pressure...... huh!
Yes, It's how 4x4's use to travel through sand and mud!
Would be cool if you would cover FAPLA/Cuban vehicles or strategies like how FAPLA used the BM21 Grad to defend Luanda in 1975 since most coverage around this war is more inclined towards South Africa.
Now there's an idea...
@@HobamblesNice, good work as I forgot to mention, keep it up!
Could you please make a video about the South African Centurion’s and later Olifant tanks
I do plan on covering the Olifant series eventually. :)
great video, would love to see one on the oliphant or the rooikat
They're planned videos, so stay tuned!
Since South African vehicles are starting to be a theme, could you make a video on the Olifant MBT?
There is a video in the pipeline. It's still in the research phase.
A good friend of mine was a Ratel commander in 61 mech and dealt with a few tanks in his Ratel 90
I would absolutely love to interview and ask some questions if at all possible. Please email me at Hobambles@gmail.com
@@HobamblesI tried twice to reply it seems youtube deletes my comments
@@Frog13799That's.... Odd. It's not showing up in the 'Held for review' tab either. Send me an email with your comment and I can answer you properly. :)
@@HobamblesI think its because I posted a link to the 61 mech veterans page, there is tons of info on operations there, I gave this link to my friend and your mail add so he can decide to contact you
@@Frog13799 Fantastic! Thank you so much. I did manage to do an interview with one guy from 61 Mech from there. I'd love to release it, but he specifically asked me not to. I can use his stuff anecdotally, which is nice though.
The last time I was this early, Honey Badger still cared 😁
I see the Ratel was in a good mood, he left you fit and able. ;)
Good series will you cover the SAAF Atlas Cheetah?
Eventually, there's still qhite a bit to reaserch. :)
Amazing video about the SAAF as always,thanks man!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D
Great video, well prensented and informative, look forward to your future content
Thank.you very much!
Keep up the good work.
That thing slaps in Red Dragon
Oh yes it does. I love setting up a front line to hold REDFOR and getting a small squad of 20's, 90's, Rooikat's and Yestervarks to circle around and do some fucky-wucky stuff to their backlines.
Am I stupid or did you only start swearing in the eleventh minute? Anyways, love your video!
Not at all, I definitely sweared during the intro.
I hope you found a copy of that book to help with your research in this video.
I would love to see a video about SA development on mine resistant vehicles (Buffel, etc) and there convoy escort operations and road clearing operations.
Cant wait to see more videos from this channel 🎉
Not quite yet. 😅 Next, I go down to SA I'll be book shopping like crazy though.
Still huge fan of the Rooicat.❤❤❤❤🙏🙏👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🥃🥃💎💎 a real Dimond in the ruff.
The Rooikat is one of my favourite wheeled tanks too. :D
Would love a video on the G6 Rhino, that’s Become a bit of a favourite of mine this month
It's something I am planning on covering, but I got a few other ideas first.
@@Hobambles looking forward to it
keep em coming hobsy! (edit) wow!
Great video, glad to see someone covering SADF vehicles and history. I love looking into these topics and conflicts that are often forgotten about or overlooked (at least here in Canada & USA). Subscribed as I can't wait to see what videos you publish next! I vote for the G6 Rhino SPG personally.
Any plans on covering Rhodesian equipment in the future? Lots of ingenious domestic designs came out of that war.
I'm super hesitiant about covering Rhodesian conflicts honestly. Given my location I could get in serious trouble and risk mine and my family's safety. I'll see what I can do though.
@@Hobambles I’m guessing you’re in Zim then? I don’t know the laws there but I assumed - perhaps naively - it would be fine if you didn’t get all political. I’d say don’t risk your safety for RUclips content, buddy. Thanks for replying back, keep up the good content.
@@plzdont5632 Spot on. I would absolutely love to dive into an archive and lose myself for a month or two pouring over Declassified information to get you guys the best content I can, but I just have to be so extremely careful about it.
Thanks for your concern bud, much appreciated. :)
great stuff, would love to hear about some other south african armor, perhaps their tanks? TTD looks like a great domestic design that got screwed over by outside factors
Olifants are indeed in the pipeline!
Are you going to do one on the Rooikat?
I am planning on it. Still in the reaserch phase though. :)
@@Hobambles Look forward to it
Nice video. I spent some time in Ratels and Elands.
You did? Wonderful! If possible, I'd love to set up an interview for some burning questions I have. Please email me at Hobambles@gmail.com
Spent 16 months on "The border.13 months atOngwediwa and 3 months in Ondangwa.Went into Angola on convoy escort duties.This was 1982 to 1983 and in 1984
I'd love yo hear some of the stories form thst time!
I spent 13 months teaching at Valambola technical institute while in the army.When doing a border camp we did a lot of vehicle block,looked for landmines,went into Angola and did some checks on the botder line itself.I loved it up there.I could talk for hours.
And you?
Oh, no. I was born far too late for any service. I just think SA vehicles are cool af.
Ok.I have a lot of nice memories of the border.
What is the game at 6:37? WARNO? Could be something to add to info? Great vid
That's Wargame: Red Dragon with the SADF dlc. Does Warno also feature SADF/SANDF Units?
The missile on the Ratel ZT-3 was not wire-guided. The ZT-3 Ingwe is laser guided.
I'll admit, this one is on me. I'll update the description. Thanks for the clarification!
Great video! [nice wg:rd gameplay too ]
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed!
Extra video! Greetings from Serbia!
Greetings from Africa! How is the great Serbia?
Could you please provide sources for armour protection tests conducted against various weapon calibres using the Rattle 20? I hope it isn't classified. If it is possible, I would like to flood the war thunder forms with it until my message is heard as the armour in war thunder doesn't even stop small arms fire from the front
The only sources I have rn are wikipedia and the words of the veterans themselves. Let me see what I can do for you though.
:) excellent vid Boet. Subscribed
Awesome, thank you!
Really great video mate thanks. this is right up my street I’m glad I came across your channel. Dropped a sub so you better make some more like this. What mod are you using for the lighting in ARMA it looks very cinematic?
Thank you! I do plan on making more content. No lighting mods, I just used ARMSCOR for the vehicle and set the day to early/midmorning with Zeus enhanced
BMP-1 was NOT the worlds first IFV, that was HS-30 of the german Bundeswehr.
Oh! I didn't know this. Thank you for the clarification!
I also added clarification in the video description. I'll find a way to edit the video and fix my mistake. Thank you!
cool Video keep up the good work 👍👍👍
Thanks, will do!
Liked and subbed! Keep making SADF videos!
Thank you! Don't you worry, I shall do!
Great Video, thanks for making!
Thank you so much!
i hope at some point there'll be an Iklwa video
great video!
THank you! I'm glad you enjoyed. :)
immediately subscribe, nice video mate
Thank you so much!
What's the game you use to showcase? Love the content btw
Thank you, I really appreciate it! 😄 I use Wargame: Red Dragon for the RTS and Arma 3 for the 1st/3rd person footage.
Could you imagine one of these things at 140k an hour…..😂 like a flying house 🏠
I spoke to a driver who mentioned that during a return run from a simulated combat op, his air brakes failed and he careened off into the bush from a corner. He was fine, and nicknamed '
soos die kraai vlieg', As the crow flies in english. 😂
you should do a vid on the first true south african MBT named the TTD
I do plan on tackling it at a later date. :)
Great video bro
Cheers!
This channel is a hidden jem
Thank you!
Do you recommend South AFrica red dragon war game? and also nice video as always :)
Strongly so! Though I'd stongly recommend playing co-op against AI. I only ever played PVP once and got bum rushed so hard that my entire defensive line shattered. Haven't done PvP since.
I fucking love this, excellent videos sir ( i say as a fellow south african )
Thank you! Good to meet another Border boet. How's the mood after the general elections?
@@Hobambles ANC is gonna win but they're losing majority of the places they use to own, overall things are relatively calm
Bot nasty that ANC still has majority. But it's better than the EFF at least. Keep safe out there mate.
G6 rhino next?
I can tell you it's in development, but it won't be next. You'll see what comes next. ;)
Dit is goed, dankie!
Thamk you for watching! I do appreciate it!. :D
What game is it?
For the RTS elements I used Wargame Red Dragon, and for the 1st/3rd person view I used Arma 3 with the ARMSCOR mod
what game and thanks for this vid
It's a mix between Arma 3 with the ARMSCOR mod and Wargame: Red Dragon with the SADF DLC
Another RUclips channel about obscure armor ?
Welcome to my fine collection!
Also what game is this?
Thank you very much! I'm hoping to also do air and sea vehicles too. So please stay tuned!
Fior the RTS, it's Wargame Red Dragon with the SADF dlc, and for the 1st/3rd person it's Arma 3 with the Armscor mod. :)
14.5mm kpvt's and zu23-2. 23mm's.
Thank you! I hadn't noticed this error and am currently editing the raw file to better reflect it.
Ju must also make sort video very vaken popular!!!
I hope so, but no promises
Well done
Thank you very much! 😁
What video game is shown here?
Hi! This would be Wargame: Red Dragon for the RTS and Arma 3 for the 1st/3rd person sections.
Cough-cough, served as the military vehicle consultant for that RTS. 😉
@@Militaryheritage Honestly that's pretty badass. The Olifant 1B, Aoloette K-car and a bumck of Bokkop's are pretty OP for Urban settings. :D
BMP 1 is not the first IFV... HS30 from Germany ist a bit older....
Hi! I did add this to the video description to clarify, and I plan on making another video clarifying my mistakes. Thanks!
mind if i ask are you south african? i can hear it in your voice
nvm i watched the video fully lol
I'm not South African, no. But South Africa is my neighbour!
Could u talk about armys in africa like each episode talk abt a country and their equipment
I'll see what I can do, but no promises.
Gaijin when?
I currently don'ty have any plans to cover the vehicles in Warthunder. Tbh I've never played it.
@@Hobambles The Ratel 20 (with Milan anti tank missile), Ratel 90, Eland 90, ZT anti tank missile carrier, the great abomination in this video that you referenced (idk what it's called), G6 rhino, Olifant and some Rookiats are all in the British tech tree in war thunder and man do I love being an absolute rat with the eland and the Sarc 6 pounder (ww2). I don't know how the olifants and Rookiats perform in the game as I haven't reached that point but Ratel 20 and 90 perform all right in a support and flanking role. Which makes sense with what you said. Meanwhile I don't like the play style of the G6 but I like the look of it. (Who thought to put a self propelled artillery piece in a game where it is classed as a tank destroyer)
Ahhh. I see. A bit daft to classify the G6 as a tank destroyer. Though I imagine it would excel in the role. SPG see tank - SPG aim at tank - no more tank - SPG happy.
@@7stormy334so the abomination is the concept 3 and you forgot the TTD which is the MBT that predates the olifant
@@joekrafft7125 predates? Are you sure it came before? I would think it would come after the Olifant..
I did 61mech omuthiya 81 to 82 made a man out of me
Oh awesome! Which Ratel did you operate mostly out of?
@@Hobambles did mostly logistics been in all of them good fun to drive when they let you
Logistics like on the Samil 50's and 100's?
I do hope you only cover the South African and war stuff related to it and not the current mess in Eastern Europe which is covered in lies and myths on both sides. **Cough cough human wave myth** Either way great vid wish to see more.
Oh, I'm not covering that mess. I don't know nearly enough about it. But I am going to make jokes at Russia's expense whether you want it made or not.
@@Hobambles I don't mind a joke on them but I think now knowing what people's reactions towards what is happening, and as a result showing who they really are I think it's best for your rep not to do into that for your sake.
I really don't want anyone to go down that path that will lead to deserved hate down the road like others. I won't name but they done fuck up and it's only a waiting game before it hits them.
I'm new to you and only see 3 main vids but are you planning on being a info channel for all things South Africa military history or just in a few topics? I like to see more because I do find this interesting and know a bit before I seen anything from you.
Ah, my mistake, sorry for the hostility.
Yeah, I really do not want to get overly involved, and I really don't want to end up like History Legends or the others.
As for being a South Africa only channel, that's a good question. I'm not entirely sure. A big issue I face is I live under what could be described as an authoritatian regieme, and the surrounding countries (Bar Botswana and Namibia) are farly similar, so I need to be quite careful who I talk about and how I talk about it.
So we'll see how this goes in the long run.
@@Hobambles HL has been pretty spot on and fair about this matter sir. I mean the people talking trash about the Russians. I'm not saying they're prefect and don't have bad moments but pretty much everything said about them mostly in a bad light has been nothing but a lie.
Sadly I do know the hell you're talking about, granted I don't live there but informed at the very least. Even if I don't totally agree with you I never wish to bring you any harm knowing what could happen.
Sad SA wasn't prefect but it was such a nice country at one point and it only took a few years to see it flop the way it did.
@@ThatOneGuy-mn6dv HL has? I'll be honest, I really don't like his thumbnails, so I keep away from it.
Sir, I`m really fond of the videos but more prep is needed before posting. The Ratel used by SADF/SANDF is not equipped with a tyre inflating system. The new SLEP prototype does, which is yet to be chosen as an upgrade package.
In SA we use the term gun and not cannon to describe the main armament for armour. The latter is the privy of artillery.
Never ever has the Ratel been equipped with an APDS round. It can only fire HEAT, HE and smoke.
"Better guns" - The Ratel 90 was a fire support platform and could not accommodate a bigger gun nor did it have to. The Olifant Mk1 and Mk1A were responsible for anti-armour. The fault lies with the Generals who were weary of deploying our own armour for fear of escalating the conflict.
The ZT3s development has no bearing on the unwillingness to use tanks, it was simply a natural evolution for the vehicle chassis based on a needs analysis in the early 80s.
The Patria is not to be renamed, it was named Badger from the get-go as the vehicle has several modifications for Southern African conditions.
If at all possible, redo the video given the educational nature, accuracy is essential.
Oh! I did not know this. The Ratel vets that I had spoken to had mentioned this as a feature, and I took it at face value. Thank you for letting me know!
Extra Edit's:
• Got it. Gun, not cannon. Cannon is only used for Arty purposes.
•It's interesting that you mention that the APDS was never used. A few vets I had spoken to mentioned an APDS round. But if you've more information on the HEAT and HE characteristics on the GT-2 gun, then I'd love to read more about it.
• The 'better guns' was more a generalized statement than anything else, but I'm glad you brought it up. If you have any resources and sources you could recommend, then I'd be incredibly interested in getting more info.
The Soviet KPV machine gun in the ZPU-1, ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 is 14.5mm caliber, not 14.7 and the Zu-23-2 is a 23mm system, not 20mm.
The 90mm F1 gun, being effectively a smoothbore (it has rifling but it is linear, not spiral - designed to fire fin stabilized rounds) can not fire APDS rounds. In the late 1980's or early 1990's GIAT developed an APFSDS-T round for the gun essentially to replace the standard HEAT round which was becoming increasingly obsolete due to advances in armor protection. South Africa never used that round nor to my knowledge did anyone else, although it is possible some unannounced sales were made.
In the bush wars South African Eland's and Ratel 90's depended on the HEAT round for anti-armor work which was fine against T-34 but inadequate against T-54 as penetration of the frontal armor was not guaranteed (theoretically possible but reality is always different) and the engagement ranges short due to low muzzle velocity.
SIBMAS - essentially a Belgian made clone to get around sanctions - is an interesting and apparently scandal-ridden case. Am curious to see the video on that.
@@MFitz12 Oh this is fantastic! I keep hearing how the HEAT rounds weren't good enough, but still don't understand WHY not. And I'm not able to find a lot of information on the subject. If you have any more information I'd love to know more.
Thank you!
@Hobambles post armour effect was limited.
@@Hobambles The claimed penetration (on a test range) for 90mm HEAT was 320-350mm of RHA at 0 degrees (vertical).
If the armor is sloped at 60-degrees penetration drops to 150mm.
That is under perfect conditions.
T-54 hull front had 97mm of armor at 58-deg (usually stated as 100mm @ 60-deG in publications but wrong IMHO). Turret front had a LOS thickness of 202mm, essentially matching the glacis armor.
Perfect test range shots don't happen in combat. In the real world penetration of the frontal armor at combat ranges was not guaranteed and a "kill" less so. Those combat ranges were short due to the 90mm guns low muzzle velocity. Probably no more than 700 meters on a moving target. T-54 could accurately engage at well more than twice that distance. Taking on proper tanks with the 90mm F1 from an armored car was an act of bravery.
Eland of course got replaced by Rooikat with a high velocity 76mm gun (derived from the famous Italian naval gun but using ammunition with a different primer) which could kill T-62's frontally at 1,500 meters or more reliably using SABOT rounds.
Wargame red dragon .... let me know when you want to match up
I don't normally do PvP, but I'd be up for a co-op!
And now it's being used by the same people it was meant to keep down. All that cool epic based a e s t h e t i c military gear couldnt keep the settlers in power
It's way WAY more complicated, as with everything irl, but I do know that both Zulu and Xhosha peoples did serve in the force too. Given what the then government was doing, probably for the better. It's a real shame that the current government didn't capitalize on Mandela's success. Mandela was amazing.
White South Africans ,who built South Africa, handed over the best developed country in Africa to black South Africans, they promptly looted it into penury,same as Rhodesia
While it might an abomination, would love to learn some more about that pile of crap, nobody has ever really spoken about it😂
I do plan on driving down to Bloemfontein at some point to learn more about the prototypes at some point. But only after the aftermath of the SA elections stabilizes.