Mark 1 Olifant
The Olifant main battle tank was developed and produced by Vickers OMC, formerly Reumech OMC, based in South Africa. This South African tank is a rebuild of the Centurion and is used only by that country. Compared to the Centurion, the Olifant has a better suspension, increased mine protection, a more powerful engine, better armor, better night vision, better fire control, and a more effective fire suppression system.
Development of the Olifant started in 1976 and first entered service with the South African Armoured Corps in the late 1970s. Production was carried out by the Olifant Manufacturing Company, OMC Engineering PTY Ltd, which later became Reumech OMC and later Vickers OMC. The Olifant Mk 1 was the first version; it is merely a Centurion with a better suspension, turret drive, and night vision equipment. A hand held laser rangefinder was also provided for the commander.
The layout of the Olifant Mark 1 was very similar to that of the South African Semel tank, which was based on an upgraded conversion of the British Centurion tanks.
In the Armored Recovery Vehicle variant of the Olifant main battle tank the turret is removed, and a crane with a capacity of 10 tons is mounted on the left side of the raised superstructure. The front has a dozer blade for bracing. The rear has a winch with a capacity of 60 tons and 80 meters of cable. The Olifant ARV is equipped with tools for tank repair including basic tools, tracked vehicle tools, small arms tools, heavy ordinance tools, and an arc welder. There are two cupolas on the roof with machineguns and there are four sets of four-barreled smoke grenade launchers, one on each corner of the superstructure.
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