Since the middle of the last century, the South African army has been armed with the Centurion Mk.5 tanks, called the Olifant Mk.1 (elephant). The first stage of modernization of these combat vehicles began in the late 1970s and was carried out by the South African company Armscor. As a result of the work, a modification of the Olifant Mk.1A was created. The next stage of modernization of the tank was carried out, starting in 1985, as a result, a new model was presented - the Olifant Mk.1B. The first such tank was put into service in 1991. The Olifant Mk.1B tank was designed taking into account the nuances of the South African natural and climatic conditions and road features. Only the turret and hull of the tank remained unchanged, and the passive protection was improved. All special equipment, power plant, weapons and most other units were practically created from scratch.
The South African Olifant Mk.1B tank represents the result of the most profound and large-scale modernization of the Centurion tank in comparison with all that have been carried out before. In addition to the armament already reinforced on the previous Olifant Mk.1A modification, a completely new control system was installed on the new tank, a new engine was installed, the armor protection was radically strengthened, the transmission and suspension were changed.
In order to strengthen the armor protection of the tank, additional powerful armor plates are installed on the frontal parts of the turret and hull, while the front frontal plate of the hull is significantly reinforced with multilayer armor. The sides of the hull and the chassis are completely covered with armor screens, which consist of several parts, which is much more convenient when carrying out service and maintenance of the dynamic chassis. The bottom of the hull also received additional protection in the form of reinforcement with additional armor plates. When adding additional armor, the balance of the turret was taken into account, as a result of which it is much better balanced than on previous models of the Centurions, and much less effort is required to fully turn it.
The Olifant Mk.1B tank is armed with a 105-mm L7A1 cannon with an ejector and a special heat-insulating casing made of fiberglass. The gun is stabilized and operates in two guidance planes; electro-hydraulic guidance drives are installed. The LMS includes a completely new gunner's periscope sight with integrated field of view stabilization, as well as a built-in laser rangefinder, and a unique ballistic computer. Additional armament includes a coaxial 7, 62-mm machine gun located to the left of the cannon and two additional 7, 62-mm machine guns of the Browning system above the hatches of the crew commander and loader.
The undercarriage was completely re-equipped, in which an individual torsion bar suspension was used for each of the road wheels, which had a maximum dynamic stroke of 290 mm. This made it possible to significantly improve the cross-country ability of the tank, including at high speeds. Hydro-seals were installed on each of the individual suspension units. The ergonomics of the control compartment were also improved, the two-leaf hatch installed for the driver was replaced with a new monolithic sliding sunroof.
TTX tank Olifant Mk.1B:
Crew - 4 people.
Combat weight - 58 tons.
Overall dimensions: ground clearance - 510 mm, height at the top of the tower - 2940 mm, length - 10200 mm, width - 3390 mm.
Armament: 105 mm Denel GT7 cannon, Browning M1919A4 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, two Browning M1919A4 7, 62 mm anti-aircraft machine guns, eight smoke grenade launchers.
Armored protection: hull forehead - 118 mm, side - 51 mm, stern - 38 mm, turret - 30-152 mm. Additional armoring of the hull and turret.
Ammunition: 68 gun rounds, 5600 rounds.
Target guidance devices: gunner's periscope sight with a laser rangefinder, commander's periscope aiming device.
Engine: ZS, 12-cylinder V-twin turbocharged diesel; power 950 HP
The maximum speed is 58 km / h.
Transmission: Amtra III advanced hydromechanical automatic (4 + 2).
The power reserve is 500 km.
Undercarriage: 6 double rubberized road wheels per side, 4 double and 2 single rubberized additional support rollers, tracks with an open hinge, width - 610 mm, drive wheel with removable toothed rims of the rear position, idler wheel.
Overcoming obstacles: ditch width - 3.35 m, ascent angle -300, wall height - 0.91 m, ford depth - 1.45 m.
In 2003, BAE Systems England signed a contract worth $ 27.3 million for the next upgrade of Olifant Mk.1B tanks to the new Mk.2 standard. This is the most significant contract awarded by Armscor over the past 12 years. The executor of the order will be the South African branch of BAE - Land Systems OMC. To carry out the work, Land Systems OMC entered into additional contracts with suppliers of individual parts, elements and equipment - South African companies Delkon, IST Dynamics and Reutech Defense Logistics. The modernization of the tank is as follows: a new turbocharger and an additional intercooler for the GE AVDS-1790 diesel engine with a capacity of 1040 hp have been installed. developments of the Delkon company, the accuracy of the fire control complex was improved and the dynamic turret drives manufactured by Reunert were improved, which made it possible to carry out shots on the move and direct the general system to the target. The main distinguishing feature of the complex is that it is designed to detect and suppress various targets in the daytime and at night. The complex contains a ballistic computer, a thermal imager and a stabilized observation platform with a sight. Work on the modernization of the tank continued in the period 2006-2007. 13 units were reequipped.
Today, the South African army is armed with 172 tanks of the Olifant Mk.1A / B and Mk.2 modifications. The upgraded tanks will be in service until 2015. Currently, the leadership of the South African army is considering the purchase of foreign-made tanks. Challenger 2E and Leclerc Tropik are being considered among the possible options. In total, it is planned to purchase 96 combat vehicles.
