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I’ve been researching the role of West Germany in supporting the RSA in the 70s and 80s and I’ve found a few interesting tidbits. West Germany along with Spain were major under the counter suppliers of the SADF that are less well known than Israeli support.On trucks – and possibly TELs – the Germans supplied a number of military trucks without cabs with the proviso that the South Africans would fit their own cabs that would be externally dissimilar to the standard German models. These MAN trucks were widely used as recovery vehicles in the SWA Bush War. Possibly they could have been used as TELs which would explain their expungement from the records. Its one thing for West German finger marks to be all over RSA AFV development but to have their trucks rolling around with the ‘Apartheid Bomb’ would be too much.On AFVs in the mid-late 1970s the SAAC pondered purchasing a number of Leopard 1 tanks. They left it too late and the imposition of compulsory arms sanctions by the UN meant none could be supplied. The SA Anti Aircraft Corps had no such questions and ordered a number of Gepard SPAAG. But due to the delays in decision making by the SAAC the Gepards were apparently being readied for shipment to RSA when sanctions were enacted.Of course all of the above could just be Oke’s canteen gossip but it smacks of truth. Also, but unrelated to West Germany, the supply of Continental tank engines for the Centurion upgrades was from the USA where they were openly purchased and exported for use on agricultural machinery. Obviously RSA kept it very quiet that they were going into tanks so as to not cut off this sanction busting supply line.Plus here is a picture of a heavily modified Centurion turret before addition of appliqué armour for creation of an Olifant Mk 1B or Mk 2.
I’ve been researching the role of West Germany in supporting the RSA in the 70s and 80s and I’ve found a few interesting tidbits. West Germany along with Spain were major under the counter suppliers of the SADF that are less well known than Israeli support.
On trucks – and possibly TELs – the Germans supplied a number of military trucks without cabs with the proviso that the South Africans would fit their own cabs that would be externally dissimilar to the standard German models. These MAN trucks were widely used as recovery vehicles in the SWA Bush War. Possibly they could have been used as TELs which would explain their expungement from the records. Its one thing for West German finger marks to be all over RSA AFV development but to have their trucks rolling around with the ‘Apartheid Bomb’ would be too much.
On AFVs in the mid-late 1970s the SAAC pondered purchasing a number of Leopard 1 tanks. They left it too late and the imposition of compulsory arms sanctions by the UN meant none could be supplied. The SA Anti Aircraft Corps had no such questions and ordered a number of Gepard SPAAG. But due to the delays in decision making by the SAAC the Gepards were apparently being readied for shipment to RSA when sanctions were enacted.
Of course all of the above could just be Oke’s canteen gossip but it smacks of truth. Also, but unrelated to West Germany, the supply of Continental tank engines for the Centurion upgrades was from the USA where they were openly purchased and exported for use on agricultural machinery. Obviously RSA kept it very quiet that they were going into tanks so as to not cut off this sanction busting supply line.
Plus here is a picture of a heavily modified Centurion turret before addition of appliqué armour for creation of an Olifant Mk 1B or Mk 2.
