| Hippo | |
|---|---|
 Armscor Hippo at theSAPS Museum,Ventersburg | |
| Type | Armoured personnel carrier |
| Place of origin | South Africa |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1974 - 1978[1] |
| Used by | SeeOperators |
| Wars | Rhodesian Bush War South African Border War Soweto uprising |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Armscor South Africa |
| Designed | 1974[2] |
| Manufacturer | Armscor South Africa |
| No. built | 275 (Mk 1-R)[2] 402 (Mk 1-M)[3] |
| Variants | SeeVariants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 8.8 tonnes (9.7short tons; 8.7long tons)[1] |
| Length | 6.53 m (21 ft 5 in)[2] |
| Width | 2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)[2] |
| Height | 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)[2] |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 10 |
Main armament | 2x 7.62mmM1919 Browning machine guns[1] |
| Engine | Bedford 2.5 L (150 in3)inline 6-cylinder water-cooled petrol[2] |
| Transmission | ZF 4-speedmanualsynchromesh (2nd, 3rd, 4th gears)[2][3] |
| Ground clearance | 32 cm[2] |
| Fuel capacity | 240 litres[2] |
Operational range | 640 km[1] |
| Maximum speed | 73 km/h[1] |
TheHippo is a South Africanarmoured personnel carrier. Specially designed to bemine resistant, it can carry ten infantrymen and a crew of two.[3] The vehicle's remote-operated turret mounts dual 7.62mm machine guns, but like other improvised fighting vehicles, it is only lightly protected against ballistic threats.[3]
An interim solution adopted to deal with the threat ofland mines deployed by theSouth West African People's Organization (SWAPO) in northernOvamboland, the Hippo was simply a blastproof hull fitted to aBedford RL chassis. Similar to theBTR-152, it offered a staggered troop compartment with seating facing inwards. Vision was restricted to narrow plate glass windows. This layout was universally unpopular and later corrected with theBuffel.[2] There were firing ports for the occupants and a powered machine gun turret could be braced on the open top, though these were seldom fitted. Passengers and crew debussed from a rear deck.[2]
The Hippo Mk1-R was based on a M1961Bedford truck chassis, which was being phased from South African service in 1974.[1] The Mk1-R was manufactured usingmild steel and RB390 armour steel.[3] Some 150 Mk1-R were ordered and shipped to theSouth African Police in 1974, another 5 being donated to theSouth-West African authorities.[2] Police units left behind several when they withdrew fromRhodesia in 1976; these were retained byRhodesian Security Forces and later passed on to theZimbabwe National Army.[4] In 1978, 120 Hippo Mk1-R conversions of M1970 Bedfords was undertaken for theSouth African Defence Force, which had assumed responsibility for patrols along theAngolan border and needed a new mine protected vehicle.The Hippo Mk1-M used ROQ TUFF steel instead of mild steel. The South African Army ordered 402 Mk1-M.[3]
The Hippo served its purpose for theSouth African Army but it was heavy, and lacked true off-road capability. A new mine-protected vehicle had been designed in April 1976 although it would be another two years before theBuffel would eventually replace the Hippo as the Army's premier troop-carrying mine-protected vehicle.[3]
South Africa:South African Defence Force andSouth African Police[3]South-West Africa:South West African Police[3]
Rhodesia:Rhodesian Security Forces[5][3]
Zimbabwe:Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA)[4]The Hippo made some appearances in television and film productions shot in Zimbabwe and set in theApartheid era of the 1970s-1980s. In one such production, the British 1987epicapartheiddrama filmCry Freedom, ZNA Hippos appear on several scenes portrayingSouth African Defence Force (SADF) andSouth African Police (SAP) armoured vehicles.
| Armoured cars | |
|---|---|
| Infantry Fighting Vehicles | |
| Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) | |
| Artillery, transport and combat engineering | |
| Related articles | |
