SA Army Olifant battle tank flips over

An Olifant Mk 1A main battle tank flipped over in an accident at the SA Army’s Lohatlha Combat Training Centre, injuring the driver.

The tank was being loaded onto a tank transporter as part of a demonstration to SA Army College Junior Command Staff Course attendees.

The tank was driven on the transporter before tipping over the side and landing on its back.

Unofficial sources indicated that only the driver was on board at the time. He had nonlife-threatening injuries.

The extent of damage to the tank was not clear.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

The army’s Olifant inventory is understood to comprise 177 Olifant 1A/B tanks, of which the majority are in storage, and 26 Olifant Mk 2 tanks.

They are primarily operated by 1 SA Tank Regiment in Tempe and the School of Armour.

Accidents involving tanks being loaded onto transporters are not uncommon. The weight of the tank requires the transporter to be on stable, flat ground and the tank to line up exactly with the transporter, which can be difficult when on sand or gravel surfaces.

Militaries around the world have suffered the embarrassment of armoured vehicles flipping during loading or offloading. In November 2020, a video of an Israeli Merkava landing on its back while being loaded onto a transporter went viral and made international headlines.

Some other notable examples that made it into the public domain include a Belarussian T-72 rolling off its trailer while being loaded in 2013; a Russian self-propelled howitzer falling off a transporter in May 2015 during loading; and a Ukrainian T-64 tank flipping off a transporter in June 2016.

Following an August 2018 victory parade in Russia, a historic T-34 tank was being loaded when it fell off the side of the transporter in full view of spectators.

The Olifant accident occurred on 22 February during the execution of Exercise Safari for 328 Junior Command Staff Course attendees.

They were at the combat training centre between 19 and 23 February as part of the course.

“Exercise Safari forms part of Exercise Phastrol in understanding the nature and capabilities of conventional war,” said Captain NP Loggenberg of the SA Army College. –