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Mine Protected Combat Vehicle
The Mine Protected Combat Vehicle – MPCV (a.k.a. 'Spook') was a Rhodesian 4×4 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), first introduced in 1979 and based on the body of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog light truck. It remains in use with the Zimbabwe National Army.
At the late 1970s when the Rhodesian Bush War was entering its final phase, the Rhodesian Security Forces (RhSF) were faced with an escalation towards conventional warfare when they learned that a mechanised built-up was being undertaken by the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrilla organization based in neighbouring Zambia with material assistance from the Soviet Union. Eventually, by mid-1979 ZIPRA had brought to strength a fairly sizeable armoured corps trained by Cuban advisors, which aligned five BRDM-2 reconnaissance armoured cars, six to ten T-34/85 tanks and fifteen BTR-152 wheeled APCs.
To deal with the potential threat of a possible conventional ground invasion from across the border, the Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment (RhACR) was reorganized in 1978, being expanded to include additional tank and mechanized infantry squadrons. It soon became clear however, that the latter had to be provided with fast, more mobile troop-carrying vehicles (TCV) designed for conventional armoured warfare. The heavier locally tailored TCVs – conceived primarily for the counter-insurgency role – already in service with the Rhodesian SF were found to be not entirely suitable for the task so a lighter (and cheaper) alternative was sought.
Nicknamed the 'Spook' because of the secrecy and urgency surrounding the entire project, the MPCV was originally developed jointly in 1978 by the Rhodesian private firm Kew Engineering Ltd of Gwelo (now Gweru), the RhACR and the Rhodesian Corps of Engineers (RhCE) to meet the requirements of the Rhodesian Army for a low-cost, mine and ambush protected (MAP) infantry fighting vehicle mounted on a Unimog chassis capable of carrying 10 men.
At the time, Kew Engineering designers were already working in conjunction with the RhCE in the development of the Mine Protected Mortar Carrier or MPMC (dubbed the 'Skorpion'), which was essentially a Unimog truck chassis modified to accept a base mount for an L16 81mm mortar. Under pressure to meet the eight-week deadline fixed by the Army, the designer team responded to the challenge by adapting the 'Skorpion' design, extending its v-shaped mine-protected base to cover the full length of the vehicle with cut-outs for the engine and transmission. The modified base was them sent to the 10th Battalion, Rhodesia Regiment (RR) workshops at Gwelo for the armoured top to be fitted.
A team of RhCE engineers' and RhACR and RR mechanics were able to produce in a single day an armoured steel body for the mine-protected base, its design being developed from an adapted and heavily modified hull of the West German Thyssen Henschel UR-416 armoured car. Other internal modifications requested by the RhACR, involving engine, steering, brakes and the gearbox (a deflector plate had to be added to protect it from centre landmine blasts) were also incorporated.
The first prototype of the MPCV was completed in just six weeks in late 1978 and, after intensive trials involving driving and mine testing by the Rhodesian Army the vehicle was finally approved for active service. Production began in earnest at early 1979, with Kew Engineering plants turning out four bare vehicles per week until a total of 60 MPCVs had been delivered to the 10th Battalion RR workshops at Gwelo, where they would be fitted with the electronics and armament. However, the 'Spook' project came too late to have a significant effect on the outcome of the Bush War. When the December 1979 cease-fire came into effect, the 60 vehicles were still awaiting finishing at the Gwelo workshops because there were not enough mechanics from the territorial reserve to complete them in time to see any active service in the last months of the war.
The MPCV consists of an all-welded body with a fully enclosed troop compartment built on a modified Mercedes-Benz U1100 Unimog 416 2.5 ton light truck chassis. The diamond-shaped glacis has two vision ports closed by armoured flaps, one for the driver and the other for the commander whilst placed below are two engine flaps and one antennae mount on each side. The headlights are bolted to the side below the engine compartment and protected by a box-shaped brush guard.
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Mine Protected Combat Vehicle
The Mine Protected Combat Vehicle – MPCV (a.k.a. 'Spook') was a Rhodesian 4×4 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), first introduced in 1979 and based on the body of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog light truck. It remains in use with the Zimbabwe National Army.
At the late 1970s when the Rhodesian Bush War was entering its final phase, the Rhodesian Security Forces (RhSF) were faced with an escalation towards conventional warfare when they learned that a mechanised built-up was being undertaken by the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrilla organization based in neighbouring Zambia with material assistance from the Soviet Union. Eventually, by mid-1979 ZIPRA had brought to strength a fairly sizeable armoured corps trained by Cuban advisors, which aligned five BRDM-2 reconnaissance armoured cars, six to ten T-34/85 tanks and fifteen BTR-152 wheeled APCs.
To deal with the potential threat of a possible conventional ground invasion from across the border, the Rhodesian Armoured Car Regiment (RhACR) was reorganized in 1978, being expanded to include additional tank and mechanized infantry squadrons. It soon became clear however, that the latter had to be provided with fast, more mobile troop-carrying vehicles (TCV) designed for conventional armoured warfare. The heavier locally tailored TCVs – conceived primarily for the counter-insurgency role – already in service with the Rhodesian SF were found to be not entirely suitable for the task so a lighter (and cheaper) alternative was sought.
Nicknamed the 'Spook' because of the secrecy and urgency surrounding the entire project, the MPCV was originally developed jointly in 1978 by the Rhodesian private firm Kew Engineering Ltd of Gwelo (now Gweru), the RhACR and the Rhodesian Corps of Engineers (RhCE) to meet the requirements of the Rhodesian Army for a low-cost, mine and ambush protected (MAP) infantry fighting vehicle mounted on a Unimog chassis capable of carrying 10 men.
At the time, Kew Engineering designers were already working in conjunction with the RhCE in the development of the Mine Protected Mortar Carrier or MPMC (dubbed the 'Skorpion'), which was essentially a Unimog truck chassis modified to accept a base mount for an L16 81mm mortar. Under pressure to meet the eight-week deadline fixed by the Army, the designer team responded to the challenge by adapting the 'Skorpion' design, extending its v-shaped mine-protected base to cover the full length of the vehicle with cut-outs for the engine and transmission. The modified base was them sent to the 10th Battalion, Rhodesia Regiment (RR) workshops at Gwelo for the armoured top to be fitted.
A team of RhCE engineers' and RhACR and RR mechanics were able to produce in a single day an armoured steel body for the mine-protected base, its design being developed from an adapted and heavily modified hull of the West German Thyssen Henschel UR-416 armoured car. Other internal modifications requested by the RhACR, involving engine, steering, brakes and the gearbox (a deflector plate had to be added to protect it from centre landmine blasts) were also incorporated.
The first prototype of the MPCV was completed in just six weeks in late 1978 and, after intensive trials involving driving and mine testing by the Rhodesian Army the vehicle was finally approved for active service. Production began in earnest at early 1979, with Kew Engineering plants turning out four bare vehicles per week until a total of 60 MPCVs had been delivered to the 10th Battalion RR workshops at Gwelo, where they would be fitted with the electronics and armament. However, the 'Spook' project came too late to have a significant effect on the outcome of the Bush War. When the December 1979 cease-fire came into effect, the 60 vehicles were still awaiting finishing at the Gwelo workshops because there were not enough mechanics from the territorial reserve to complete them in time to see any active service in the last months of the war.
The MPCV consists of an all-welded body with a fully enclosed troop compartment built on a modified Mercedes-Benz U1100 Unimog 416 2.5 ton light truck chassis. The diamond-shaped glacis has two vision ports closed by armoured flaps, one for the driver and the other for the commander whilst placed below are two engine flaps and one antennae mount on each side. The headlights are bolted to the side below the engine compartment and protected by a box-shaped brush guard.