ℹ️ ➖➖➖ The Ratel is a South African infantry fighting vehicle. It was the first wheeled infantry fighting vehicle to enter service worldwide and was built on a modified MAN truck chassis. The Ratel was designed in response to a South African Army specification for a light armoured vehicle suited to the demands of rapid offensives combining maximum firepower and strategic mobility. Unlike most contemporary IFVs, Ratels were not intended to fight in concert with tanks in a major conventional war, but provide strategic mobility to mechanised infantry units accustomed to operating independently across the vast distances of Southern Africa. The Ratel was a simple, economical design that helped reduce the significant logistical commitment necessary to keep heavier combat vehicles operational in undeveloped regions. It was generally regarded as an influential concept which incorporated a number of novel features, such as a mine-protected hull, an extended operating range of 1,000 kilometres, and a 20mm autocannon fitted with what was then a unique twin-linked ammunition feed, allowing turret gunners to rapidly swap between ammunition types during combat. The first Ratel prototype appeared in March 1972, and serial production commenced in 1976. Rights to the original prototype were also sold to Belgium, which produced an amphibious derivative known as the SIBMAS. The Ratel was produced in three distinct marks between 1976 and 1987 when production ceased. All three marks were modified for a number of diverse battlefield roles. Specialised variants of the Ratel carried mortars, anti-tank guided missiles, or a turret-mounted 90mm rifled gun. The turret is armed with a 90mm Denel GT-2 cannon that is identical to that of the Eland 90. Primary role: fire support for the Mechanized Battalions
📑 ➖➖➖ At the time of Ratel's introduction, South African military officials were attempting to bring combined arms integration to the lowest tactical level, using brigade or even battalion-sized units as the standard all-arms unit rather than divisions. In these theoretical combat battle groups, armoured squadrons and mechanised infantry, transported in Ratels, would be integrated at the company level, giving them sufficient flexibility to operate in concert. The SADF's first integrated battle group was Combat Group Juliet, which was envisaged as a conventional strike unit to be activated for raids on guerrilla sanctuaries and infiltration routes along the borders of South West Africa and neighbouring Angola. Combat Group Juliet consisted of two companies of mechanised infantry and a squadron of Eland armoured cars. Later combat groups replaced the Eland squadron with Ratel-90s, which essentially functioned in the same role.

▪️ 🛠 Designer Springfield Büssing;
▪️ ✅ Designed March 1972
▪️ 🛠 Manufacturer Sandock Austral, Ruemech OMC;
▪️ ⬇️ Mass 19 tonnes (21 short tons; 19 long tons);
▪️ 📏 Length 7.21 m (23 ft 8 in) (hull)
▪️ ↔️ Width 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in);
▪️ ↕️ Height 2.91 m (9 ft 7 in) (Ratel-90);
▪️ 👤 Crew 3 (commander, gunner, driver) + maximum 9 passengers;
▪️ ⚔️ Main armament 90mm Denel GT-2 cannon;
▪️ 🗡 Secondary armament 7.62mm Browning M1919 machine gun on turret roof ;
▪️ ⚙️ Engine Büssing D 3256 BTXF six-cylinder turbocharged diesel, 205 kW (275 hp) at 2,200 rpm;
▪️ ⚡️ Power/weight 11.36 kW/t (0.00691 hp/lb)
▪️ Ground clearance 0.34 m (1 ft 1 in);
▪️ 🛢 Fuel capacity 530 L (140 US gal);
▪️ 🔁 Operational range 1,000 km (620 mi);
▪️ ⏭ Maximum speed 105 km/h (65 mph).

Ref: Wikipedia.