Leopard security vehicle

Leopard Security Vehicle
Leopard Security Vehicle Mk6, No 594 of 700.
Type	MPAV ("Mine Protected Armoured Vehicle")
Place of origin	Rhodesia
Specifications
Weight	Recorded as 2.2 tons (1980 kg), actual weight of dry vehicle without crew 1760 kg
Crew	1+5 (later 1+4 regardless of version)
Armor	Early Marks: mild steel plate with conveyor belting sandwiched inbetween, later Marks; (lower hull): 12 mm "Bennox" steel plate, (upper hull): mild-steel plate. (The armour was primarily intended as protection against land-mine blast, and offered limited resistance to small arms fire).
Main armament	Optional 7.62 mm LMG such as the MAG58, various anti-ambush devices.
Secondary armament	Crew weapons
Engine	Dodge, air-cooled 4-cylinder petrol engine, Type 1, dual port. 1600cc
Suspension	2*4-wheel, rear-wheel drive, built on original Dodge Challenger sub-assemblies. (Often mistaken for the VW Beetle or Bug running gear of the same period).
Operational range	Never recorded, but estimated at under 300 km, always considered inadequate due to limited size of fuel tank.
Speed	Max 80 kph on Tar road.

The Leopard Security Vehicle is an unusual land-mine protected APC used by the Rhodesian Government and civilian population during the Rhodesian Bush War. It offered basic but necessary protection against mine attack through the use of a V-hull.

The Leopard was designed in 1974 by Ernest Konschel. It pre-dates and is similar in concept to the South African Buffel, but is smaller, and carried a driver on the front right, 2 passengers behind on the right, and three on the left. All passengers were on bench seats fixed to the hull facing in. It is powered by a Volkswagen Type 1 engine located in an un-armoured enclosure at the rear, behind the rear axle.

The vehicle is notable for its highly unusual shape, all facets of which are intended to counter the effect of land mine blasts.

This vehicle is considered the first monocoque mine proof vehicle produced. The example shown, from the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, UK, was built in 1978-9 according to the attached label, making this the Mk6 variant.

The Leopard was produced in Rhodesia from 1975 to 1979 by Willowvale Motor Industries Ltd., and possibly in South-West Africa (Namibia), from a design by and under the supervision of Ernest Konschel. He was a Rhodesian engineer and farmer who also designed the Pookie mine detecting vehicle. Some 700 - 750 Leopards are recorded as being produced with only 3 complete examples surviving.

The Leopard was primarily intended for use as a vehicle to provide cost-effective protection to the civilian population, which was particularly susceptible to the devastating effects of land-mine warfare. Mine-proof vehicles were not readily available due to the severe economic sanctions imposed on Rhodesia at the time.

Modified versions, particularly those with a double door on the rear, were produced for the Rhodesian Security Forces, though this vehicle never found particular favour with these armed formations. The surviving vehicles on display are fundamentally designed and were sold for civilian use.

This vehicle predates the South African 'Buffel' by several years. Many Rhodesian-designed vehicles were shipped to South Africa for trial and 'reverse engineering', giving rise to the first generation of South African monocoque mine proof vehicles.