The current family of MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles have proven to be highly effective at combating the mine and IED threat in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. They are now being produced in large numbers by many different countries. The main feature of the current designs is the V Shaped hull, which is designed to direct the blast from a mine detonation away from the occupants. This design is not a new one. In fact, it was originally developed over 40 years ago, not by one of the world's Super Powers but two small countries at the southern end of the African continent. Both Rhodesia and South Africa were facing insurgency conflicts where guerrilla-laid land mines were indiscriminately killing and wounding soldiers and civilians alike. These mine-protected designs were accomplished with minimal resources and finance. It took 30 years for the rest of the world to "discover" how well they worked. In this part we will be looking at
the early Rhodesian designs that utilised a medium sized chassis such as the Land Rover and Land Cruiser for patrol and civilian work. The 1950s and 60s saw great political upheaval on the African Continent. Many European countries began to shed or lose their colonial possessions, which changed the face of Africa. In 1963 Britain granted full independence to Northern Rhodesia, which became Zambia. Southern Rhodesia, indignant at not being granted independence, unilaterally declared independence from Britain on 11th November 1965. This act precipitated a prolonged guerrilla war which began initially as a low intensity 'Police Action' but due to the support to the nationalist movement from the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact allies as well as China the 'Bush War' intensified and by the 1970s threatened to escalate to a full scale conventional war that would engulf most of the region.
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