The Mfezi is an armoured ambulance used by the

South African Military Health Service The South African Military Health Service is the branch of the South African National Defence Force responsible for medical facilities and the training and deployment of all medical personnel within the force. Though unusual, as most national mili ...

. The name ''Mfezi'' is a Zulu word that means cobra. The snake is the emblem of the South African

Operational Medical Orderly The Operational Medical Orderly, better known as the Ops Medic is the collective name for the South African Defence Forces Operationally trained Medics. The Ops refers to the Operational area and was used to indicate that the medical orderlies d ...

who operate and use these vehicles, therefore armoured ambulances are named for snakes in South African military service.

History

The Mfezi replaced the Rinkhals armoured ambulance at the end of the Angolan Bush War although it is believed that one Mfezi Ambulance was operationally tested in Angola during the closing stages of the Bush War.

Design

The Mfezi is a armoured vehicle capable of withstanding 3 ×

TM-57 A TM-57 with a tilt-rod fuze The TM-57 mine is a large, circular Soviet metal-cased blast anti-tank mine. It can either be triggered by a pressure or a tilt-rod fuze. A development of the TM-46 mine, it is found in Africa, the Middle East, and ...

landmines/ TNT under any wheel and two TM-57/ TNT under the hull. The sides are armoured to withstand up to 7.62×51mm small arms fire. The Mfezi is operated by two medical orderlies and has the capacity to hold four patients lying down and four sitting. The configuration of the inside of the vehicle can be changed as needed according to the situation, although this requires a workshop intervention.

References

Wheeled military vehicles Military vehicles of South Africa Military ambulances Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub