Saving the relics of the Shorland armoured vehicle
Richard Moleofe | Friday April 29, 2016 14:31
The Shorland first came into service in 1977 as the first armoured vehicle of the newly created military outfit. I remember our first sight of the vehicles as they roared past Mogoditshane Primary School on the old Gabane road. We could not hold our excitement and curiosity. Most of us in the class exited through windows to go and see those amazing vehicles. The door was facing the wrong way and going through it was going to cause a stampede.
When they were gone past, we had to file one by one and receive punishment of the cane from our female teacher that we fondly called ‘mistress’. I later learned after becoming a soldier that the first field exercise for the Shorland was in Kumakwane along the Kolobeng River. I found the men that used these armoured vehicles full of good stories. This was a dependable armoured vehicle that was used against the marauding Rhodesian forces. It has seen action several times along the border areas and BDF did not lose a single one of them. One of the officers who has such good memories about the vehicle is retired Major Matengu who has spent his entire military career either at armour or light infantry. He says he has used the vehicle on several missions in and outside the country. He reminisces on this piece of history and says what he liked most about it was its manouvreability in the tight bush tracks among the mophane trees. Major Matengu was in charge of “Bravo” company in the SADC operation in Lesotho while “Alpha” company was under Major Moinga. Moinga had a fleet of American made V-150 armoured cars and he lost one during the Lesotho campaign. None of the Shorlands was lost during this operation.
The V-150 was lost through an accident in the mountains as it was attempting to make a long climb. This was the same mountain pass where the Shorland was always making trips on regular occurrences.
But who made this sterling armoured vehicle and what is so special about its technical specifications? The Shorland is a British manufactured vehicle which was initially designed by a certain Frederic Butler as early as 1961. Several prototypes of the vehicle came through until it hit the production lines in 1966. So this is basically a 50 year old piece of armour. Once past the prototype stage it was built by the Short Brothers and Harland. It has derived its name from these two which have been compressed to read as ‘Shorland’. It stands on a Land Rover chassis and has maintained the form and shape of the Land Rover. There are two variants of the vehicle, Mk1 and Mk2. BDF is in possession of the earlier model. It takes a crew of three but can carry an additional three personnel. The primary three personnel include the driver, commander and gunner.
The turret is capable of taking a 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). However, the Nigerians have managed to mount a weapon with a high calibre on this turret. That has helped to balance the equation between light armour and high firepower. You actually need to increase your protection by increasing your firepower when you have minimal armour protection.
The vehicle was primarily built for combating public riots in Northern Ireland which were becoming increasingly violent. It has last seen action on the streets of Belfast as recent as 1998. It is interesting that the 10 armoured vehicles that Botswana got were actually built for the Belfast protestors. Our country just benefited from an over production problem which helped solve our own issues with Prime Minister Ian Smith of Rhodesia.
Of course the Rhodesians were also depending on these armoured vehicles. Their notorious Selous Scouts made incursions into Botswana using this piece of armour. Pound for pound, the BDF outclassed this well trained outfit. This vehicle has seen service in several countries. While it has been decommissioned in some, it is still in service in others. Turkey is one country that still has 100 of these machines in service with their military. It has also seen service in countries such as Iraq, Burundi, Lesotho, Saudi Arabia and Syria. If the Saudis with their oil wealth preferred the Shorland, it says a lot about its qualities. It also shows that we did not just buy a low cost armoured vehicle. The Dutch still prefer it as their number one police vehicle.
While there is so much to say about this piece of equipment, we as a nation must not allow it to go down the grave. BDF could actually make good money selling these items to collectors rather than destroying them in a firing range.
It is in BDF’s history interests that the vehicle is preserved as a museum piece. The only one we see nowadays is the one on displays at the Glenn Valley Barracks circle. It is indeed a good display but that is not enough. BDF needs to set up a museum where all other old equipment can be stored for future generations to see.
A few others should be kept running and used in such events as the BDF Day. Younger generations need to know the humble beginnings of our defence force. It’s only in appreciating the past that they would want the best future for the defence force.
It all goes to other armoured vehicles that are slowly fading from the memory of our soldiers. As the old retire, a museum is the best archive for the collection of their memories. This weekend marks a great moment for BDF’s retired soldiers as they meet in Palapye. The Shorland will surely be remembered at this meeting.