Daniel Pieter 'Neil' Knobel SSAS SD SOE SM MMM KStJ MBC HB PHD (29 November 1936[1] – 22 July 2021) was a South African military commander.

Educated at the Afrikaans Boys High School in Pretoria, South Africa, he graduated with an MD and as specialist anatomist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 1966.

[4] After being involved in academic medicine as a teacher of anatomy to approximately 20,000 students of all health professions in both Scotland and South Africa, he retired as Professor and Head of the Anatomy Department at the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 1979.

He also commanded the secretive South African chemical and biological weapons program, known as Project Coast from 1988 to 1998.

[5][6] He officially visited 160 military and scientific installations in 14 countries, received 21 honours and awards and was decorated on seven occasions.