An American M809 cargo truck used during the Iraq War. On its chassis, the whole body of a tracked M113 armoured personnel carrier with it's tracks removed has been mounted, with new windows cut out of the front sloped armour and side and the only thing you can see of the original car is the hood and wheels. No armament is currently fitted in the M113's cupola- this vehicle was built by American transport units circa August 2003 in Nasiriyah, South-East of Baghdad, following a string of IED's and ambushes during previous months, and it was used as an 'armoured' vehicle for convoy escort and defence. The vehicle's shape has a large similarity with what would become the Cougar MRAP (in British service the Mastiff or Ridgeback) later in the decade, an MRAP vehicle designed to replace these improvised vehicles in areas where IED ambushes on convoys were common. (1)
Gun Trucks of Iraq
An American M939 truck with a load capacity of 5 tons used during the Iraq War as a chassis for a Gun Truck conversion. A flatbed M923A1 has been modified with an armoured hull and driver’s cabin, doors and roofline as well as turret for four guns. The cabin is mounted with a 12.7 mm M2HB Heavy machinegun while the hull is equipped with two 7.62 mm M240B's and a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher, a Mk 19. (2)
American groups known to have used Gun Trucks and IAV's during the Iraq include the 548th Corps Support Battalion of the 10th Mountain Division who created twelve 5-ton improvised gun platforms from cargo trucks by using ex-Soviet armour taken from warehouses in Taji, Iraq. (3)
In the GAO report (4), in January 2004 the US Marine Corps required 1,169 trucks to be armoured, but due to increasing IED and bomb threats in later months, increased requirements to 1,438 by April, which was only reached in September. It also mentions how this threat to support vehicles spurred interest in a long-term plan for new vehicles, MRAPS, that are more protected rather than ‘urgent wartime solutions’ like armour on pre-existing vehicles. (5)
1-Kollars, Nina, “War’s Horizons: Soldier-Led adaption in Iraq and Afghanistan”, Journal of Strategic Studies, Volume 38, 2015
2- “Hillbilly Armour”, Hirsh, Michael, Newsweek article, Volume 144, 2004
3- “The Logistics Convoy: A Combat Operation”, Rossi, Daniel, Army Logistician, Volume 37, 2005
4-“Defense Logistics: Lack of a Synchronized Approach between the Marine Corps and Army Affected the Timely Production and Installation of Marine Corps Truck Armor: GAO-06-274.”, Solis, William, GAO Reports, 2006
5- “Sustaining the Momentum: The 1st Corps Support Command in Iraq”, Fontaine, Yves, Army Logistician, Volume 38, 2006