Afghanistan Iltis
 

Hello all..

I took the liberty of honouring our troops by converting one of my Iltis' into a likeness of some of the examples which served in the early part of the war in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, not a single vetran Iltis of that theatre made it back to Canada and details are sketchy.
That being said, all i had to go on were some pics from Stuart Fedak and word-of-mouth from a couple of soldiers who saw and/or used them while serving over there.
Although i think i more or less got it right when it comes to authenticity, i do have a couple of questions for anyone who might know.
First off, i noticed in a couple of pics a curious roll-bar type structure affixed to the rear of a few of the vehicles. I'm just wondering if this was a local modification, and if so, what was it's intended purpose??
Second, again in a couple of pics it appears one of the rear seats was moved to the back. Was this seat strapped/attached to the top of the radio doghouse in some way or was there some other means of rigging it back there ie. on top of an ammo crate or whatever..??
Any help would certainly be appreciated. The last thing i need is an Afghanistan vet saying "nice jeep- but that's not how we did it.."

Gord

Here's a couple of pics of my project.
Any feedback good or bad would definately be appreciated so i can make changes if need be.

Thanks..

Gord

I cannot say anything re. authenticity of your conversion, but I must say I like very much what you have done. Yesterday's military history should not be forgotten either.

Hanno

Gord:

An observation (and I may very well be dead wrong!)...when the RAK (Radio Adapter Kit) was issued for an Iltis, wasn't the primary location for the antenna mount behind the spare wheel, and the secondary position (for dual mounted radios) on the left as is yours?

Also, do you have an RT 524A in the AN/VRC-46 set configuartion mounted?...or, SINGARS?

Thanks for the observation, Jon.. you could very well be correct with the placement of the AMU mount.
The array of photos that i've sifted through have shown pretty much every configuration possible, including even having the GPS antenna up on the RH rear mount.
As far as i can tell, the vehicles were configured and adjusted to suit the particular missions at hand and when it comes to AMU placement i'm guessing they worked with what they had.
Either way, it probably wouldn't hurt to get my hands on a RH mount just in case.
As far as the 524 goes, the vietnam-era Legacy equipment was replaced by the new(er) TICCS equipment well before our mission to Afghanistan and thus was not in use. Too bad, really, because it was robust stuff and everyone knew how to use it.
That being said, the AMU i have mounted is for a TICCS radio setup and that's about as far as i've gotten with comms. I'm still searching for an authentic TICCS doghouse to mount in the back as well as the cables for the headset connectors mounted under the pax side dash.

Again, thanks for noticing. Every little bit helps.

Gord

I don't remember seeing ISAF Iltis (Iltii?) painted in sand. I was under the impression that they retained their Cdn "Temperate Woodland" cam of green and black. Anyway, here is a shot from DND. Interesting how the outrider wears a black Balaclava. It makes one wonder if he is JTF2 or ...?

http://www.servicepub.com/images/isafiltis.jpg

To be honest, the only Iltis' i've seen with the ISAF stencil sprayed onto the fender have all been the green ones.
However, i have seen quite a few pics of the tan painted examples which is what originally gave me the idea for the colour change. It certainly stands out compared to the typical green.
I won't lie when i say that adding the ISAF markings was more for aesthetics sake and to avoid any confusion as to which theater of operations this vehicle is supposed to represent. To be honest, when most people (civvies) see a desert brown army vehicle, the first thing they think of is the very unpopular war going on in Iraq.
Example.. one fine day this past summer while i was en-route to an MVPA meeting, a group of young adults flipped me the bird and shouted out "F***ING BABY KILLERS!!!" The worst of it was that they actually seemed quite sincere with their distaste.
Quite disturbing to say the least.

Anyhow, here's a pic of some tan Iltis' on patrol somewhere in Afghanistan..

Interesting photo of the patrol. On the last two vehicles, (the only ones I can zoom in close enough to view any detail) they are the tailgated model of Iltis, and are using the tailgates in the folded down position as spare fuel and water can racks.

Now weren't those the days of innocence, when you could drive around Afghanistan in a soft skinned vehicle and still make it home?

The second-last Iltis appears to be a TOW vehicle painted in the desert tan as well. If you look closely you will notice the absence of the roll bar and you can also just barely make out the rear seats mounted at the rear facing each other.
One thing is for certain, they have all been loaded up like gypsy wagons with enough military kit, fuel, water, etc. to sustain them for ways if not weeks of operating in 'indian territory'.