"When did "technicals" start being used in Africa?" Topic

Anyone have any knowledge or even a rough idea of when "technicals", i.e. weapons mounted in the beds of pickup trucks, started to be used regularly in African conflicts?

When ww2 started.

The British mounted several weapons in the "Tilly"

Looks like the British Tilly and the American Willy are based off the same type of platform---but the British were first to production in 1939---if my memory is correct

I don't recall any being mentioned during Mau Mau. My unit never used anything like them and we were not warned about them from the rebels. We were of course late in that action it was all but over when I was out there.

x42

I think World War 1, Model T ford tenders?
Also North africa between the wars.

I remember seeing them in news reports in the late 70's, early 80's in Chad.

As far as modern vehicles- The Congo Crisis 1960-65 saw foreign mercenaries using a variety of light vehicles and pick ups with dual .30 calibers, single .50 calibers, & recoilless rifles on improvised mountings. The Toyota Wars in Chad in the 1980s is probably the best example. Toyotas and varioous other light trucks like the French ACMAT sported Milan ATGMs, 106mm RR, and a variety of heavy machine guns…and they tore apart Libyan Armor in nighttime hit and run attacks. South Africa used a variety of aircraft weapons like 20mm cannons on mine resistant vehicles like the Buffel and Casspir in Namibia and Angola. And the list goes on and on…..

The term technical was used in Chad. During the invasion by Lybia in 1987,sometimes called the Toyota War

I believe the term "technical" started because a name was need for these guns trucks when hired by NGOs and similar. The invoice was for "technical" hire/assistance, hence the name technical.

martin

Martin is correct. Reporters had to put something on the expense report and "Technical Advisor" seemed to be acceptable to the auditors back home.

As usual you gentleman are regular walking encyclopedias of military knowledge. Thank you very much.

To add to JasonAfrika's list, the Rhodesians were pretty handy at converting things into gun mounted trucks, 'APCs' and the like.

Do chariots count?

I think the term "technical" implies at least to me, a civilian vehicle pressed into combat service, not a repurposed military vehicle.

The war between Libya and Chad was also known as the Toyota war.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_War

That's the first time I heard about a systemic use of civilian vehicles, specifically small pick-up trucks, pressed into a combat role.

Given the off-road capabilities and load-carrying capacity of the Toyota trucks of the time, they were BETTER than the Jeeps and most military trucks of the day!

As above, in modern usage, the Toyota War between Chad and Libya.