Pimp my ride.....Iraq contractor style
 

Where's the sunroof? Found this while looking for manuals!

-S


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All of those are a mainstay in Iraq anymore, only problem is all that protection is pretty much rendered ineffective when the gunners are standing up like that, IED's packed with ball bearings punch through it like nobodys business as well. That 1025 on the far right of the first picture also illustrates the problem with just adding armor, the suspensions aren't made for all that extra weight and the vehicle loses alot of its performance characteristics.

Seems a little top-heavy.

Looks like these mods are more for intimidation than protection of the crew - not seeing much there to protect against IEDs and such, and they look more likely to roll over than do anything useful (though the .50 cals are pretty).

If you'll look at the pic before the last, you'll see that the convoy also contains armored Humvees, including one with what looks like a heavier duty armored turret and gun on it.

I assume these convertables are more for zipping around and going off road should the convoy come under attack.

Think of different escort types when accompanying a convoy across the N. Atlantic. :hmm:

Depressing picturess. I hope they shoot only flowers and my little ponies out of the barrels of the guns.

Hah! THey are ridding the world of bad guys. Whats so bad about that?

That 1114 with the turret and .50 cal on it is standard now. That turret is nothing but about a half inch of steel and aluminum thats sits on a gear system to crank around. It works great for 7.62 rounds and average size shrapnel. When you start getting into shaped charges and the like which is pretty common now days there it really is for peace of mind. My unit in particular stopped using them and went exclusively to Bradleys.

I wonder if they've revived the M series gun trucks, or ever will. That would be an intresting throwback.

They were total "home made" jobs, ( http://www.guntrucks.com/SlideShow/ ) but it would probably work if constructed to meet todays requirements. A duece and a half or a 5 ton can support alot of weight, you have alot of room to work with, so you could armor the piss out of them. Espeically the floors.

It might look like a redneck job, and in all reality it *IS* a redneck job, but I imagine that's what works. You need mobility and you need it cheap, because when the fighting starts up, your equipment is expendible.

Incidently, there's probably not a lot of "off road" capability with those trucks because the frame simply cannot handle the load (that has to be 500kg of steel for those turrets), not to even account for center of gravity and dynamic forces (recoil from rounds both fired and received). I would imagine those are foam-filled tires, but they might very well not be. If you lose a tire on one of those trucks at any kind of speed, especially in a fire fight, it may very well roll if the tire completely shreds.


Pretty interesting and something I haven't seen/heard. 5 stars.


edit-- Also, I'd just like to add: Anyone that runs is a jihadist. Anyone that stands still is a well-disciplined jihadist.

I don't know what's more evil, the contractors or the insurgents. I wonder how many of us would put up with being shot at by Iraqi civilians on a daily basis...because that's basically what they are. I don't make any excuses for the insurgents, but the contractors are responsible for converting their fair share of "civilised" citizens into extremists. Anyone see that vid of the insurgents shooting up civilian vehicles with Elvis playing in the background? :damn:

The tires are nothing but regular steel belted goodyear off road tires filled with air. All that homemade armor really does throw off the center of gravity, we rolled a couple of them partly because of that. The weight pushed down so far there was barely any suspension travel. The actual weapon firing or rounds impacting do very little on the "heavy duty" suspensions that are on those stock armored 1114s. The 1025's are the ones to worry about. Accleration is also killed with all that extra weight. When you lose a tire in combat though, mos6t of the time the vehicle is stationary, the few times it happens when your moving the vehicle handles surprisingly well. Need to use more aluminum and space out the layers of armor some to help take the blast.

They are a crazy bunch - those contractors - Go here - http://www.militaryvideos.net/ - and click on the Blackwater in Najef video's and you will get an idea of their mentallity.

-S

I've seen just about every video these contractors sent out. Including the one where they have their arse handed to them...and one of 'em dies. "Camel...camel...". Anyone see that one?

I don't like them...they are mercs and the result of greedy US policy and Rumsfeld.

Oh yeah...and that link you posted: militaryvideos.net. I was a member on that forum/website 3 times. I was banned once and left twice. This is throughout the years. The last time I was banned cos I called one of the mods (who is a contractor) a merc. I'm not the only one. A lot of mods there are contractors...and all twerps.

"contractor". lol i love euphisms. What was the acronym.. PMC? Private Military Contractor? Or some such bull. They really are mercenaries. Ok.. let me rewind a little.

Are they soldiering? They carrying a weapon? In combat? Not currently in the armed forces? Being paid to be there? Thats a merc. Not that i think anything positive or negative about it. I personnaly attach no stigma to the word mercenary at all, either good or bad. Well i take that back, i think you'd have to be crazy to be a merc.