Pickup Trucks of War

What do you get when you combine civilian-owned trucks, Soviet weaponry and a serious desire for rebellion? The weapons of the Arab Spring. These pedestrian pickups have been taken and modified by their owners to act as the engines of war, fighting the Libyan government in battlefields ranging from the open terrain of the North African nation to the crowded cities of Tawargha, Tripoli, Benghazi, etc.

Muhammad and his unknown companions (in the previous photo) cruise around in a 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser (Japan-spec). It is coupled with a Soviet Zu-23-2 23mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. They are also carrying an automatic FN FAL Rifle from Belgium. In Walid and his unknown partner in the gas mask are patrolling the desert sands in Walid's Tayo Grand Hiland (PRC). Walid is holding a FN FAL rifle and his truck is equipped with a Soviet DSHKM anti-aircraft gun.

Do Abdul and Walid are seen here in their Dodge Ram 3500 Heavy Duty (USA). Packing some serious firepower, this is a pair many would loathe to mess with. The truck carries a LSD-1 anti-aircraft machine gun on the base of the Soviet Vladimirov heavy machine gun and a 32-round block of UB-32 which launches S-5 unguided rockets, also from the USSR. Abdul is holding an AKMS automatic rifle and Walid is posing with his baby, the also Soviet RPG07. Talk about strange bedfellows, when is the last time you saw an American pickup pack this much Soviet firepower?

I Hammad and Safa, like In Walid, are utilizing the Tayo Grand Hiland from China and are also using a LSD-1 anti-aircraft machine gun on the base of a Vladimirov heavy machine gun. In Salah and Abdul are a mean looking bunch. These guys are running in a 1960 Toyota Land Cruiser (Japan) and are also running a LSD-1 machine gun on a Vladimirov base. Abdul is holding a Soviet Degtyarev machine gun that is usually handed out to infantry soldiers.

In Hammad wears a backwards cap and drives a Mitsubishi L200 4work (Japan). His truck also has a LSD-1 machine gun on a Vladimirov base. His blast shield is from the UK and was used back in 1914. Moammar Gadhafi's boys didn't know what they were up against until it was too late, and these vehicles helped the rebels handle the business against the late dictator's loyalists. Photos courtesy of James Mollison.