4x4s.org NAMED MODEL
NAMED MODELMilitary · South AfricaSouth AfricaGermany

Kwêvoël 20

The SAMIL 20 cargo truck with the Kwêvoël armoured, mine-protected cab in place of the soft-top cab and the standard cargo body behind it.

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Sources & evidence
BASE VEHICLESAMIL 20 (1978–98)BUILT BYTruckmakers, Rosslyn, Pretoria, Magirus-Deutz, UlmOPERATED INSouth Africa, NamibiaPRODUCTIONNot publishedLAYOUT4 wheels · 114″

The record

The mine-protected cab was fitted to the SAMIL 20 cargo truck and to some of its other versions. Kwêvoël, the Afrikaans name of the grey go-away-bird, was the name the SADF gave the protected cabs across the SAMIL range; the Ystervark anti-aircraft gun was built on the same armoured SAMIL 20 base.

Research status: draft — identification, dates or figures could not all be pinned down; the summary says what is unresolved.

Specification

MANUFACTURERTruckmakers, Rosslyn, Pretoria ↗, Magirus-Deutz, Ulm ↗
under licence from Magirus-Deutz
MANUFACTUREDNot published
ENGINEDeutz F6L 913 air-cooled inline-six diesel (Mk I)Deutz F6L 913
PRODUCTION RUNNot published
COUNTRY OF ORIGINSouth Africa
OPERATED INSouth Africa, Namibia
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINE20
FAMILY20
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE114″
BODY STYLEcargo
CATEGORYMilitary · South Africa

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

Factory colours

  • Dark Earth

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1SAMIL 20 ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE
  2. 2SAMIL 20 – Light utility truck ↗Military-Today.com (archived 2007) · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE
  3. 3SAMIL Trucks ↗WarHistory.org · accessed 2026-09-24SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-24 · status: draft