The five-ton 4×4 of the range: a strengthened South African version of the Magirus-Deutz 192 D 12 AL, 7.82 m long on a 4,900 mm wheelbase and 12,400 kg gross, with bench seats for up to 40 troops. The Mk I had the air-cooled Deutz F6L 413F V6 of 9,572 cc and 141 kW; the Mk II an enlarged bonnet over the ADE 409N.
MODEL LINE50BUILT BYTruckmakers, Rosslyn, Pretoria, Magirus-Deutz, UlmPRODUCED1979–98OPERATED INSouth Africa, NamibiaPRODUCTIONNot published for this model aloneLAYOUT4 wheels · 193″
The record
The SAMIL 50 looks like the Magirus-Deutz it came from, but it was modified locally to be stronger and to take South African components, and every version could be fitted with an armoured, mine-protected cab. In the operational area it usually towed a twin-axle trailer of up to 6,000 kg.
The Army began the Border War with Bedford three-tonners, Mercedes-Benz five-ton gun tractors and ten-ton Magirus-Deutz trucks; by its end the SAMIL 50 and SAMIL 100 had replaced them all. Versions included recovery trucks, fuel and water tankers, a refrigerated pantry, workshops, battery chargers, field kitchens and offices, showers, container carriers and the Kwêvoël 50; an armoured ambulance was built for a time and dropped. The Mk II added a strengthened front axle and more local content, and the SAKOM 50, a 4×2 with a SAMIL 20 cab, served on second-line duties.
PRODUCTION RUNNot published for this model alone; the SAMIL fleet peaked at about 12,000 two-, five- and ten-ton trucks
COUNTRY OF ORIGINSouth Africa
OPERATED INSouth Africa, Namibia
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDBase model
MODEL LINE50
FAMILY50
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE193″
BODY STYLECargo and troop carrier
VARIANTS2
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.
Body styles & colours
Body style
Factory colours
Dark Earth
Light Stone
Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.
.jpg){kind=link}