Jeeps in the Congo,
1960-1964

What happened in the Congo over the next few years was far too complex and brutal to be fully described here, but I have tried to summarize the events in which these Jeeps were involved, and I have included footnotes to other sites on the web with more information on the Congo Crisis.

ONUC Peacekeeping Mission

This 1961 photograph by Howard Sochurek from the LIFE Magazine Photo Archive at LIFE.com shows a Jeep and 106mm recoilles rifle manned by United Nations peacekeeping troops in the Congo, part of "Operation des Nations Unies au Congo," or ONUC. Thanks to Federico Cavedo for finding this picture in the archive, as well as one showing the troops mounted on the Jeeps (110K JPEG). Note the spare tire moved forward to keep it clear of the breech of the 106, and for some reason only the rear half of the Jeep painted UN white.

Unfortunately the notes in the LIFE archive don't indicate the country of origin of the soldiers and vehicles in these photos. Thirty different countries contributed personnel to the operation, and in 1961 ONUC troop strength had reached its maximum of nearly 20,000. UN fatalities between 1960-64 included 245 military personnel and 5 international civilian staff.⁽²⁾

The UN's own records of United Nations Operations in the Congo state: "Originally mandated to provide the Congolese Government with the military and technical assistance it required following the collapse of many essential services and the military intervention by Belgian troops, ONUC became embroiled by the force of circumstances in a chaotic internal situation of extreme complexity and had to assume certain responsibilities which went beyond normal peacekeeping duties."⁽²⁾

These controversial actions included offensive operations in 1961-62 against the breakaway province of Katanga, whose forces were supplemented with white mercenaries and Belgian officers.
  Apparently one of the same 106mm Willys CJ-3B's, carrying white paint only on the rear bodywork and front bumper, was still in the Congo when this UN photo was taken on 3 January 1963. According to UN archives, "Indian troops are seen manoeuvring an armed vehicle in an area between Elisabethville and Jadotville." ⁽³⁾

Thanks to the UN for this great picture; see the large copy (360K JPEG). Part of the Jeep's problem seems to be some major damage to the left front tire.
 

Countries contributing personnel to ONUC included Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Ceylon, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Liberia, Malaya, Federation of Mali, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Sweden, Tunisia, United Arab Republic and Yugoslavia.

Contingents had begun to arrive in the Congo within 48 hours of a Security Council resolution on 14 July 1960 authorizing military assistance and calling on Belgium to withdraw its troops.⁽²⁾ This UN photo of three soldiers in Leopoldville was taken on 12 August 1960.⁽³⁾ The M-38A1 in the background, possibly Canadian, appears to be freshly painted UN white.
 

One of the countries contributing to ONUC brought this M-38, seen in a UN photo on the Katanga highway, with an Ethiopian soldier standing guard, on 1 August 1960⁽³⁾. The Jeep has had "ONU" stencilled on its bumper, but has not been repainted in white.

The instructions of the Security Council were strengthened early in 1961 after the killing in Katanga of Congo's former Prime Minster Patrice Lumumba. ONUC was to protect the Congo from outside interference, particularly by evacuating foreign mercenaries and advisers. In late 1961, and again in 1962, the Katangan "Gendarmerie" (paramilitary police) and foreign mercenaries clashed with ONUC.⁽²⁾
 

The world's attention was riveted on the Congo in 1961 by the death of UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld in a mysterious air crash, while on his way to assist in peace negotiations. (The crash was later linked inconclusively to the American CIA and British MI5.)

Congo at Peace (Briefly)

Katanga's Belgian officers were removed in 1962 under international pressure, and the Swedish ONUC contingent brought in Saab J-29 fighter jets (left) which gave them air control. UN forces were then able to take control of Katanga, and disband the mercenaries. UN records state, "In February 1963, after Katanga had been reintegrated into the national territory of the Congo, a phasing out of the Force was begun."⁽²⁾

This photo of a UN J-29 was taken by an Danish UN soldier, and is courtesy of Alf Blume and the Danish UN Museum. The white Jeeps in the background appear to be a CJ-5 and CJ-6, used by the Swedish contingent as staff cars (60K JPEG).⁽⁴⁾

Another photo scanned by Alf Blume shows both white and olive drab Jeeps on the airstrip as a USAF C-124 Globemaster (30K JPEG) unloads equipment for Ghurka troops from India. (See also the Air Combat Information Group's study of Air Combat in the Congo, Part 1: 1960-1963.)
 

Which Side Are You On?

There had been CJ-3B's on the ground in the Congo prior to the arrival of the UN force.

This news photo scanned by John Carroll is captioned, "Willys Jeep with LMG of the 2nd Recce Squadron of the Force Publique -- peace keeping operation during Leopoldville riot in January 1959. Belga Press Agency." It shows a CJ-3B with the windshield removed to allow equipment packs on the cowl and a mounting bracket for something behind the front fender.

The Force Publique was the Belgian colonial paramilitary police, and the riots in Leopoldville were one factor which led to the Belgian government granting independence for the Congo in June 1960.⁽⁵⁾
 

A picture found in Historic Military Vehicles Directory by the late Bart Vanderveen, shows a CJ-3B with whitewalls leading a parade of troops in International Harvester 4x4 trucks, reportedly the Congolese Army in 1960.

Similar Jeeps are seen from the rear pulling anti-aircraft guns (90K JPEG) in another photo apparently taken at the same parade on the Congo's Independence Day in 1960.⁽⁴⁾
 

 

Two more 1961 photos by Howard Sochurek from LIFE.com show four armored Jeeps (110K JPEG) which appear to be CJ-5's. Possibly they are examples of the M606A2, a militarized version of the CJ-5 exported by Kaiser.

Descriptions found by Federico Cavedo in the LIFE Archive led me initially to think these were UN troops, but the uniforms, and the lack of any visible UN markings on the Jeeps (right) suggest these are actually Katangans and mercenaries, with Belgian officers. The flag on the lead vehicle is certainly not the UN flag, and in fact looks like a variation of the Katangan flag.

A photo from an unknown source which may also be from Sochurek's series for LIFE, shows what is clearly a Katangan troop column (130K JPEG) including a similar armored Jeep, with recoilless rifle, and a CJ-5 and CJ-6 in the background.⁽⁴⁾
 

The Mercenaries

Ironically, "Mad Mike" Hoare and many of the same mercenaries who had been fighting against the Congolese Army and ONUC, were back in business by late 1963 as "5 Commando" on behalf of the Republic of Congo and with the support of the CIA, trying to put down the communist-backed Simba rebels, or "People's Liberation Army."⁽⁷⁾ It's possible the above photo dates from these later operations.

This photo (right) reportedly shows a Jeep used by Mike Hoare's 5 Commando in 1965. The CJ-3B has an armored grille and windshield, and the front bumper appears to be stencilled with "14 Commando."

The photo comes from the Overvalwagen Forum's discussion of Armor in Congo-Katanga.
 

The dramatic commando raid "Operation Red Dragon" again grabbed world attention on 24 November 1964. Hundreds of Belgian paratroopers flew from Europe in USAF Hercules transports, to seize Stanleyville airport and rescue European and American hostages from the desperate Simba rebels. Scores of hostages were killed, but some 1600 were rescued.

Jeeps were involved in that operation (left), as a column of mercenaries and Congolese troops survived several ambushes (70K JPEG) and rushed into the city to support the paratroopers. Mike Hoare (80K JPEG) supervised the rescue of some of the hostages.⁽⁷⁾ These dramatic images by Priya Ramrakha are from the LIFE Magazine Photo Archive.
 

Mike Hoare was not the only legendary foreign commander to fight in the Congo. The arrival of Che Guevara with 73 men in early 1965 was an attempt to help the Soviet-backed rebels against the American-backed Congolese Army, but Che and the Simbas were driven from the country by the end of the year.⁽⁸⁾
 

Irish Cavalry

Neither was Mike Hoare the only Irishman fighting in the Congo. One of the major participants in the ONUC peacekeeping operation was Ireland. According to Ireland's History with the UN, "On the 28th July 1960 Lt-Col. Murt Buckley led the men of the 32nd Irish Battalion out to the Congo. Twenty-six men died in the Congo, 9 died in one action, the Niemba ambush."

The 1st Armoured Car Squadron, established in 1922, supplied armored vehicles for the peacekeeping mission. It's not clear whether they took this CJ-3B which is now in the collection of the re-organized 1 Armoured Cavalry Squadron, but the Jeep and I think all of the vehicles in the background of this photo would be of the correct vintage: a Unimog, a Ferret, and (on the left in the large version of the photo, 100K JPEG) a Ford Mk VI armored car.

The photo was taken by Matt McNamara for his Curragh Information Website, during 2002 anniversary celebrations for the Armoured Car Corps.
 

UN Photo archives include the following description of this photo: "Armored vehicles of the Irish 38th Battalion are seen on the roadway between Elisabethville and Kipushi, 3 January 1963."⁽³⁾

A Jeep in the background appears to be an olive drab CJ-5, but it's not clear whether the Jeep is attached to the Irish unit.
 

The More Things Change...

When we think about the years 1960-64, it's hard not to think first about Elvis, John F. Kennedy, the Beatles -- people and events that seem far removed from the politics and terror of the Congo.

But here's an image that reminds us that the young soldiers who are sent off to fight, are young people just like the ones who wait at home. This UN photo is captioned "Two soldiers of the Irish Army prior to their departure with their battalion for the Congo, 1 July 1960."⁽³⁾

The loss of 245 UN military personnel including 26 Irish soldiers, between 1960 and 1964, was the price paid to save countless thousands of civilians from certain death in a brutal civil war. ONUC's interventions, although controversial at the time, were successful in stabilizing the region. And certainly more successful in protecting civilians than some more recent UN peacekeeping operations where the peacekeepers' hands have been tied by more restrictive ground rules.⁽⁹⁾
 

UN peacekeepers were called back to the Congo in 2001, and were further reinforced in 2009. In this UN photo by Marie Frechon, "A member of the Indian battalion of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) patrols the newly installed operating base at North Kivu, 23 April 2009."⁽³⁾

At least one contingent in the current UN force still has Jeeps on the ground, as evidenced by the Mahindra in the background here.
 

Footnotes:

1. United Nations from the History Learning Site
2. United Nations Operations in the Congo from the UN
3. UN Photo from UN Multimedia
4. Armor in Congo-Katanga from the Overvalwagen Forum
5. The Belgian Congo, a colony unprepared from African History to 1875
6. La jeep en 300 histoires et 150 photos, by Jacques Borgé and Nicolas Viasnoff (Balland, 1974)
7. Congo 1964-65 from US Foreign Policy in Perspective
8. The Congo, Cannibals And Wild Geese from the Civilization Fanatics' World History Forum
9. Mediation or Intervention? The UN Operation in the Congo 1960-64 from the Canadian Forces

Thanks to Federico J. Cavedo, John Carroll, Alf Blume and Roberto Flores. Also UN Photo and LIFE.com. -- Derek Redmond.

See also History in the Making: High Hood Jeeps at War and UN Jeeps in Lebanon, Christmas 1980 on The CJ3B Page.

Return to the Index of Unusual CJ-3B Photos.

Also on The CJ3B Page, see CJ-3B and M606 Military Jeeps.

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