laststandonzombieisland

A Swedish-manned and produced m42 KP armored vehicle in UN service during the Congo Crisis, 1960s.

Note the Carl Gustav m/45 “K-gun” submachine gun in the hands of the Swedish commo guy.

The other submachine gun– seen in the hands of what is likely a Congolese army soldier (ANC) blessed into UN operations, although it should be pointed out that peacekeepers from his Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia also participated in the operation– is a rarely encountered Belgian-made Vigneron.

Formed in 1960, the Opération des Nations Unis au Congo (ONUC) became the largest, most complex, and most expensive UN peacekeeping mission during the Cold War. Between 1960 and 1964, nine different battalions of Swedes served in the Congo, with 19 soldiers of the Three Crowns losing their lives there.

As for the armor, the WWII-era Scania/Volvo Terrängbil m/42 KP used a gasoline engine and had up to 20mm of armor, though this was as low as 4mm in some places– able to be penetrated by most small arms rounds more powerful than a pistol. They could accommodate as many as a dozen men in the open hull while the exposed turret mounted a twin Kulspruta m/36 (KSP m/1936) water-cooled machine gun.

The Swedes sent 15 KPs to the Congo and the vehicles saw lots of heavy use.

They also repurposed local armor as well. I give you “Bibi-Belle”