Well, Frenchy !
You have made a great find about GAZ jeeps in Afghanistan !!!

And You, Mauro - nice video find !
Here are mostly shown the factory trials of GAZ-69/69A/69M jeeps - from the first time up to mass production, and the using of military vehicles. It is fragment from Russian serial film about Russian military vehicles.
The "aviation and aerodrome topic" is interesting shown - GAZ-69s, leaving the big transport helicopters Yak-24 Horse, GAZ-69 as "rocket transport" near MiG-21 Fishbed jet fighter, and personnel car, that delivered the pilots to Tu-128 Fiddler bomber (on emergency alarm).

Some nostalgic video... In the childhood and in a youth I saw GAZ-69s almost every day - mostly civilian, but sometimes some of them were with military registration numbers. Once - being the child of age 6 or 7 - I sat in GAZ-69 (I remember now - it was GAZ-69A version) and tried to turn a wheel... It took place in a fire brigade building, where my grandfather worked as the driver of a fire-engine vehicle.

At present days GAZ-69s in our country became quite rare. But sometimes we can see these "honourable veterans" (private owned, using for the economic purposes by their owners) moving on roads and streets, and reminding of their former glory. Most part of private GAZ-69 jeeps is used in countryside.
Also many of them are in private collections; some of them are modified, re-designed and re-worked into "hot rods", "supercars", "bigfoots" and other "crazy cars" by enthusiasts of such sort of vehicles.

Also Gundam-Mecha wrote: "As well as helicopters do you know if the car was ever used as a staff/supply car for SU-17 jets?"

During SU-17's era the staff cars were well-known UAZ-469 jeeps, of course. Other supply and maintenance vehicles were more serious and bigger, than GAZ-69 jeep - for example, different purpose vehicles, based on chassis of ZiL-130, GAZ-66, ZiL-131 and "Ural" trucks. See image - air compressor on ZiL-131 truck chassis supplies the Su-17 aircraft by compressed air:



Regards,
Ed.

Thanks Ed, I was also thinking of smaller scales for aviation jet topics. Sadly for me in 1/48 scale its impossible to find such trucks as URAL and Zil.

All i have available is GAZ69M and in the future Kraz 255 from miniman factory (probably distant future).

I think I will have to use GAZ69 for a diorama in 1/48 (I have the Tonka resin kit at home). Maybe I have to use some artistic licence but I don't think there is any 1/48 UAZ-469?

Thanks for your explanations Ed

The strangest think is that in the Eighties (wen i was younger) in Milan, my city. was very fashionable.... be a Gaz 69 owner
I don't know, but probably that's the reason why...i love that car

Cheers and thanks a lot again

Awesome!

Yes Jon, it was incredible.

In the eightes the eastern black was still alive, so buy a Gaz 69 wasn't simple.
For example it was very difficult obtaining spare parts.
Few car dealers sold the gaz 69 and it cost a fortune, because actually they sold you TWO CARS, one for your use and one for spare components...

cheers

Wow I can imagine!



Still its a great jeep!

I grew up in China; as I recall, the GAZ-69 were very popular in China, serving as the standard vehicle for regiment commanders and civilian county governors.

They were popular through at least mid-eighties, as I remember. Then they were gradually phased out and replaced by Beijing 212 (kitted by Trumpeter in 1/35).

I took my first driving lesson in a GAZ-69.

It would be interesting doing a dio like this

Is the gaz 69 in Gorky factory...


anyway

here:

http://www.gazklub.cz/diskuze/viewtopic.php?t=3156

you can find references of gaz 69 versions

A few more pics on ML :

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/thread/1295264071/GAZ+69+%28Bronco+1-35+kit%29+in+action-..photos-

Frenchy

Interesting Pics frenchy

Anyway, it's slightly off topic, but here you are some gaz-uaz 69 walkarounds

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=1497

http://dishmodels.ru/wshow.htm?p=762 (Radio Station P-125MP-2 on the chassis of the UAZ-1969)

http://walkarounds.airforce.ru/auto/rus/uaz-69/index.htm

cheers

Okay I know that Eduard has manage to find a picture of the Gaz-69 in Afghanistan in civilian colors, would it have been possible for the Mujahideen to press one of these little trucks into their service as some sort of technical with maybe a DSHK mounted on the back? I’ve seen plenty of photos of Spetsnaz using Toyota in this manner and there are photos of the toilet band doing the exact same thing after the war. Not to mention the numerous equipment capture by the Muj and turning it against the Russians. I was working out an idea of using Bronco’s new Gaz painted in civy colors with Zvezda DSHK gun set in the back bed being recaptured by Russian troops. Just like in this photo only without the soft top.

I saw this jeep, Lucky Models has it, and I do want to get one, but there's no way I'm doing a plain boring green Soviet one. I want some more interesting markings and multicolored camo schemes if I'm going to build it. Maybe someone will produce some nice references and decals for GAZ-69s. I also hope Bronco does a series of different GAZ-69 variants for us. I thought the airfield truck, the one with rockets in the back, and the snowplow were all pretty cool.
I love those mojahideen riders on top, with all their different clothing, gear and weapons; what I wouldn't give to have some figures like that.

Here is some pretty cool pics I found while researching the Gaz.

The first one is a radio truck, can't tell for sure but looks like it might be East German from looking at the uniform the guy is wearing.



Here is one that the caption says it is from Afghanistan, possibly an Afghan army truck captured by the Russians



Here are two heavly armed Gaz, one is Polish with a DSHK in the back



The other is unknown as to it origins, but mounts a recoiless rifle



But here is a rather funny and interesting place to park a Gaz, no clue about this since the site is all in German

Hi christopher. Likely is a Syrian "anti tank gaz 69" knocked out and captured by Israeli army.

Thanks for the pics

cheers

That last one would make a great dio for rob fereira

...i wonder....

who has hung a gaz 69 on a pole?

how does he/she hang it?...

but firstable....


WHY?....




(maybe it's a rare Gaz 69 "Lap dance version" )

I have no clue either why someone would do that, maybe it was a prank. I can see a bunch of colledge kids pulling a joke, but this thing has been hanging around for awhile. If any body can read german, the site link is on the picture.

Christopher Ager wrote:



No, Christopher, it is no Afghanistan photo - the vehicle have very modern tyres pattern for "Soviets in Afghanistan" period. This image looks like photo of some wargamers or military vehicles collectors during their reenactments or reconstructions. And those people have the uniform of non-Soviet pattern.

About photo of GAZ-69 with DShK machine gun - I have read, that this "version" was used during military parades only (white "rings" on it's wheels says, that car was prepared for parade). The using of DShK in GAZ-69 is too difficult, because of narrowness in a car body (due to DShK lagre size).

As for versions - there were "ocean" of them:
1) Fireguard vehicle, based on Romanian-made GAZ-69 (as ARO M473):


2) Car with loudspeaker for psycho-war and for propaganda purposes among enemies:


3) Road mine detector:


4) Car of postal and communication service - GAZ-19 version with hard top (was not produced in series). Note - this type has 4x2 drive !


5) "Shmel'" - GAZ-69 with anti-tank guided missiles:


6) Police car - Soviet:


6a) Police car - Polish:


7) Radio car:


8) The vehicle for the transport of wounded:


9) Civilian car with hand-made hard top:

Many private owners did their own variants of hard tops, in different shapes and constructions - so, total amount of those improvements are unknown...

10) Hard top car from Yugoslavian feature film:


11) Truck version ! (non-serial):


12) Dump car:


13) Snow-and-swamp vehicle:


14) Half-tracked car !


15) Car for snow-and-ice driving:


16) Sweeper car:


17) Another type of snow-and swamp vehicle:


18) Another fireguard car:


19) Sport rally car:


20) North Korean version - Kaensaeng 68NA (here as light truck):


21) Romanian technical maintenance car:


22) GAZ-69 of airborne troops (on platform for dropping with parachutes from transport aircraft):


23) GAZ-69 with trailer:


24) Also the crane version of GAZ-69 was designed.

Here so. Most of these versions are experimental, but some is serial.

Enjoy !

Ed Craft.

P.S. Some fun - GAZ-69 in "Letters from Iwo Jima" movie as Japanese car ( ! ):

Get finds Eduard, I had my doubts about the afghan version, but just posted what was written on the other website I found the picture on. The Dshk does look to be rather large to mount in the truck, but I still can see a captured gaz mounting something like it or possible a PKM or RPD.

I'm sorry if this is something some of you have already seen, but I found a review of Bronco's 1/35 GAZ-69, which I thought was interesting, even though an inconveniently placed sponsors' ad covers part of it.

http://www.modelarmour.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1408:bronco-soviet-gaz-69m-4x4-utility-truck&catid=37:kits&Itemid=60

Thanks a lot jphillips

I saved in my hd and I read it

As I though the only minor issue of the kit, are the windshield wipers moulded in one piece with the screen. Apart this the model is a gem

In your link it can find the istruction sheets. That's useful because someone could lost them

Cheers and thanks again

I have picture of this vehicle in French magazine 'Militaria' from November '85. It is an illustration for an article about Golan Heights. And it is not so rusty.. :>

I saw many GAZ-69's in Afghanistan. In fact, one place I went had an enterprising Afghan who made a buisness of converting them into jingle trucks. They were all colors, some still Soviet green, but most were blue or red or yellow. Some were converted into taxis. No idea how they got there, but they were there. That said, we also came across a few 90's Nissan's that still had Texas license plates and US university window stickers on them. You can find anything in Afghanistan. I just searched through all my pictures and found nothing, I guess I never bothered to take a picture of them.