Trucking milestones: 1974 – a mammoth journey for the LP 1319

Series: Trucking milestones

Freight for Baghdad.

In 1974 three convoys comprising twenty-one LP 1319 truck transporters travel into Iraq. On-board: 500 Mercedes‑Benz passenger cars.

A huge adventure. In convoy from Sindelfingen to Baghdad.
A huge adventure. In convoy from Sindelfingen to Baghdad.

The wind in your neck, eyes firmly on the road and the star in front of you on the bonnet ... a dream for many car fans. Then and now. In Europe and beyond. And in 1974 in Iraq too.

An order form from Baghdad lists 500 Mercedes‑Benz passenger cars. And who would be more suited for the delivery than our own brand?

So at the beginning of the 70s, three convoys comprising twenty-one LP 1319 truck transporters set off from the Daimler-Benz plant in Sindelfingen in the direction of the Euphrates and Tigris. On-board each one: eight passenger cars. 5000 kilometres lie ahead of the mammoth convoy.


Stars for Baghdad: 500 brand new Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
Stars for Baghdad: 500 brand new Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

Heat, dusty roads, potholes.

While the first part of the journey goes off smoothly, the tour through Turkey proves to be a challenging test of endurance for the drivers. Heat, dusty roads, potholes, endless expanses without any possibility to stop for refreshments … yet the robust vehicles bring their load safely to their destination – both the passenger cars and the drivers.

The convoy takes only ten days from Sindelfingen to Baghdad with nothing out of the ordinary to report. You can rely on the star. Then and today. In Europe and beyond.

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