Croisière des Sables Expeditions

The Croisiere des Sables Expeditions were held in 1977 as an attempt to pass through the entirety of the Sahara desert.

[1] The project’s initiator, Christian Galissian drew inspiration from earlier Citroën expeditions, specifically the Crosière Noire in 1924 and the Croisière Jaume in 1932.

[3] The organisers had to choose a route to pass through, as there was no transversal track to cross North Africa from west to east.

One of the SM8 4x4s transported 200l drums, each truck carriers four to six wet nurses, a barrel of water, food, and sand removal plates to be fixed onto the exterior of the bodywork.

[1][4] The convoy left at Nouakchott on 4 January to begin the journey located in Gao, and finally ended in April, Kharga, Egypt.

The TP3 trucks faced many mechanical issues, including a two-week stop in Agadez (Niger), while waiting for spare parts from France.

[5][4][3] In 1977, the Croisière des Sables fuelled public interest in cross the African deserts.

Previous expeditions such Croisière noire Citroën and Mission Berliet au Ténéré have also adopted heavy goods vehicles.