Trailer connectors in military organizations

A number of standards specific to military organizations exist for trailer connectors, the electrical connectors between vehicles and the trailers they tow that provide a means of control for the trailers. These can be found on surplus equipment sold for civilian use.

NATO uses a 12-pin connector according to STANAG 4007. However, note that there are often deviations from the standard depending on which country it is applied, which means that the table below may not be accurate.

Only specially designed lamps according to STANAG 4381 is allowed, but shall only be activated if terminal C is active.

The following supplementary information exists for the connector:

Some documentation indicates that the terminal A, C and H must be interconnected, this will conflict with the definition of Blackout and Convoy modes according to STANAG 4007 when these pins have different purposes. To clarify:

This is physically the same connector as the NATO connector, but with completely different wiring. This means that if you aren't careful and mix this up with the STANAG 4007 wiring you run the risk short circuits and blown fuses.

The following supplementary information exists for the connector:

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