Borgward IV

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Borgward IV
Heavy explosive charge carrier Borgward IV Panzermuseum Munster.jpg

Template: Infobox AFV / maintenance / picture without description

General properties
crew 1 driver
length 3658 mm or 3962 mm
width 1829 mm
height 1397 mm
Dimensions 3600 kg or 4500 kg
Armor and armament
Armor Max. 20 mm
Main armament 363 kg, 450 kg or 500 kg explosive charge
Secondary armament no
agility
drive Borgward 6-cylinder in-line petrol engine with water cooling
51 kW, 57 kW or 60 kW
suspension Torsion bar suspension
Top speed 50 km / h (road)
Power / weight
Range 120 km

The Borgward IV (full name: Heavy load carrier Borgward B IV ; military name in the Wehrmacht : Sonderkraftfahrzeug 301 ( Sd.Kfz. 301 )) was a tracked vehicle of the Wehrmacht that could drop an explosive charge at a target by remote control. 1193 copies of the Borgward IV were made.

history

The Wehrmacht had three different load carriers: the light Goliath load carrier (Sd.Kfz. 302 / 303a / 303b) , the medium load carrier Springer (Sd.Kfz. 304) and the heavy load carrier Borgward IV (Sd.Kfz. 301) . The Borgward IV was the largest of these vehicles and was the only one able to set the explosive charge down before detonation and drive back out of the danger zone. The two smaller charge carriers were each destroyed when their explosive charge detonated.

Originally, the Borgward company developed the Borgward IV as an ammunition tractor. However, the vehicle turned out to be unsuitable for the role it was intended for. The alternative of a remote-controlled mine sweeper also proved to be unsustainable for the vehicle, as it was lost in most cases. It was just too expensive for that. The Army Weapons Office therefore decided in 1941 to convert the Borgward IV into a remote-controlled load carrier. In 1942 the first vehicles were handed over to the Heereswaffenamt. The vehicle itself was significantly larger than the Goliath and could also carry a significantly larger explosive charge. The vehicle was guided to the destination by radio command. There the explosive charge was dropped and the vehicle was withdrawn from the danger area by radio. In contrast to the Goliath, which was controlled by radio from the start, the Borgward IV had to be driven to the destination by a driver for a relatively long time. If the driver got close enough to the destination, he dismounted and continued the vehicle by radio. This put the driver in enormous danger. The Borgward IV was armored, but from 1942/43 its armor thickness was no longer sufficient. In addition, it was much larger than the Goliath and was therefore recognized and fought more quickly. Three versions were produced and designated as versions A, B and C. 613 of the former were built, 565 of the other two. The versions differed essentially in the range of the transmitter / receiver system and changes to the armor. The counterpart Goliath was manufactured in more than 6200 pieces of all variants.

technology

Heavily weathered in-line six-cylinder engine of a Borgward IV

The Borgward IV is a chain-driven and armored vehicle. It is approximately 3658 mm (U.S. report) or 3962 mm (Bradford) long, 1829 mm wide and 1397 mm high. On the front it is armored with 10 mm thick armor plates, on the sides with a total of 13 mm thick plates. At the strongest point, the armor is up to 20 mm thick. According to Bradford and the US report, the weight of the Borgward IV is approx. 3600 kg, in the HGM Vienna the weight is given as 4500 kg. In contrast, Tarczyński speaks of 5000 kg. Fritz Trenkle writes that there were different versions with masses from 4000 kg to 6000 kg. The vehicle has a welded armored hull that is divided into three segments. The engine, including the vehicle hydraulics and radio equipment, is installed in the rear area. The transmission is installed in one of the front segments, and the driver's seat is in the third segment. The vehicle is powered by a water-cooled inline six-cylinder petrol engine with 3745 cm³ displacement and OHV valve control , which, according to the US report, develops an output of 80 hp (60 kW); Tarczyński states an output of 57 kW. The torque is transmitted from the engine via a wet clutch to the transmission, which has a long gear ratio and a creeper gear. You can drive forwards and backwards in both gears. The torque is transmitted from the gearbox to the front drive wheels via four spur gears. The vehicle has torsion bars. The caterpillars run on five wheels on each side and are guided in the middle. The treads are removable and made of rubber, the width is approx. 200 mm. This means that the Borgward IV can travel at around 50 km / h. The explosive charge is attached to the front of the vehicle and can be lowered and set down. There are different statements about the explosive charge, in the HGM the mass is given as 500 kg Ekrasit , the US report speaks of 800 lb (363 kg), George Bradford and Fritz Trenkle give 500 kg like the HGM. Other sources cite 450 kg. The radio remote control works with a heterodyne receiver with amplitude modulation and a frequency of 24.6 MHz. The intermediate frequency is 0.464 MHz.

Finds

Borgward IV in the Army History Museum Vienna

On March 31, 2010, during demolition and earthworks at the Vienna Südbahnhof , a well-preserved Borgward IV version C was found alongside other war relics from the Battle of Vienna . It was salvaged by experts from the Military History Museum in Vienna , cleaned and preserved there and is now shown in the museum's permanent exhibition.

Museum reception

Heavy load carriers of the type Borgward IV are exhibited in the following museums :

See also

literature

  • Thomas Ilming: The “miracle weapon” under the Südbahnhof: Borgward B IV c , in: Viribus Unitis , Annual Report 2010 of the Army History Museum. Vienna 2011, pp. 150–156, ISBN 978-3-902551-19-1
  • Alexander Lüdeke , weapons technology in the Second World War. Infantry weapons, unarmored vehicles, armored vehicles, artillery, special weapons, aircraft, ships. Parragon Books, Bath 2007, ISBN 978-1-4054-8584-5 .
  • Markus Jaugitz: The German remote control group . Part 1: 1940-1943. Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim-Berstadt 1994, ISBN 3-7909-0502-X , ( Waffen-Arsenal Special 10).
  • Markus Jaugitz: The German remote control group . Part 2: 1943-1945. Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim-Berstadt 1995, ISBN 3-7909-0529-1 , ( Waffen-Arsenal Special 12).
RADIO CONTROLLED DEMOLITION VEHICLE - B IV

Web links

Commons : Borgward IV  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Fritz Trenkle : The German radio control process until 1945 . Careful. 1987, p. 154
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j RADIO CONTROLLED DEMOLITION VEHICLE - B IV
  3. ↑ a b c George Bradford: German Late War Armored Fight Vehicles . Stackpole Books. 2006. ISBN 978-0-8117-3355-7 . P. 28
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Description of the vehicle in the Army History Museum (small sign, to be seen in the picture on the right)
  5. ↑ a b c Jan Tarczyński: Pojazdy Armii Krajowej w Powstaniu Warszawskim: szkic historyczny . Wydawn. Komunikacji i Łączności, 1994. ISBN 9788320611212 . P. 27
  6. ↑ Uwe Feist, Robert Johnson, Kurt Rieger: Die Wehrmacht , Volume 2, Volume 2. Battle Born Books. 2008. ISBN 978-0-615-22233-2 . P. 173
  7. ^ Army History Museum / Military History Institute (ed.): The Army History Museum in the Vienna Arsenal . Verlag Militaria , Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-69-6 , p. 148
  8. ↑ Kampfzone Südbahnhof ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Wiener Zeitung.at, March 31, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wienerzeitung.at
  9. ↑ Picture of the exhibited vehicle on dmmb.info, accessed on February 12, 2014