Army field car
The horse-drawn field vehicles of the German Army since the late 1920s, army vehicles called (Hf.), Were transport and supply vehicles of the former German Reichswehr and Wehrmacht who do not exclusively with only one branch of service , eg. B. the infantry (infantry vehicles , if.), The artillery (artillery vehicles , Af.), The fog troops (fog vehicles, Nbf.), The pioneer troops (pioneer vehicles , Pf.), The intelligence force (intelligence vehicles , Nf.), The medical force ( Medical vehicles , Sf.) And the administration troops (Administration vehicles, Vf.) Were used. The horse-drawn field kitchens were also part of the army vehicles.
General
In the Second World War , but even more so in the First World War , field wagons formed the core of the army's fleet of mostly horse-drawn troops . They allowed the marching troops to load machine guns , grenade launchers , infantry ammunition and hand grenades , tools, bulwarks, engineering supplies, luggage, food, supplies and equipment that did not necessarily have to be carried by hand.
Army vehicles were u. a. into the ropes in the infantry and artillery , as equipment carts in the pioneering and - Medical Corps and trucks at the driving columns of replenishment force used.
Based on the experiences of the winter of 1941/42, the vehicles could be made manoeuvrable in snow from 1942 with winter runners.
Light field wagon, Army Vehicle 1 (Hf.1)
Originally developed in 1895 as a light provisions wagon n / K (new design) and later field wagon c / 95 and then from the end of the 1920s, light field wagon , Army Vehicle 1 (Hf.1) , it was driven by two horses with light draft horses. It was made of wood. The distinctive feature was the division into a large rear car body with straight walls and a smaller front car body with sloping walls, which allowed the front wheels to steer more easily.
At the beginning of the Second World War , a light field car belonged to each infantry rifle platoon as a large battle car (Hf.1 / 11) , i.e. three in the rifle company. Equipment, machine guns with accessories and ammunition, other ammunition for hand weapons, hand grenades, etc., of the rifle platoon were loaded on it. Two machine gun handcarts for MG 08 with slide (If.1) or tripod (If.2) were also attached to it. Some of the light field wagons Hf.1 were replaced by steel field wagons Hf.7 before the war began . After the introduction of a one-horse "double cart" , consisting of two infantry carts , infantry vehicle 8 (If.8) per rifle platoon , the large combat vehicles were assigned to the combat group and the number of large combat vehicles in the rifle company was reduced to two. At the end of the war, a one-horse double cart and a two-horse combat vehicle Hf.1 / 11 (or a corresponding panjewar as a replacement) belonged to every rifle platoon, to every cyclist's train a two-horse double wagon and a four-horse combat vehicle No. 1/11 .
Explanations of the Hf.1
- Hf.1 Combat, ammunition, entrenchment, equipment, storage, catering, medical equipment, veterinary supply, veterinary equipment wagons, wagons for receiving bread and feed and for transporting accommodation equipment
- Hf.1 / 1 sprung communication equipment, pioneer equipment, surveying equipment and medical equipment trolleys
- Hf.1 / 2 spring-loaded portable searchlight trolley (light / medium)
- Hf.1 / 3 spring loaded portable searchlight trolley (heavy)
- Hf.1 / 4 observation vehicle (B.Ger.Wg.)
- Hf.1 / 11 large battle vehicle (large, possibly wagon)
- 1/12 pioneer vehicle
- Hf.1 / 13 Large Fahnenschmiedwagen (large Fsm.Wg.)
- Hf.1 / 14 baggage car with field blacksmith (P.WG.m.Fsm), weapon master's car (Wffm.Wg.)
- Hf.1 / 15 baggage car for the medical company
- Hf.1 / 16 bakery equipment trolley (Bä.Ger.Wg.)
- 1/18 troop ambulance cars
Technical data of the Hf.1
Details for the spring-loaded variant in brackets.
- Empty weight: 610 kg (640 kg)
- Load capacity: 750 kg / 1.3 m³
- Length (without drawbar): 3.86 m
- Length (with drawbar): 6.32 m
- Width: 1.85 m
- Width (vehicle body): 1.02 m
- Height (side wall): 1.52 m (1.56 m)
- Height (tarpaulin / bow): 2.12 m (2.16 m)
- Ground clearance: 0.6 m (approx. 0.4 m)
- Ground clearance to the car body: 0.81 m (0.85 m)
- Track width: 1.53 m
- Wheelbase: 2.00 m
- Wheel diameter: 1.224 m (light field wagon wheel)
- Wheel tire width: 5.5 cm (iron)
- Wheel tire thickness: 1.1 cm
- Suspension: without (longitudinal leaf suspension, front a transverse spring)
equipment
The army field car carried a spare wheel on the cover plate of the loading area. There were also holders for spades, hoes and claw axes that were lashed with leather straps. The vehicle had four bows that could be covered with a tarpaulin. The box box provided storage space for the driver's personal equipment. A standard lantern with an accessory box was housed in the interior.
Exhibitions
An Army Vehicle 1 (Hf.1) is on display in the Museum for Working with Draft Horses in Lütau .
Heavy field wagon, Army Vehicle 2 (Hf.2)
In addition to the Hf.1, the four-in-hand heavy army field wagon (Hf.2) was used for heavier loads, which with an empty weight of 800 kg could transport a payload of 1200 kg with a transport volume of 2 m³.
Technical data of the Hf.2
- Empty weight: 800 kg
- Load capacity: 1200 kg / 2 m³
- Length (without drawbar): 4.25 m
- Track width: 1.53 m
- Wheel diameter: 1.224 m (light field wagon wheel)
- Wheel tire width: 7 cm
Small Army Field Car, Army Vehicle 3 (Hf.3)
The Small Army Field Car (Hf.3) was introduced in 1916 as Small Provision Car 16 (sprung and unsprung) and was later taken over by the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht .
Technical data of the Hf.3
- Empty weight: 462 kg
- Load capacity: 610 kg / 0.75 m³
- Length (without drawbar): 3.25 m
- Track width: 1.125 m
- Wheel diameter: 1.11 m
- Wheel tire width: 5.5 cm
Mountain cart, Army vehicle 4 (Hf.4)
Little information and pictures are available about this vehicle pulled by a horse or pack animal. The French infantry cart Voiturette d'infanterie Mle is often wrongly shown in pictures . 1937 designated as Hf.4.
Technical data of the Hf.4
- Construction time: 1937
- Material: sheet steel
- Empty weight: 130 kg
- Payload: 100 kg
- Width: 1100 mm
- Length: 1400 mm
- Height: 1400 mm
- Ground clearance: 600 mm
Replacement field vehicle 40/43 (Ef.40 / 43) and field vehicle 43, Army vehicle 6 (Hf.6)
The Ersatzfeldwagen 40 (Ef. 40) introduced during the course of the war , followed in 1943 by the Ersatzfeldwagen 43 (Ef. 43) , later renamed Feldwagen 43 (Hf.6) , was much simpler and easy to manufacture in bulk than the one that was also driven in four horses heavy army field wagons (Hf.2) .
Stahlfeldwagen, Army Vehicle 7 (Hf.7)
Already at the beginning of the war in 1939 , the army vehicles were replaced by the steel field wagon (Hf.7) made entirely of sheet steel, with rubber and pneumatic tires, mostly driven by two but also four in hand, which clearly proved itself on roads and paved paths and also with a special steel fork Motor vehicles could be attached.
The Hf.7 proved to be due to its high weight, especially when driving with two horses, but not suitable for the poor road conditions on the Eastern Front . The troops therefore reintroduced the Hf.1, which had already been decommissioned , in addition to the lighter panjewagons customary in Russia ( copied as Pleskau I and Pleskau II types ) and the sled vehicles customary in the winter.
Technical data of the Hf.7
- Empty weight: 1040 kg
- Load capacity: 1500 kg
- Length (without drawbar): 4.103 m
- Width: 1.81 m
- Height: 2.1 m
- Track width: 1.58 m
- Wheel diameter: 0.835 m
Large field kitchen, Army vehicle 11 (Hf.11) or Army vehicle 13 (Hf.13)
The large field kitchen consisted of a rear car made of sheet metal, which contained the cooking equipment, and a front car made of wood (Hf.11) or steel (Hf.13), in which food supplies and food carriers were transported. Before the beginning of the war it was driven with two heavy draft horses and later with two light and two heavy draft horses in four horses.
Small field kitchen, Army vehicle 12 (Hf.12) or Army vehicle 14 (Hf.14)
Just like the large field kitchen , the small field kitchen also consisted of a rear section made of sheet metal, which contained the cooking equipment, and a front section made of wood (Hf.12) or steel (Hf.14). She was driven in two horses. Wheels and other parts corresponded to the small army field car .
swell
literature
- Wolfgang Fleischer: German infantry carts, army field wagons and army sleds 1900–1945. Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-7909-0538-0 . (Weapons Arsenal Volume 153)
- Wolfgang Fleischer: Drawn vehicles of the German army. Motorbuch Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03290-3 .
- H.Dv. 476/1 - General army equipment, vehicles, from May 22, 1936, ISBN 978-3743139824
Web links
- Hf.1 at www.ifem.at [5] viewed on March 24, 2012
- Hf.1 at www.kfzderwehrmacht.de [6] viewed on March 24, 2012
- Hf. 4 at www.panzerarmee.com [7] accessed on September 28, 2012
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fleischer: Drawn Vehicles of the German Army , p. 12f
- ↑ according to www.zugpferdemuseum.de [1] ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. viewed on March 24, 2012, 2,750,000 horses were used by the Wehrmacht during the war
- ↑ cf. [2] March 24, 2012
- ↑ cf. [3] March 24, 2012
- ↑ cf. [4] March 24, 2012
