IFA H3A

IFA
H3A with Horch emblem
H3A
Manufacturer:	VEB Horch motor vehicle and engine works Zwickau
Production period:	1950-1958
Previous model:	IFA H3
Successor:	IFA S4000
Technical specifications
Designs:	Flatbed trucks , three-way tippers , articulated lorries , tractor units , suitcases , omnibuses, etc. a.
Engines:	Diesel engine : 6.0 liters (59 kW)
Payload:	3.5 t

The IFA H3A was a light truck that was built from 1951 to 1958 by VEB Horch motor vehicle and engine works in Zwickau . The three-and-a-half-ton truck was located in the then GDR vehicle construction above the Granit 27 phenomenon and below the IFA H6 .

history

In March 1948 the development of the H3A began in Zwickau. Series production began in 1950, but the first vehicles still bore the Horch emblem. The H3A was the first truck developed in the GDR . The main distinguishing feature compared to the predecessor H3 was the typical long-hooded cabin , which was found in a similar form in the larger H6. In 1957, the H3S was a further development with a modified transmission and the resulting increased top speed of 74 km / h, although only a few examples were built. In 1958, the production of the visually similar successor model IFA S4000 began , whose payload increased to 4 tons and the 30 centimeter longer wheelbase were among the biggest changes. Over 30,000 vehicles of the H3A were produced by 1958. The main export countries were the People's Republic of China and Bulgaria .

technology

Deutsche Post H3A panel van

H3A from 1951 with Horch and IFA emblems

The H3A had two axles and was rear-wheel driven via a cardan shaft. The only weak point was the triple-bearing crankshaft with four screwed-on counterweights. From 1956 a crankshaft with five bearings was used. The IFA unit pump served as an injection pump. The truck was a so-called long - nosed truck with a "nose". For export, the H3S was built in parallel from 1956. These special designs had H6 / G5 gearboxes, air brakes and a longer wheelbase.

• Motor: 4-cylinder - diesel engine with 80 horsepower and 6024 cc
• Cooling: water
• Gearbox: 5-speed change gearbox with dog clutch
• Permissible payload: 3.5 t
• Maximum speed on the road: approx. 70 km / h
• Designs / superstructures: Tipper , suitcase , flatbed with tarpaulin, various fire engines and others

Use and areas of use

H3A as a semitrailer

The truck was mainly intended for civilian use. However, it was also used by the People's Police and the barracked People's Police , later by the NVA . Due to its diverse variants, including as a flatbed truck, three-way tipper, furniture box truck, road tractor or semitrailer, the H3A was an undisputed technological advance in the former GDR. For example, the H3A tank truck was manufactured as a solo machine and as a tractor-trailer vehicle. For the Red Cross special bodies were made for patient transport, and for the post as a panel van and the fire brigades with several bodybuilders to Löschgruppenfahrzeug , pumper , hose reels and equipment trolley .

In the late autumn of 1956 a test drive was carried out through Tibet with H3S vehicles converted to anthracite gas in order to test the suitability for export to China. It was found that the vehicles are not suitable for the temperatures of less than −20 ° C occurring there. A diesel H3S that was carried along had to be started regularly at night to prevent it from cooling too much. Apart from that, however, the vehicles performed well and demonstrated their robustness. A little later, China was one of the largest buyers of the vehicles.

Superstructures in detail

H3A as a fire engine

→ Main article : "LF 15" in the article Fire trucks in the GDR

Listen Z3

Z3, here with IFA and Sachsenring emblems

Based on the H3A, the Z3 tractor with a short wheelbase of 2500 millimeters was created in 1952. The vehicle was only built in small numbers until 1958. With the 80 hp Horch EM 4-20 engine, however, the vehicle was underpowered.

Listen H3B

Coach H3B

The front handlebar H3B (for Horch, 3 t payload, bus ) was based on assemblies of the H3A, which were installed on a low-frame chassis for buses. In the period from 1952 to 1958, in addition to a few hundred buses, there were also some box trucks that were often used as furniture transporters.

literature

• Christian Suhr: GDR trucks 1945–1990. Motorbuchverlag, 2005, ISBN 3-613-02535-3 .
• Christian Suhr: Truck from Ludwigsfelde. Verlag Kraftakt, 2015, ISBN 978-3-938426-18-0 .
• From the Horch diesel truck H3A. In: New motor vehicle trade journal. Berlin, issue 18/1950.
• Horch H3A - the new three-ton diesel truck from IFA. In: Automotive Technology . 1/1951, pp. 5-7.
• A new special vehicle - the "H3A" crane truck. In: Automotive Technology. 8/1953, pp. 251f.
• The Horch H3A as a special vehicle and tractor. In: Automotive Technology. 4/1954, p. 110f.
• The S 4000-1 and its models. Erz-Art agency, Aue 2017, ISBN 978-3-9815130-6-6 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nice vices. ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 354 ​​kB). Edition 1/06, p. 2.
2. ^ Peter Kirchberg: Plastics, sheet metal and planned economy. Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung, 2000, p. 92.
3. ↑ KFT . 3/1957, pp. 98-102.

Web links

Commons : IFA H3A  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website for the S4000-1 truck and its predecessor models
• Photographs:
  • H3A as a tower car with a Krause superstructure on the Eberswalde trolleybus for the repair of overhead lines
  • H3AB (H3A Bus) in a version as a front control