IFA H6B

IFA
H6B / L
H6B
Manufacturer	VEB motor vehicle plant "Ernst Grube" Werdau
design type	City bus , intercity bus , coach , luxury bus and furniture transport truck
Production period	1952-1959
axes	2
engine	Six-cylinder diesel engine
power	88.26 kW / 120 PS
length	11.00 m
Perm. total weight	6000 kg
Previous model	LOWA W-500
successor	AZ 57B (no longer built) Ikarus series 2xx Fleischer S2, S5 Fleischer S3 (rear engine)

The IFA H6B was a bus built in the GDR based on the IFA H6 truck .

history

Development of the H6 truck began at Vomag as early as the Second World War , and the bus was already in the planning stage. After the Vomag was completely dismantled and smashed by the Soviet occupying forces shortly after the Second World War , development at the former Auto Union continued at Horch . The H6B was produced from 1952 to 1959 in the VEB motor vehicle factory "Ernst Grube" Werdau (until 1945 Schumann-Werke Werdau ), which was part of the Vehicle Construction Association (IFA) .

The bus was initially given the type designation W 501 in the VEB motor vehicle plant “Ernst Grube”, with the “W” standing for Werdau . Later it was named H6B based on the H6 truck on which it is based: Horch, 6 ton payload, bus.

The H6B was characterized by its particularly high reliability and shaped the streetscape of the GDR until it was gradually replaced by the Hungarian Ikarus buses into the 1970s. After their active use in regular service, a number of vehicles were passed on to private bus companies or agricultural production cooperatives, where they even saw the end of the GDR.

technology

The H6B has two axles and is rear-wheel-driven via a cardan shaft. In contrast to the H6 truck, the H6B bus is designed as a front control arm.

• Engine: six-cylinder diesel engine with 120 hp
• Gearbox: five-speed change gearbox with dog clutch
• Permissible payload: 6 t
• Maximum speed on the road: 80 km / h
• Versions / superstructures: city ​​bus , intercity bus , coach , luxury bus and furniture transport truck (as a custom-made truck H6 with forward control)

commitment

H6B / S

H6B / L

H6B / L with passenger trailer W701

The H6B was produced in different versions:

• H6B / S: City bus - pneumatically operated doors (front sliding door , rear folding door )
• H6B / L: City bus ( intercity bus ) - hinged doors at the front and rear
• H6B / R: Coach - like H6B / L, but with coach interior
• H6B / K: Luxury bus (also known as conference bus ) - Luxury version of the H6B / R with on-board kitchen, roof edge glazing and toilet.

The city bus H6B / S as well as the intercity bus H6B / L were often used together with the type W701 passenger trailer . The trailer was also produced in the VEB motor vehicle factory "Ernst Grube" Werdau .

From 1959, 50 H6B / R coaches were converted for city tours and excursions for the Berliner Verkehrsgesellschaft (BVG). The technical data:

• Rear engine
• Slam doors with security locks
• Entrances with handles, running boards with non-skid surface
• Panoramic windows in the front and rear
• Full- view glazing of the rounded roof including the front and rear roof domes
• Side and top ventilation as sliding windows
• three large opening ventilation flaps
• Sun protection curtains
• 40 passenger seats (with 100 mm luffing of the seats in the center aisle) with headrest, armrest - on the back handrails, ashtrays and foldable shelf
• rotating seat for travel companions
• Tray for hand luggage on the central roof
• Lamps and loudspeakers on the central roof
• Outside speakers
• Engine-independent fresh air oil heating ("Sirokko" heater), warm air distribution via heating duct in the center aisle
• Lateral luggage compartments with a volume of 2.5 m³
• Compressed air braking system
• Compressed air wipers
• Spare wheel (120 kg) in the space in front of the front axles, storage on a profile frame that can be moved with rollers

Further development

The successors to the H6B - the AZ57B and a bus with a concept that was new at the time ( rear engine ) - were developed in 1959, but were no longer built. In 1959/60 the Soviet occupying power had already stopped the production of the AZ57 truck because it wanted to stop the production of heavy trucks and thus also large buses in the GDR. In addition, the production of buses was assigned to other socialist countries, such as Hungary , within the framework of the division of labor within the Comecon .

Fritz Fleischer KG from Gera bought large numbers of already produced assemblies and engines for their S2 and S5 buses .

Furthermore, assemblies and construction documents for other buses were handed over to the IKARUS body and vehicle works .

Existing copies

Various associations and bus companies receive H6B / L vehicles in the entire area of ​​the former GDR, such as the Halle Tram Museum or the Rostocker Straßenbahn AG Depot12 . The only known specimen in the H6B / S version exists in Dresden. It is looked after by the historical motor vehicles of the Dresdner Nahverkehr eV .

literature

• Omnibus H6B. In: Automotive Technology . 7/1958, pp. 264-266.

Web links

Commons : IFA H6B  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• H6Bus.de - website about IFA H6B
• Various H6B
• Photographs:
  • Historic bus of the Dresden transport company
  • Rear view of an H6B / L

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The traffic practitioner . Journal for theory and practice of motor traffic and urban local traffic, Verlag Die Wirtschaft Berlin, 4/1959.
2. ↑ IFA Horch H6B / S , Historic Motor Vehicles of Dresden Local Transport eV