LK I
| Light combat vehicle LK I | |
|---|---|
Prototype LK I |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 3 |
| length | 5.08 m |
| width | 1.95 m |
| height | 2.52 m |
| Dimensions | 6.89 tons |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | 8-14 mm armored steel |
| Main armament | 1 × 7.92 mm machine gun |
| agility | |
| drive | 1 × 4-cylinder gasoline engine Daimler 45 kW (60 PS) |
| Top speed | 14 km / h (road) |
| Power / weight | |
LK I (Leichter Kampfwagen I) was a light German tank from the First World War .
history
Since the limits of practicality had already been reached with the A7V in terms of size, weight and performance, and a significant increase in production was not to be expected, a light tank that could be produced in large numbers was to be created. The basis for this vehicle was to serve as "petrol and tire eater" cars that had been idle since the beginning of the war. Based on the model of the British Whippet , Joseph Vollmer designed the LK I, which was built on the civilian chassis of a car from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft . As a result, the engine was housed in the front of the vehicle, while the three crew members had space behind it. The armor thickness was between 8 and 14 mm, the armament consisted of a 7.92 mm machine gun, which was housed in a turret at the rear of the vehicle.
At the beginning of 1918 the prototype was demonstrated in (Berlin-) Marienfelde, where it performed well. However, since he appeared too weak, he was rejected by the War Department. Joseph Vollmer then made some changes and developed the LK II from it , which was then intended for series production. Due to the end of the war, this no longer took place.
literature
- Werner Oswald : Motor vehicles and tanks of the Reichswehr, Wehrmacht and Bundeswehr. Stuttgart 1990. ISBN 3-87943-850-1 .
- Gisela Zincke: Joseph Vollmer - designer and pioneer. Gaggenau 2001.