Land-water tug
| Land-water tug | |
|---|---|
LWS in North Africa, 1942 |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | |
| length | 8.6 m |
| width | 3.16 m |
| height | 3.1 m |
| Dimensions | 13 t |
| agility | |
| drive |
|
| Top speed | 40 / 12.5 km / h (road / water) |
| Power / weight | |
The Land-Water-Tug (LWS) was a buoyant tracked vehicle of the Wehrmacht as a means of transport through rivers and for landing on coasts.
development
1936 commissioned Wehrmacht the company Rheinmetall to build a buoyant tractor. The first three land-water tugs were completed by 1939 and by July 1940 that number increased to seven. These vehicles were extensively tested by the Army Weapons Office . The land-water tugboat could carry about 20 soldiers or other similar loads and be used as a tractor in the water and on land. With an engine output of 300 hp, the LWS could reach 40 km / h on the road and 12.5 km / h in the water with its two propellers. Its length was 8.60 meters, the width 3.16 meters and the height 3.10 meters. The vehicle weighed 13 tons.
commitment
The land-water tugs were assigned to landing engineer battalions for their military use. For the Seelöwe company , the planned landing on the English mainland, all land-water tugs were relocated to the Channel coast in France . When the Seelöwe operation was not carried out after all, the LWS went to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa in 1941 and were used in the conquest of the Baltic Sea islands of Moon , Ösel and Dagö in September 1941. Their main area of operation remained the eastern front, but land-water tugs were also used in the Mediterranean region . In total only 21 land-water tugs were built.
Similar amphibious vehicle from other countries during World War II
The US Army set differently from the Army and other armies in World War II amphibious vehicles thousands Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT), also known as amphibious tractor , amphtrack , Amtrac or amtrak , one. These were partially armored and armed. The Japanese army used amphibious vehicles type 2 Ka-Mi and a few type 3 Ka-Chi and type 4 Ka-Tsu in large numbers .
literature
- Randolf Kugler: Chronicle of the landing pioneers 1939–1945 . Central Archive of the Pioneers, Munich 1971.
- Randolf Kugler: Landings in Germany since 1900 . Verlag Oberbaum, Berlin 1989. ISBN 3-926409-52-5 .
- Waldemar Trojca, Markus Jaugitz: LWS: Land-water tug. Model Hobby 2008. ISBN 978-83-60041-35-2 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Sawodny: German tank rarities 1935-1945. Waffen-Arsenal Volume 77, Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg-Dorheim 1982, ISBN 3-7909-0173-3 . Pages 37-39.