Mercedes-Benz O 305

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daimler Benz
Mercedes-Benz O 305 Heppenheim 100 1915.JPG
Mercedes-Benz O 305
Manufacturer Daimler Benz
design type City bus
Production period 1969-1987
axes 2
engine OM 360 (1969–1973)
OM 407 h (1973–1987)
power 125 to 141 kW (OM 360)
132 to 177 kW (OM 407)
length until 1972: 11.3 m,
until 1973: 11.0 m,
from 1974: 11.11 m
width 2.5 m
height 2.95 m
Floor height 725 mm
Seats 37-44
Standing room 61-65
Empty weight 8200-9000 kg
Previous model O 317 , cit 302
successor O 405
Similar models Büssing BS 110 V , Magirus-Deutz SH 110 , MAN 750 HO-SL , Ikarus 190 , Gräf / Steyr LU 200 M11

The Mercedes-Benz O 305 was one of the first-generation standard bus lines developed by Daimler-Benz in accordance with the VÖV guidelines . The prototype was presented in 1967, and series production began in 1969 at the Daimler-Benz plant in Mannheim . Similar vehicles were also offered by Büssing , Magirus-Deutz , MAN and Ikarus . Daimler-Benz produced around 16,000 units of the O 305, 4743 of which were delivered as a non-body chassis and some of them were finally assembled by external companies until 1987. To the MB O series 305 is also the first presented in 1977 articulated pusher O 305 G counted.

The O 305 as a solo bus

Mercedes-Benz O 305 of the VGF with the rounded StÜLB front

The O was presented for the first time 305 at the IAA 1967, series production started in 1969. The bus is designed as a city bus with 41 seats and 61 standing places. The drive power was supposed to be around 200 hp (147 kW), and Daimler-Benz ultimately built the OM diesel engine 360 with an output of 141 kW (192 PS) or throttled 125 kW (170 PS). The power is obtained from the engine either via a synchronized four-speed gearbox or the three-speed automatic transmission W3D 080 transferred to the rear axle. The rigid axles are air-sprung. In addition to the standard model, a 11.3 m long overland variant with a longer rear overhang and a higher number of seats was produced from 1969 to 1972 by the Stülb -Pflichtenheft following O 307 was replaced.

The O's first facelift also took place in 1972 305 (u. a. front and rear roof edges, smooth side paneling). From model year 1974 the diesel engine OM 407 h with greater power (154 kW / 210 PS, throttled 132 kW / 180 PS) installed, which was now delivered with so-called "noise encapsulation" soundproofed. The same engine was later offered with modified performance data of 147/177 kW (200/240 hp). This made the bus longer (11,110 mm). In addition, the drive axle with outer planetary drive developed together with MAN was now used as the rear axle, which at higher speeds led to a distinctive singing noise that could be heard from a distance in quiet surroundings.

With the introduction of the O 307, the front face with the larger, laterally drawn windshields was also available for the O 305 offered. This variant was 15 centimeters longer than the one with the city bus front, whereby the body in its remaining dimensions and the equipment features such as the usual double-wide city bus interior pivoting doors or passenger seats reflect the O 305 corresponded.

At the beginning of the 1980s, the manufacturers of standard city buses had their vehicle models undergone minor modernizations. The most noticeable change was the use of rectangular multi-chamber taillights at the rear. The driver's seat has been modernized, and driver's cabs with a small cabin door were available on request. The standardized VÖV dashboard was modernized, the handbrake valve was relocated to the outside, the control lamps were grouped together and now shown in pictographs. For better sound absorption in the interior, instead of sheet metal planking, a perforated ceiling with wooden cladding was offered. Otherwise the O stayed 305 until the end of production without major changes.

Some older O 305 were used after 1989 when they came to the GDR or the new federal states, some of them as gifts. So came z. B. Car from Wiesbaden ( ESWE ) to Görlitz or from Heilbronn 1991 to Frankfurt (Oder). Meanwhile, the O 305 largely disappeared from German roads and were replaced by low-floor buses . Finally some O 305 at private companies e.g. B. used for school traffic. Many of these buses, which were last seen as robust and reliable, could be sold to Eastern Europe and drove there e.g. T. for a long time. In some transport companies such as VGF , ESWE or VHH , O 305 kept as historical buses.

The O 305 with a third-party body

One and a half decker based on an O 305

Mercedes-Benz offered the floor pan of the O 305 also for bodywork companies, who then built their own bodies on the chassis. The Fellbach-based company Walter Vetter Karosserie- und Fahrzeugbau GmbH in particular produced large numbers of city and regional buses for the domestic market. Articulated buses , one - and -a-half-decker and even double-decker buses were sometimes created with the Mercedes drive components .

Articulated pusher bus O 305 G with Heuliez body

The French company Heuliez Bus sold self-bodyed regular-service buses on the MB-O-305 chassis as the O.305 Heuliez with the 6-cylinder OM type diesel engine for the local market 407 h from Daimler-Benz. The buses were built according to the VÖV guidelines, also with the VÖV dashboard, but with a different rear and their own interior. This bus was also available with three doors, with the additional door located directly behind the front axle. Later, Heuliez also built articulated pusher bus chassis from Daimler-Benz.

The articulated bus variant O 305 G (from 1977)

MB-O-305-G articulated pusher bus from
ÜSTRA in Hanover

Articulated buses based on the MB O 305 were initially only produced by other manufacturers, in particular by Walter Vetter body and vehicle construction . After the development of a steering angle-dependent articulation angle control of the joint by the Hamburger Fahrzeugwerkstätten Falkenried (FFG) in the mid-1970s, it was possible to build an articulated pusher bus with a rear engine and drive axle in the rear part of the vehicle. After extensive tests with a prototype, FFG turned two standard O-305 buses into the first pure Mercedes-Benz O in 1977 305 G-articulated bus manufactured. An O was shortened by the last part 305 as the front part with the rear part of an almost standard O 305 connected as the second part of the car. This O 305 G prototype was first presented in January 1977 at Hamburger Hochbahn . After taking over the patents for the articulation angle control, Daimler-Benz was able to offer complete articulated buses for the first time. So far, these have only been offered by bodywork companies with bodies on chassis with a motor at the front or underfloor between the axles . Series production of the O 305 G began in 1978.

Trolleybuses based on the O 305 (1978 to 1983)

Initially, the O 305 offered by the manufacturer as a diesel bus only. That is why a trolleybus based on an O 305 was built in 1978 for the Kaiserslautern trolleybus operation in the Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern's own workshops . This was given the number 135 and the new type designation O 305 T, where T stood for trolleybus . The donor vehicle was the diesel bus with road number 65, which was acquired in 1970.

In the following year, Daimler-Benz finally got into trolleybus production itself and from 1979 also built trolleybuses ex works, including some duo buses and track-guided cars . However, there was never a series production, only prototypes and small series were created. These included a total of five solo cars, ten articulated cars and one double articulated car:

O 305 with hybrid drive

In addition to the 17 trolleybuses based on the O 305 / O 305 G was also the version O from 1979 to 1981 305 OE with hybrid drive .

O 305 with methanol drive

Daimler-Benz equipped the O city bus 305 on a trial basis with the OM alcohol gas engine 407 hGO, in which part of the heat lost from the engine was used via the cooling water circuit to evaporate the liquid fuel methanol (at 65 ° C). This type of drive was tested by the BVG .

O 305 track bus in Adelaide

O 305 for left-hand traffic

Type O buses 305 were used in numerous European and non-European countries, some of them manufactured under license . Therefore there was also a need for a version for left-hand traffic . The O 305 drove in Hong Kong , South Africa , Singapore and in particular in various cities in Australia , there even as a track bus in Adelaide . Sydney procured more than 1,300 copies of the O 305. Air conditioning systems were also installed for use in countries with hot climates , which was still the great exception in Germany at that time.

See also

literature

  • Wolfgang H. Gebhardt: German omnibuses since 1895 . Pp. 161-163, 188-192, 232-233 and 548-555, Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-613-01555-2 .

Web links

Commons : Mercedes-Benz O 305  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d e f O 305 and O 307 start a new era in bus construction
  2. a b Technical data OM 407
  3. “Whispering” Mercedes-Benz city bus goes into series production . In: Der Stadtverkehr , volume 3/1973, p. 87, Verlag Werner Stock, Brackwede 1973
  4. http://www.obus-es.de/th_305.htm
  5. Methanol drive with energy recovery · From the development work of Daimler-Benz AG . Publication of Daimler-Benz AG WAM 670.51 007 of March 1981