DR saloon car 10206
| DR Salon 4ü-37 | |
|---|---|
| Numbering: | 10206 |
| Number: | 1 |
| Manufacturer: | Brothers Credé wagon factory |
| Year of construction (s): | 1937 |
| Retirement: | 1945 (destroyed) |
| Axis formula : | 2 × bogies |
| Genre : | Salon 4ü-37 |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over buffers: | 23,500 mm |
| Trunnion Distance: | 16,180 mm |
| Bogie axle base: | 3600 mm |
| Service mass: | 63.5 t |
| Top speed: | 140 km / h |
| Seats: | 1 saloon, 5 compartments |
The saloon car 10206 (Salon 4ü-37a 10206 Bln) of the Deutsche Reichsbahn was the third saloon car that Adolf Hitler used as Reich Chancellor and the second that was built for him during his four-year term in office. It was reserved for personal use only.
history
The saloon car was built in 1937. In his function as the “driver's car”, he replaced the saloon car 10203 Bln from 1935, which in turn served as a reserve vehicle for the new 10206. The new car was located in the Yorckstrasse depot at the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin. He was only on the move with the “ Führerzug ”. In contrast to other saloon cars, hardly anything was changed on the car. Only the hot water supply was rebuilt in 1942.
When it became clear on May 7, 1945 that a " ceasefire " had been agreed from May 9, 1945 (in fact, this was an unconditional surrender ), the remainder of the "Führerzug" with the saloon car 10206 was in Mallnitz station (today: Mallnitz-Obervellach ) on the Tauernbahn , in front of the south portal of the Tauern tunnel . An order from the adjudicator of the Berghof was carried out here to prevent the saloon car from becoming an allied booty . The fear was that the car would become the opponent's trophy as loot - analogous to the way the Germans deal with the Car from Compiègne . That is why Hitler's saloon car should be destroyed, "souvenirs" were not allowed to be removed beforehand. The car was shunted from the train on May 7, 1945 at around 3 p.m. and driven by a locomotive to the destroyed viaduct over the Dösenbach , south of Mallnitz station. There, members of the Wehrmacht distributed explosives in the vehicle and poured out several canisters of gasoline. Hand grenades were thrown into the vehicle through the open windows , the entire structure of which was destroyed by the explosions and the ensuing fire. Long beams and bogies of the car were tipped over the destroyed viaduct into the valley.
description
The saloon car 10206 was a skirted car , based on the style of the most modern express train carriages of the Deutsche Reichsbahn for international traffic at the end of the 1930s .
The entrance area at one end of the car was designed as a small salon, followed by the large saloon along three window axes. It was furnished with a long table and six armchairs. A record player and radio were built in. Both rooms took up the entire width of the car. This was followed by a side aisle that stretched the rest of the length of the vehicle and ended in the entry area at the other end of the car. The compartments were arranged along the side corridor:
- The main compartment was furnished with a sofa bed, a round side table and two armchairs. The compartment had loudspeakers and from here the turntable and radio of the salon could also be operated. The main compartment had a passage to it
- an adjoining large wet room with toilet, washbasin and bathtub. The bathtub, sink and floor were made of brown, grained marble , and the fittings were probably gilded.
- This was mirrored by another wet room, but without a bathtub
- belonged to a large and second compartment corresponding to the first compartment.
- These two apartments were followed by two further sleeping compartments for two guests each, with the technical equipment of the sleeping cars of the time, albeit more elaborately designed. They could be connected by partially folding away the partition.
- A companion compartment with a lounger followed.
- Finally, there is a toilet that was accessible from the second entry room.
literature
- Walter Haberling: Reichsbahn saloon car. Types and uses during the Reichsbahn and Bundesbahn times . Freiburg 2010. ISBN 978-3-88255-679-7
Remarks
- ↑ However, the Allies had no such intentions: The “Führerwagen” 10203 Bln from 1935 escaped its intended destruction and was later converted - extremely trivially - into an X-ray vehicle for bridge examinations by the Deutsche Bundesbahn .
- ↑ Whether silver-plated or gold-plated can no longer be decided because there are only black and white photos.