VW Type 82
| VW | |
|---|---|
_(owner_Claude_Thill).JPG) VW Kübelwagen
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| Type 82 | |
| Sales designation: | Kübelwagen |
| Production period: | 1940-1945 |
| Class : | Off-road vehicle |
| Body versions : | Kübelwagen |
| Engines: |
Petrol engines : 1.0–1.1 liters (17.5–18 kW) |
| Length: | 3740 mm |
| Width: | 1600 mm |
| Height: | 1110-1650 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2400 mm |
| Empty weight : | 715-1160 kg |
The VW Type 82 , known as the Kübelwagen , is a Wehrmacht motor vehicle designed on the basis of the KdF wagon . From August 1940 to April 1945, the Volkswagen factory near Fallersleben produced 50,788 units in various designs. After the end of the war, the Type 82, known as the Type 21 , was continued to be built from leftover parts for a short time .
history
After the outbreak of the Second World War and the associated reorientation of the economy in the National Socialist German Reich towards the production of armaments, the off-road vehicle derived from the KdF vehicle was built. With 50,788 units, the Type 82 was the most popular type of this car (from 1940 to 1945 with minor changes, especially when unnecessary parts such as indicators , lamps, etc.) were omitted .
At the suggestion of the Army Weapons Office , Porsche KG began developing the KdF car for military purposes in 1938 . The Heereswaffenamt set the following requirements: open body, total weight 950 kg (vehicle 550 kg + 400 kg for three men with equipment), low overall height, possibility of producing large numbers with the lowest possible development costs. Furthermore, emphasis was placed on minimal material and production costs. At the end of 1939, the first prototypes of the new off-road vehicle with the angular body as Type 62 were completed. The production of civilian "KdF cars", originally planned for hundreds of thousands of Germans through a savings contract, was abandoned: The use of the Volkswagen factory for armaments production due to the outbreak of war meant the end of plans to manufacture the civilian version of the car. Series production of the VW Beetle only began after the war.
After further test drives and changes to the Type 62, including a wheel reduction gear for higher ground clearance and greater wheel torque, the Wehrmacht High Command (OKW) was satisfied with the vehicle and the final vehicle was named Type 82 . After the first cars were manufactured at Porsche in Stuttgart until the end of June 1940, series production began at the Volkswagen factory on August 3, 1940. VW did not build the bodies themselves; they were delivered in the shell by Ambi-Budd from Berlin and painted in the factory. Since the foundry was not yet operational, VW obtained the cast parts from Rautenbach (Rautal-Werke GmbH) in Wernigerode . At the same time, development of an all-wheel drive version , the later Type 87, began .
The advantages of the Type 82 became apparent in the field: With its low weight, the 23.5 hp that the engine with 985 cc displacement were sufficient. Even without all-wheel drive, he was able to drive through difficult terrain. The air cooling brought further advantages , with which the car was not dependent on supplies of water and (in winter) antifreeze. In the course of the war it became clear that it could also be used under extreme climatic conditions, such as in North Africa with the Africa Corps or in the Russian winter. In 1943 the 985 cc engine was replaced by a more powerful 1131 cc engine with 24.5 hp, which had been further developed for the type 166 floating car . Several variants, conversions and combinations of individual models were developed and built on the basis of the Type 82, for example the Type 92 pick-up truck, the Type 174 assault boat with VW engine and the Type 287 command vehicle. The top speed was around 80 km / h.
The production of the Kübelwagen ended on April 10, 1945; American troops occupied the plant in the following days.
Appearance
The Type 82 is an open, angular car with a fabric top and a windshield that can be folded forward. It has four doors and can accommodate four people. The spare wheel lies on the sloping front of the car, which also has a compartment for a petrol canister that is accessible from the inside. The trunk is located between the rear seats and the engine compartment and is accessible from above or from the front. The seats are tubular frames with springs covered with a cushion. The instruments only have a speedometer and four indicator lights. From March 1943 the direction indicators, the second rear light and the electric starter were dispensed with. The interior shows no cladding or other luxury. The Type 82 is the forerunner of the VW Type 181 that was put into service by the German Bundeswehr at the end of the 1960s .
technology
- Air-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke boxer engine with 985 cm³ and 23.5 hp (17 kW). From March 1943 with 1,131 cm³ displacement and 25 PS (18 kW) power, just behind the rear axle
- Unsynchronized four-speed gearbox, 1st and 2nd gear with straight-toothed sliding wheels (higher noise generation , but less power loss), 3rd and 4th gear helical-toothed (quieter) with pin shift
- Rear-wheel drive with automatic locking differential with crown gears and sliding blocks
- Front axle: independent suspension ( crank arm axle , front axle body with two crank arms each and torsion bar suspension with leaf spring assemblies), steering with spindle and nut segment; the nut only engages the steering shaft from above.
- Rear axle: Portal - swing axle , performed on trailing arms with transverse torsion bars. The spur gears (Z1: Z2 = 15:20) on the wheels give more ground clearance, higher wheel torque and lower speed.
- 6 volt electrical system with 130 watt direct current alternator
- Drum brakes on all wheels operated by cables without length compensation
- Top speed approx. 80 km / h
Meaning today
He is one of the symbols for the German Wehrmacht in many films (e.g. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ).
VW Type 82 in the museum
In the Army History Museum in Vienna , in the permanent exhibition “Republic and Dictatorship” (Room VII), there is a VW Type 82 Kübelwagen that was in service with the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War . The car survived the war and still has the original paintwork.
gallery
Rear view
inner space
VW Type 82 in the Army History Museum (Vienna)
Kübelwagen in use for the military police at " Enterprise Citadel " in June 1943, admission of the propaganda company
Engine, 985 cc
literature
- Hans-Georg Mayer-Stein: Volkswagen military vehicles 1938-1948 . Karlsruhe 1993.
- Janusz Piekałkiewicz : The VW Kübelwagen Type 82 in World War II, 3rd edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-87943-468-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans-Georg Mayer: The VW Beetle in the war and in military use afterwards. Volume 114 from the Waffen-Arsenal series, Podzun-Pallas-Verlag, Dorheim 1988, ISBN 3-7909-0357-4 , p. 36.
- ↑ Bernd Wiersch: The Beetle Chronicle, The story of a car legend . 2nd Edition. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, ISBN 978-3-7688-1695-3 , p. 92.
- ↑ Bernd Wiersch: The Beetle Chronicle, The story of a car legend . 2nd Edition. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld, ISBN 978-3-7688-1695-3 , p. 91.
- ↑ Rüdiger Etzold: The Beetle - A Documentation II . Alfred Bucheli publishing house, Zug 1984, ISBN 3-7168-1613-2 .
- ^ Manfried Rauchsteiner , Manfred Litscher (Ed.): The Army History Museum in Vienna. Graz, Vienna 2000, p. 82.
Web links
- http://www.whq-forum.de/cms/463.0.html
- http://www.kuebel-klub.de
- http://www.vw166.com/kuebelwagen/index.html
