SdKfz 302 / SdKfz 303 leichte Ladungstrager Goliath

History

The small pioneer car "Goliath" was one of the most fascinating German land weapons of World War II. Classified as a "track mine," the Goliath is primarily used as a demolition vehicle, capable of clearing severe road obstructions, destroying strategic structures, and even engaging enemy forces directly. In the end, the type proved to be a novel weapon concept whose potential was never realized, and its design suffered in several key areas of battlefield self-sustainment.

Such efforts, however, provide the foundation for future teleoperated battlefield systems used by the military today in the deployment of drones and bomb disposal robots.

The Bremen-based automotive company Borgward was commissioned by German authorities to design and develop the Goliath from 1940, following the general idea laid out by French engineer Adolphe Kegresse in the development of the captured vehicle. The design is essentially nothing more than a low hull housing the engine, and the design is spanned along its sides by a sprocket assembly. There are four wheels on one side of a track and a suspension system. The track idler is mounted on the front of the hull and the drive sprocket is mounted on the rear.

To obey the operator's command, a three-wire coiled communications cable was installed in the rear compartment, which was gradually released as the tanker advanced further. These three lines allow for simple commands for controlling left and right steering and eventual detonation (of course, the vehicle totals after the payload is detonated). Construction culminated in the evaluation phase, culminating in serial production in 1942 under the Bundeswehr designation "Sd.

Kfz. 302 Light Troop Carrier Goliath". The naming choice of "Goliath" is more in line with the nature of the Germans giving the weapon system an opposite name - for example, the Panzer VIII super-heavy tank was nicknamed "Maus" (which translates to "Maus") despite its size.

The original Goliath production form was Sd. Vehicle 302 began production in April 1942. This model works with an electric propulsion system consisting of two 2.5 kW motors and has a top speed of just 6 mph.

Coupled with a limited-range tether system and dual internal batteries, the Goliath is capable of 0.93 miles on-road and 0.49 miles off-road. The structure is 1.5 meters long, 0.85 meters wide and 0.56 meters high. With a total weight of nearly 814 pounds, a transporter is required to transport Goliath to the key front.

Each Goliath is equipped with up to 132 pounds of explosives. The vehicle is controlled by the operator via an electromagnetic clutch. Armor protection is only 6mm and only in the front, making the sides and rear extremely vulnerable to enemy fire - even infantry small arms.

In practice, the Goliath proved to be limited in its range, at least from a tactical point of view. The 132-pound cargo payload is impressive to say the least, though the weaknesses inherent in its armor protection and exposed tethers quickly proved to be a liability in the field.

Explosives can be detonated by a precision shot or a lucky shot by the enemy in front of an intended target area, while the thin armor protection means that bullets or shells can penetrate the protection and penetrate deep into vital working parts, especially the propulsion engine. In addition, fragile The tether can be easily detached from the drive unit, rendering the Goliath completely useless. As a result, many Goliaths were deactivated or detonated prematurely before completing their mission, finding Allied or Resistance open fire. The electric propulsion nature of this little beast ultimately proved grumpy and time-consuming to repair in the field, and its base production costs prevented mass purchases, forcing Goliath's design and production scale to be rewritten.

Production of the SdKfz 302 ended in January 1944, with approximately 2,635 prototypes completed before work moved to the new method.

The Goliath appears in the second version, albeit in a larger size (1.62L x 0.84W x 0.60H meters), and this variant itself includes two different production models. Work on improving the Goliath form began in April 1943, and production of the SdKfz 302 was already underway. The revised form is known by the Bundeswehr name "SdKfz 303". The main differences between the two versions are the choice of a Zundapp 2-cylinder gasoline engine instead of the original electric motor, a larger blast payload capacity and lowered track idlers for improved performance. The Zundapp powerplant delivers up to 12.5 horsepower and allows for 0.74 mile on-road and 0.45 mile off-road, while reaching a top speed of 6.8 mph.

Slightly lighter at just over 800 pounds. The engine has proven to be more reliable and easier to maintain (and repair) in the field. Armor has been increased from 6mm to 10mm for the improved design.

One version of the SdKfz 303 series carries a 165-pound blast payload (SdKfz 303a), while the other version is equipped with a 220-pound blast payload (SdKfz 303b). The tether release system still relies on a closed rear spool, with defenses along the sides and rear quadrant not addressed further.

Production of 4,929 SdKfz 303s was completed in January 1945.

Like the SdKfz 302 before it, the SdKfz 303 has the same limitations, making it basically useless on the busy battlefields of WWII. In any case, this weapon type was used by specially trained engineers in German Army companies on all major fronts of the war. Goliath was part of the German response to the Warsaw Uprising in Poland and was even seen by the Allies in northern France on D-Day. Again, all these troops had to do was cut the line of command to ensure that Goliath remained relatively harmless. As a result, hundreds of Goliaths of all three types were captured by Allied soldiers as the advance toward Germany continued.

These troops developed a keen interest in new weapons of war, and as with other interesting post-war German weapon creations, captured Goliath specimens were further studied by enemies of the post-war world to learn more about their construction and operation.

The Allies began to see Goliath as a "bug tank" for obvious reasons.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

1 x Dynamite

Changes