Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms Space By Flag By Year By Tag

Volkswagen Schwimmwagen

1942 WORLD WAR 2

Volkswagen Schwimmwagen History

There was no strong army in World War II (1939-1945) without specialized vehicles for the same specialized battlefield roles. One class of vehicles critical to Hitler's German expansion were the amphibious vehicles, designed to traverse land routes as usual, but also to be able to clean up bodies of water effortlessly.

Several projects were advanced in this regard, and one of their most famous products became the Volkswagen Schwimmwagen - "Schwimmauto".

Volkswagen was already producing its famous civilian "Beetle" car, and from this design, the militarized "Kubelwagen" of the Wehrmacht was born. During the prototype stage at Kubelwagen, the Type 86 emerged, and it was this basis that would be used for the upcoming Schwimmwagen design.

Initially, development focused on delivering a compact amphibian for aerial use.

The basic Kubelwagen has been significantly revised, with a sturdier bulbous hull shape with built-in float chambers. Like the Kubelwagen, the new car's engine is located at the rear and accommodates four seats, two at the front and two at the rear (in front of the engine bay). The three-spoke steering wheel is in the driver's position (front left), and the dashboard consists of simple gauges. Round headlights are positioned high at the front of the car to provide low-light visibility while eliminating water levels when traversing.

Slick tires provide the required off-road capability, and a spare tire is usually mounted above the hood. The front windshield folds over the hood via hinges, and the soft top can be raised from the rear for protection from the elements.

The engine is an air-cooled 4-cylinder system producing 25 hp and a four-speed drivetrain. All-wheel drive is only available in first gear. A rear locking differential helps the vehicle pull itself out of muddy terrain. Water propulsion comes from a single propeller unit at the rear of the car and is mounted on the swingarm.

The unit is lowered to align with the drive chain before entering the water. Steering in the water is accomplished simply with the steering wheel, which controls the angle of the two front wheels and acts as a rudder.

Onboard paddles make steering even more precise - useful when you need to turn the vehicle, something you can't easily do just by controlling the wheels.

The original design was called the "Type 128", a form largely based on the Army Kubelwagen. Its wheelbase is 7.9 feet and the hull is welded. In practice, this design proved too fragile for military service and was therefore limited to pre-production form. A modified model with a 6.6-foot wheelbase, Ambi-Budd monobloc, revised drivetrain and other improvements subsequently replaced the "Type 166" - the final production model of the war.

Type 166 prototypes were tested in March 1942 and quickly entered production after completing the evaluation phase, with about 100 of them available in late June 1942.

The main production at Schwimmwagen comes from Volkswagen, which manages 14,276 through its Wolfsburg plant, and another 1,308 from Porsche in Stuttgart. Total production was 15,584 from 1942 until 1944 when the car was discontinued.

After the war, the Germans used Schwimmwagen on all major fronts, but more commonly on the Eastern Front, where their amphibious capabilities were useful in the long swampy terrain and river network leading to Moscow. These vehicles are used in combination with other light high-speed systems, such as classic motorcycle/sidecar elements as reconnaissance platforms, command vehicles and information transmitters. These vehicles have proven to be compact enough to not require special attention in mass transit and can traverse a variety of terrain types on their own.

These vehicles proved so popular that the Army was in high demand during service during the war.

In addition to personal weapons carried by the crew, some Schwimmwagen had a 7.92mm MG34 GPMG mounted on the right side of the windshield (passenger position) for some self-defense firepower - including anti-infantry and anti-infantry against low-flying aircraft. There is storage space for service rifles, submachine guns and Iron Fist anti-tank weapons on board, although the overall space is noticeably cramped when four passengers are already accommodated.

Armor protection is non-existent, so operators must be very knowledgeable about the environment in which they travel.

In addition to being used in Europe, the Schwimmwagen also proved popular among Germans fighting in North Africa, where their off-road qualities came into play. General Rommel requested a large supply of Schwimmwagen to the theater, but these requests were not met, as most were used on the Eastern Front for better application. Production was also under constant threat of Allied bombing, which disrupted the overall availability of the machines for some time.

Schwimmwagen was also a favorite for capturing enemy troops as well as the Germans - Allied soldiers rode these cars whenever possible. Schwimmwagen gained a similar level of popularity during the war as the famous German Luger pistols - although they were not easily smuggled home by American G.I.s.