Friday 11 October 2013

The Classic German Military Kubelwagen

By Catalina Nielsen


If you are searching for details about the German Kubelwagen you will find lots of interesting facts about them. The Kubelwagen was the invention of Ferdinand Porsche who first engineered automobiles for the German military during World War Two. The cars first were made by Volkswagen from the 1940 to 1945 time period as they were critical to the German war effort.

In German, Kubelwagen is a phrase meaning bucket vehicle since the appearance is very similar to a bath tub with wheels on it. Both the Wehrmacht as well as the SS used the automobile quite regularly for troop transportation as well as a field car. The car is very similar in design to the original Volkswagen Beetle. The Volkswagen was called the KDF Wagen which is German for "Joy through Strength" that was first started by the National Socialist German Worker's Party.

The original prototype was referred to as Type Sixty Two and then later known as Type Eighty Two. Originally the vehicle was assembled at the plant in Wolfsburg in the western part of the country. In many ways it was the German version of the American Jeep and it was built better than many of the Allies counter parts. Hitler as well as other high ranking Third Reich officials wanted an inexpensive and reliable vehicle for the military to use.

The vehicle was designed and engineered to be able to withstand extreme conditions including snow and ice as well as sand and mud. The automobile was very competent and proved to be very reliable and useful in many conditions around the World. Some models even allowed the driver to use it as a boat and drive through water. The technology used at the time has not been able to be improved upon since.

The United States military captured some vehicles during the North Africa campaign in 1943 and reviewed the vehicle commenting how it was superior to the Jeep in almost every way. All of the military in the Greater German Reich utilized the vehicle and used it in operations. Usually the vehicle was a khaki or camouflaged color so it would not be easily noticed by the enemy.

Volkswagen later designed several other variants that even had closed and retractable roofs as well as longer versions that could allow more soldiers to ride in them. One unusual version was the panzer half track variety which even had tracks placed on it that could go over all terrains. After World War Two finally ended in 1945 Volkswagen began to produce commercial versions that were named the Thing which were later sold all around the World.

Other interesting and unique versions that were designed included the Schwimmwagen as well as the Schlepperfahrzeug versions which were very rare. Lots of people all around the World enjoy collecting the original versions. Some can be very expensive at sales and auctions due to the fact that they are rare and in high demand. The vehicles have gained quite a large following of collector's and admirers in North America.

If you have been searching lately for details about the German Kubelwagen then you will be able to learn many interesting facts about them. For more information you may want to go on the internet and find additional information and articles about the cars as well as their history. You also will be able to see some in person at the various museums located through out the United States and Europe.




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