Maultier

Maultier

Opel Maultier exiting a Me-323.
Type Half-track
Place of origin Germany Nazi Germany
Service history
In service 1942 - 1945
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1942
Specifications
Weight 7.1 tonnes
Length 6 m
Width 2.2 m
Height 2.5 m
Crew 2
Armor none
Engine 3.6-litre 6-cyl petrol engine(Opel Blitz)
Speed 38 km/h

Maultier or Sd.Kfz. 3 (en: "Mule") is the name given to series of half-track trucks used by Germans during World War II. They were based on Opel, Mercedes-Benz or Ford trucks.

History

During 1941 Germans troops discovered that their wheeled transport vehicles were unsuitable for the muddy rasputitsa conditions that marked the beginning and end of the Russian winter.

Only half tracks were able to operate in these conditions, but removing them from their operational purposes for supply duties would have been unworkable, so it was decided Germany would produce half-tracked versions of standard Opel, Daimler-Benz and Ford trucks (lorries) by removing their rear axles, truncating the prop shafts and connecting them to redundant Panzer I track assemblies.

(The Carden Lloyd type suspension employed by the Panzer I was practically identical to the light tank track system used on the Universal and Bren-gun carriers. Following the fall of Singapore rubber was scarce and so a Bedford QL was similarly adapted using a Carden Lloyd suspension. While the Bedford Bren gave impressive traction and excellent cross-country performance the higher cost and the effect of detail improvements in automotive design and materials such as artificial rubber meant this parallel British conversion never progressed beyond a single prototype, later converted back into an all-wheel vehicle.[1])

Most Maultier conversions were based on Opel trucks, which proved successful in service.

While lacking the overall mobility of purpose-built half tracks they were cheaper and sufficiently effective from 1943 some Maultier trucks were fitted with armored bodies, designated SdKfz 4.[2] Some of these were armed with 10 tubed rocket launcher Panzerwerfer 42, and were designated SdKfz. 4/1.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Coates, Robert (1994). Bedford to Berlin and Beyond QL: the Forces Favourite 4 x 4. Motorbooks International. ISBN 9780948358050.
  2. ↑ "Germany's Maultier ("mule")". Retrieved 19 June 2013.
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