Britit antoivatkin vaunulle lempinimen liikkuva linnoitus.
Sturmpanzerkraftwagen tarkoittaa: hyökkäävä panssaroitu moottoriajoneuvo.
Joseph Vollmer suunnitteli tämän panssarivaunun annettujen ohjeiden perusteella, jotka olivat; kyky ylittää 1,5m leveä juoksuhauta ajamalla suoraan yli, paino max 30 tonnia, nopeus 12 km/h maantiellä, sekä sarjatuli tykki ja konekivääri aseistus.
Vaunun alustana Vollmer käytti jo aikaisemmin Marien Wagenissa kokeiltua alustaa
ja Unkarissa (Itävalta-Unkari) lisenssillä valmistettua Holt-traktoria.
Prototyyppi valmistui ja sitä kokeiltiin ensimmäistä kertaa 30.4. 1917, Berliinin lähellä, Marienfeldissä. Kokeiltavana ollut vaunu oli vielä kesken eräinen, jossa painolastin
avulla (n. 10 tn) vaunun ominaisuuksia testattiin.
Pienin muutoksin vaunun valmistus aloitettiin syyskuun aikana 1917, tarkoituksena
valmistaa suunnitelman mukaiset 100 panssarivaunua joita varten perustettiin myös ensimmäinen koulutus-yksikkö, heti kun valmistuksen aloitus oli tiedossa.
Tekniset tiedot:
Valmistus määrä: 20 kpl.
Pituus: 7,34 m
Leveys: 3,1 m
Korkeus: 3,3 m
Taistelu paino: 32 tonnia
Panssarointi: Edessä 30 mm, sivuilla 20 mm, päällä 10 mm.
Miehistö: 18 miestä
Moottori: 2 x Daimler 6-sylinterinen rivimoottori 200 hv (149 kW) bensiini.
Nopeus: 15 km / h
Toimintasäde: Maantiellä 80 km, maastossa 30 km
Keulan ase: 1 x 57 mm Maxim-Nordenfelt sarjatuli tykki
Sivu aseet: 6 x 7.5 mm Maxim konekivääriä
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The A7V was a tank introduced by Germany in 1918, near the end of World War I. One hundred vehicles were ordered in early 1918, but only 20 were delivered. They were used in action from March to October of that year, and were the only tanks produced by Germany in World War I to be used in operations.
Following the appearance of the first British tanks on the Western Front, the Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement, 7. Abteilung, Verkehrswesen ("General War Department, 7th Branch, Transportation") was formed in September 1916.
The project to design and build the first German tank was placed under the direction of Joseph Vollmer, a reserve captain and engineer. It was to have a mass of around 30 tons, be capable of crossing ditches up to 1.5 metres wide, have armament including cannon at front and rear as well as several machine-guns, and reach a top speed of at least 12 km/h. The running gear was based on the Holt tractor, copied from examples loaned by the Austrian Army.
After initial plans were shared with the Army in December 1916 the design was extended to be a universal chassis which could be used as a base for both a tank and unarmoured Überlandwagen ("over-land vehicle") cargo carriers.
The first prototype was completed by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft at Berlin-Marienfelde and tested on 30 April 1917. A wooden mockup of a final version was completed in May 1917 and demonstrated in Mainz with 10 tons of ballast to simulate armour. During final design the rear-facing cannon was removed and the number of machine-guns was increased to six. The first pre-production A7V was produced in September 1917, followed by the first production model in October 1917. The tanks were given to Assault Tank Units 1 and 2, founded on 20 September 1917, each with five officers and 109 NCOs and soldiers
The tank's name was derived from that of its parent organization, Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement, 7. Abteilung, Verkehrswesen. In German the tank was called Sturmpanzerwagen, (roughly "armoured assault vehicle").
The A7V was 7.34 metres (24.1 ft) long, 3 metres (9.8 ft) wide, and the maximum height was 3.3 metres (11 ft). The tank had 20 mm of steel plate at the sides, 30 mm at the front and 10 mm for the roof, however the steel was not hardened armour plate, which reduced its effectiveness. It was thick enough to stop machine-gun and rifle fire, but not larger calibres. This offered protection comparable to the thinner armour of other tanks of the period, which used hardened steel.
The crew normally consisted of up to seventeen soldiers and one officer: commander (officer, typically a lieutenant), driver, mechanic, mechanic/signaller, twelve infantrymen (six machine gunners, six loaders), and two artillerymen (main gunner and loader).
The A7V was armed with six 7.92 mm MG08 machine guns and a 5.7 cm Maxim-Nordenfelt cannon mounted at the front. Some of these cannons were of British manufacture and had been captured in Belgium early in the war; others were captured in Russia in 1918 and appear to have included some Russian-made copies.
Between forty and sixty cartridge belts, each of 250 rounds, were carried as well as 180 shells for the main gun, split 90:54:36 between canister, antitank, and explosive. These were the official figures — up to 300 rounds for the main gun were stowed for combat.
The "female" variant had two more machine guns in place of the main gun. It is believed that only chassis number 501 saw combat as a female before being converted to accommodate the 5.7 cm gun.
Power came from two centrally mounted Daimler 4-cylinder petrol engines delivering 75 kW (101 hp) each; the A7V carried 500 litres (110 imp gal) of fuel. The top speed was about 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph) on roads and 5 kilometres per hour (3.1 mph) across country. The 24 wheel suspension was individually sprung—an advantage over the unsprung British tanks.
Compared to other World War I tanks the road speed was quite high, but the tank had very poor off-road capability and was prone to getting stuck. The large overhang at the front and the low ground clearance meant trenches or very muddy areas were impassable. This was worsened by the fact that the driver could not see the terrain directly in front of the tank, due to a blind spot of about 10 metres.
However, on open terrain it could be used to some success and offered more firepower than the armoured cars that were available. Power-to-weight ratio was 5.1 kW/ton(6.8 hp/ton), trench crossing: 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in), ground clearance: 190 to 400 mm (7.5 to 15.7 in).
The A7V was first used in combat on 21 March 1918. Five tanks of Abteilung I under the command of Hauptmann Greiff were deployed north of the St. Quentin Canal. Three of the A7Vs suffered mechanical failures before they entered combat, but the remaining pair helped stop a minor British breakthrough in the area, but otherwise saw little combat that day.
The A7V was armed with six 7.92 mm MG08 machine guns and a 5.7 cm Maxim-Nordenfelt cannon mounted at the front. Some of these cannons were of British manufacture and had been captured in Belgium early in the war; others were captured in Russia in 1918 and appear to have included some Russian-made copies.
Between forty and sixty cartridge belts, each of 250 rounds, were carried as well as 180 shells for the main gun, split 90:54:36 between canister, antitank, and explosive. These were the official figures — up to 300 rounds for the main gun were stowed for combat.
The "female" variant had two more machine guns in place of the main gun. It is believed that only chassis number 501 saw combat as a female before being converted to accommodate the 5.7 cm gun.
The first tank against tank combat in history took place on 24 April 1918 when three A7Vs (including chassis number 561, known as "Nixe") taking part in an attack with infantry incidentally met three Mark IVs (two female machine gun-armed tanks and one male with two 6-pounder guns) near Villers-Bretonneux. During the battle tanks on both sides were damaged. According to the lead tank commander, Second Lieutenant Frank Mitchell, the female Mk IVs fell back after being damaged by armour-piercing bullets.
They were unable to damage the A7Vs with their own machine guns. Mitchell then attacked the lead German tank, commanded by Second Lieutenant Wilhelm Biltz,[4] with the 6-pounders of his own tank and knocked it out. He hit it three times, and killed five of the crew when they bailed out. He then went on to rout some infantry with case shot. The two remaining A7Vs in turn withdrew. As Mitchell's tank withdrew from action, seven Whippet tanks also engaged the infantry. Four of these were knocked out in the battle, and it is unclear if any of them engaged the retreating German tanks. Mitchell's tank lost a track towards the end of the battle from a mortar shell and was abandoned. The damaged A7V was later recovered by German forces.
The only remaining A7V tank, Mephisto, at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia
Three detachments (Abteilungen) of five tanks each were at Villers-Bretonneux at the head of the four German divisions committed over a 4 mile front. One tank refused to start, but the fourteen that saw action achieved some success, and the British recorded that their lines were broken by the tanks. Two A7Vs toppled over into holes, and some encountered engine or armament troubles. After a counterattack, three fell into Allied hands. One was unusable and scrapped, one was used later for shell testing by the French, and the third was eventually recovered by Australian troops.
Some sources say that several A7Vs were handed over by France to Polish forces and used during the Russo-Polish war of 1920.However, the fate of each A7V that saw service in WWI is known, and there is no known official record or photographic evidence of A7Vs in Polish service.
The design of the A7V featured on the tank badge of 1921, awarded to commemorate service in the German Panzer forces of 1918.
Fantastic post! The A7V was cool!
VastaaPoistaRodger
PoistaThank you very much.
However, the English text is directly from wikipedia
Because I do not speak English