Neubaufahrzeug

The German Neubaufahrzeug series of tank prototypes were a first attempt to create a heavy tank for the Wehrmacht after Adolf Hitler had come to power. Multi-turreted, heavy and slow, they were not considered successful therefore only five were made. These were primarily used for propaganda purposes, though three took part in the Battle of Norway in 1940.

During the 1920s and 1930s, a number of countries experimented with very large, multi-turreted tanks. The British built a single example of the Vickers A1E1 Independent in 1926. This inspired the Soviet T-35, which was built in limited numbers from 1933.

Development of the Neubaufahrzeug (German for "new construction vehicle" - a cover name) started in 1933 when the then Reichswehr gave a contract for the development of a Großtraktor ("heavy tractor") to both Rheinmetall and Krupp. Großtraktor was a codename for the development of a heavy tank, Germany being still forbidden to develop tanks under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The technical details of the Vickers A1E1 Independent were then available to the Germans as they were amongst the information sold to them by a British officer, Norman Baillie-Stewart, who acted as a German spy before his arrest in 1933.

Neubaufahrzeug
Type	Tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1940
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Rheinmetall
Designed	1933–34
Manufacturer	Rheinmetall
Produced	1934–36
Number built	5
Specifications
Weight	23.41 tonnes (23.04 long tons; 25.81 short tons)
Length	6.6 m (21 ft 8 in)
Width	2.19 m (7 ft 2 in)
Height	2.98 m (9 ft 9 in)
Crew	6
Armor	13–20 mm (0.51–0.79 in)
Main armament	75 mm KwK L/24 or 105mm howitzer
Secondary armament	37 mm KwK 36 (L/45) 2x 7.92 mm MG 13/34
Engine	290 hp BMW Va or 300 hp Maybach HL 108 TR
Suspension	coil springs
Operational range	road: 120 kilometres (75 mi)
Speed	road: 25 km/h (16 mph)

The Rheinmetall and Krupp designs resembled each other to a great extent, the main difference being the weapons placement. Each had a main turret armed with a 75 mm KwK L/24 main gun and secondary 37 mm KwK L/45. Rheinmetall's design mounted the second gun above the 75 mm KwK L/24, while the Krupp design had it mounted next to the 75 mm KwK L/24. Both designs had a secondary turret mounted to the front and the rear of the main turret. These turrets were slightly adapted Panzer I turrets, with the standard machine gun armament.

Rheinmetall's design was designated PzKpfw NbFz V (PanzerKampfwagen NeubauFahrzeug V), and the Krupp design PzKpfw NbFz VI. It was intended that these designs would fulfill the role of heavy tank in the armored forces, but the design proved to be too complex and unreliable for this role. Nevertheless, development continued in order for the nascent German military to gain experience with multi-turreted tanks.

In 1934 Rheinmetall built two mild steel prototypes, both with their own turret design. Three more prototypes were built with proper armor and the Krupp turret in 1935 and 1936.

Though these tanks were never placed in production, they provided a propaganda tool for Nazi Germany, for example being shown at the International Automobile Exposition in Berlin in 1939.

This propaganda role was extended with the German invasion of Norway, when Panzer Abteilung z.b.V. 40 (zur besonderen Verwendung - "for special purpose") was formed for supporting the invasion of Norway, and the three Neubaufahrzeuge were assigned to that unit. One vehicle was assigned to Kampfgruppe Fischer advancing north through the Østerdalen Valley, while the other two were assigned to Kampfgruppe Pellengahr advancing up the Gudbrandsdalen Valley. 

The one assigned to Kampfgruppe Fischer was immobilized with mechanical problems on its way to Lillehammer, while one of the two assigned to Kampfgruppe Fischer also had mechanical problems just north of Lillehammer. Only one tank actually made it to the front; it was immediately put in action with the German force advancing up the Gudbrandsdalen Valley with other elements of Panzer Abteilung z.b.V. 40.

The Neubaufahrzeuge first saw combat against British and Norwegian positions on April 22, near the small town of Balberg at the far south end of the Gudbrandsdalen Valley. The British Expeditionary Force was equipped with 0.55 inch calibre Boys Anti-tank rifles that easily penetrated the Neubaufahrzeug. After dozens of hits, including one that killed a crew member, the tank retreated and the crew was hesitant to advance further. Other German units pushed further through, flanking the British forces and forcing them to retreat.

It is unclear what happened to the tanks after the Norway campaign, but none of them survived the war. The surviving vehicles were ordered scrapped in 1941, and this took place in 1942 according to documents captured by the British in 1945. The dates when the vehicles were scrapped are unclear, but it is thought that the beginning of the construction of the Sturer Emil prototypes dates from the same time.

According to contemporary German sources, three NbFz was attached to the 1st Panzer Army and destroyed in battle with Soviet BT-7 tanks in present day Ukraine in June 1941.

The last known surviving Neubaufahrzeuge was used by a Lehr instruction unit in late 1944 as a target for training the Volkssturm in the use of the Panzershreck 43 and other anti-tank weapons.

All that survives of these tanks is a small number of running gear parts, preserved in the Gudbrandsdal Krigsminnesamling (Gudbrandsdal War Memorial collection), at Kvam in Norway.

ZSU-37

ZSU-37 was a Soviet-made, light, self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG), developed by the end of 1943 and produced at Works No. 40 in Mytishchi. It was the first Soviet series-produced tracked SPAAG. 
ZSU stands for: Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 
(Russian: Зенитная Самоходная Установка)
 meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount".

Soviet engineers carried out some early experiments with tracked SPAAGs before and during World War II, including a modification of the T-70 light tank, resulting in the experimental T-90 SPAAG which was armed with two 12.7 mm DShKT heavy machine guns (the prototype was built in November 1942 by GAZ). The T-70 light tank would eventually be further developed into the SU-76 light self-propelled gun chassis, which in turn was to become the base for the ZSU-37 SPAAG. It was decided to use the chassis of the SU-76M in order to speed up and cheapen the production of the much needed tracked and armoured SPAAGs.

Type: Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin: Soviet Union
Specifications
Weight: 11.5 tonnes
Length: 5.25 m 
Width: 2.75 m 
Height: 2.18 m 
Crew: 6 men
Armor: 6-35 mm
Armament: 1 x 37 mm automatic air defence gun M1939 (61-K)
Engine: GAZ-203, 2 x 6-cyl, l-c gasoline engine GAZ-202 (tandem), 160 hp (120 kW)
Suspension: Torsion bar
Range: Road: 360 km 
Off-road: 230 km
Speed: Road: 45 km/h 
Off-road: 30 km/h 

The ZSU-37 was produced from March 1945 to 1948, and 75 vehicles were built in total (only a few vehicles were produced before the war ended, due to temporary manufacturing technology). As a result of its late production and the almost non-appearance of the few remaining Luftwaffe aircraft in the spring of 1945, the ZSU-37 saw no service in World War II. An experimental self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery battalion equipped with 12 ZSU-37 SPAAGs was formed by the end of 1945.

After World War II it became clear that the low rate of fire and firepower of a single 37 mm AA gun was not effective against high-speed low altitude targets. The anti-aircraft artillery crews found it difficult to manually track fast-moving targets. SPAAGs based on a light tank chassis also had quite low manœuvrability in difficult terrain and low off-road speed and range in comparison with medium tanks and self-propelled guns (SPG)s, which the ZSU-37 was meant to protect. The two tandem engines used on the SU-76M chassis required gasoline fuel, which was sometimes a problem in tank units equipped with diesel-engined tanks. The ZSU-37 was retired from service because of the aforementioned reasons soon after series production was stopped.

An effort was made to significantly increase the firepower by mounting the same 37 mm gun into a quad-mount on a T-34 medium tank chassis, but the vehicle never left the design stage as it was recommended by the Technical Council of the Ministry of Transport to use a newer tank chassis and the more powerful S-68 57 mm twin anti-aircraft autocannon, which was being developed at the time. The next step in Soviet tracked SPAAG technology would come with the ZSU-57-2, which was based on the T-54 medium tank chassis and was mass-produced in 1957-1960.

The ZSU-37-2 Yenisei is a later, unrelated design based on the chassis of the experimental SU-100P self-propelled gun. It was armed with a twin-37 mm 500P Angara anti-aircraft autocannon. The development of completely new radar-guided SPAAG vehicles, namely the ZSU-37-2 and the ZSU-23-4 began in 1957. The promising ZSU-37-2 Yenisei competed with the ZSU-23-4 Shilka as the replacement for the ZSU-57-2 SPAAG but the planned series production of the Yenisei was rejected in 1962 in favour of the production of the Shilka.

The ZSU-37 SPAAG, which was based on the chassis of the SU-76M was equipped with an open-top turret and armed with one 37 mm 61-K mod. 1939 anti-aircraft autocannon. The vehicle was equipped with an automatic sight of the distance-type with two collimators, a stereo range finder with a 1-meter base, a 12RT-3 radio, a TPU-3F intercom system and mechanical aiming mechanisms with two rates of angular motion for adequate speed and smoothness of aiming (the traverse mechanism had a foot switch of rates).

The crew consisted of six men: a driver, an aimer for azimuth, an aimer for elevation, a sight adjuster for target speed and range, a sight adjuster for target course and dive angle, and a loader.

The ZSU-37 was based on the SU-76M because it also shared its technical drawbacks and advantages, the most discussed of which was the open-top turret. To protect the crew from rain and snow the gun compartment could be covered with tarpaulin, however the gun could not be fully elevated when this was done. The open turret had advantages, such as high elevation angle, excellent visibility for the gunners and no need for ventilation. Light and manoeuvrable, the ZSU-37 was considered quite an effective SPAAG in the mid-1940s. However, it had insufficient off-road capabilities to accompany medium and heavy tanks in difficult terrain.

Ammunition consisted of 320 armour-piercing, fragmentation incendiary and fragmentation rounds (all with tracers). 130 rounds were in 5-round clips and 190 rounds were loose without clips. Armour-piercing composite rounds could be used against enemy heavy tanks. Muzzle velocity was between 890 and 920 m/s depending on projectile type, the armour-piercing shell weighed 0.785 kg, fragmentation shells weighed 0.732 kg. 

The autocannon could be depressed and elevated manually between -5° and +85°. Cyclic rate of fire was 120 to 130 rounds per minute while the practical rate of fire was about 50 to 60 rounds per minute. Maximum combat vertical fire was 2,500 m while the maximum vertical range was 6,500 m.

The vehicle could cross 0.67 m high vertical obstacles, 2 m wide trenches, ford 0.9 m deep water obstacles and climb 25° gradients. Transmission and undercarriage were identical to those of the SU-76M SPG. The engine was also the same but forced from 140 hp on SU-76M to 160 hp - a GAZ-203 which consisted of two tandem GAZ-202 6-cylinder row liquid-cooled gasoline engines, each producing 80 hp (63 kWt) at 3600 rpm.

Trippel SG 6 Pionier

Hans Trippel (1908 - 2001) was a German industrial designer, responsible for the designs of the Mercedes-Benz Gullwing's door, Troll and the Amphicar.

Trippel was born on 19 July 1908 in the Darmstadt area and died 30 July 2001, possibly in Berlin. In 1934 he embarked upon a career as a racing driver. 

In retrospect he is better remembered for the development of amphibious motor vehicles.

Also noteworthy is his membership of the quasi-military SA. 

As an active supporter of the German regime in 1940 when France was invaded by Germany, Trippel took over control of the Bugatti plant at Molsheim. 

Following Germany's defeat in 1945, he was interned as a war profiteer by the French authorities for three years until 1949.

All wheels drive & four wheel steering, swimming, and move with propeller (ATV)
Length: 4.77 m,
Width: 1.80 m,
Wheelbase: 2.50 m,
Width: 1.45 m
Clearance: 26 cm
Empty weight: 1660 kg,
Carrying capacity: 500 kg
Engine: 55 hp, 6-cylinder 4-stroke gasoline engine,
Speed: the land of 95 km / h (max)
Speed: water 14.5 km / h (max)
In water: screw rotate
  

LARC-LX

LARC-LX (Lighter, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo, 60 ton), or as it was originally designated BARC (Barge, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo) is a welded steel hulled amphibious cargo vehicle. It could carry up to 100 tons of cargo or 200 people, but a more typical load was 60 tons of cargo or 120 people. 

The vehicle was powered by four 265 hp (198 kW) GMC diesel engines positioned in the sides of the hull, each of which drove one wheel on land. Pairs of engines were coupled to drive each of the two 1.2 m diameter propellers, which propelled the vehicle in the water. Its top speed was 32 km/h on land, or 12.1 km/h afloat. The operator occupied a small cab on the port side at the aft end of the vehicle.

The LARC-LX was used to transport wheeled and tracked vehicles, including beach preparation equipment and general cargo, from ship-to-shore or to inland transfer points. It was also capable of transporting 12 m shipping containers, which could be landed from the LARC either by crane, straddle carriers, or rollers. 

It was the only amphibious vehicle in U.S. Army service capable of landing on a beach through surf. Typically, the LARC-LX was carried as deck cargo on a commercial vessel or heavy lift ship to be transported overseas.

The first BARC had its maiden voyage in 1952 at Fort Lawton, Washington. The designation was changed from BARC to LARC in 1960. The LARCS first saw active service in 1967 when they were dispatched to Vietnam to support the 101st Airborne Division, and in 1968 the 1st Cavalry Division. 

The last amphibious company in the U.S. Army, the 309th Transportation (LARC LX) Company, 11th Transportation Battalion, was deactivated on 15 October 2001.

Specifications
Crew: 5
Weight: 100 tons
Engine: GM 6-71, 265 hp × 4
Range (land): 240 km
Range (sea): 121 km
Length: 19.1 m
Width: 8.1 m
Height: 5,95 m
Wheelbase: 8,68
Battery: 24 volt
Speed (water)
Forward (empty): 12.1 km/h
Forward (60 ton): 11 km/h
Forward (100 ton): 10.5 km/h
Speed (land)
Forward (empty): 24.5 km/h
Forward (60 ton): 23 km/h
Forward (100 ton): 20.52 km/h
Reverse (60 ton): 4.59 km/h
Turning circle: 23 m
Gradient: 60%
Temperature range: 125 F to -25 F (-30 to +50 °C)

Lorraine 37L

The first development from the TRC 37L was an armoured personnel carrier, the Voiture blindée de chasseurs portés 38L ("Armoured mounted infantry vehicle 38L"). Like the TRC 37L, this Lorraine 38L was equipped with an armoured tracked trailer. The total capacity was twelve men: the driver and one passenger in the driving compartment, four in the former cargo bay, and six in the trailer. To protect the infantry squad, high box-like armoured superstructures were built over both the bin and the trailer, with doors at their back. The loaded weight of the main vehicle was 7.7 tonnes. 

A total of 240 VBCP 38L vehicles were ordered, of which nine had been delivered on 1 September 1939 and around 150 by 25 June 1940. In view of the war threat, the order was made before the prototype could be tested. Of all participants in the Battle of France, the French army would thus be the only to employ a fully tracked APC. 

The vehicles were intended for the Bataillon de Chasseurs Portés, the (single) mechanised infantry battalion within the Division Cuirassée, or armoured division of the Infantry. 
On 10 May they had however not yet been allocated to these units, who still used half-tracks. During May the vehicles were hurriedly taken into use by the 5e BCP and 17e BCP of the 1re DCr and 2nd DCr respectively. The 4e DCr did not receive any.

                                      

An improved model, the VBCP 39L, was created by expanding the cargo bay to carry eight passengers, apart from the two crew members. This model had no trailer and a total capacity of ten persons; extra room was found by raising the upper deck — the passenger compartment was open-topped, and constructing a more forward sloped armour glacis, contiguous with the nose section; the type thus resembled postwar APCs. 

                    
Some two hundred VBCP 39L vehicles were ordered, to replace the 38L on the production lines from the 241st vehicle onwards, but none had been delivered by June 1940, the manufacture remaining limited to a single prototype. Experimental and limited production models included tank destroyers armed with 47 mm SA 47 guns (Chasseur de Chars Lorraine) and command post vehicles; probably a Voiture de transmissions blindée sur TRC Lorraine 37 L ER prototype was produced.

In 1939 and 1940 the type had been mainly produced in the Lorraine factory at Lunéville. Early 1939 it was decided to erect a factory in a more southern location, less vulnerable to German bombing, at Bagnères-de-Bigorre. This Atelier de Bagnères had not made a single vehicle by the time of the armistice between France and Germany, but it was, like the other tractor-producing Fouga factory at Béziers, located in the unoccupied zone of Vichy France. 

Limited production continued after June 1940 for a total of about 150, although military models were not officially produced. Some of these vehicles had a shortened chassis, their suspension consisting of only two bogies per side. Lorraine tractors were ostensively fitted for use in forestry and construction; in reality they constituted a clandestine armoured fighting vehicle production as they could be easily rebuilt. 

The AMX factory secretly produced armoured bodies for these vehicles which were stockpiled. The type was called the Tracteur Lorraine 37 L 44. After the German occupation of the south of France in November 1942, many of these chassis were hidden. In the spring of 1944 the French resistance attacked the Bagnères factory on orders from London, the allies assuming it produced vehicles for Germany. 

                                                   soviet version

after El Alamein

To prevent further attacks the resistance was informed of and involved in the affair in the summer of 1944 by the promise to arm existing vehicles for their use. The first twenty of these were delivered in January 1945, after the liberation, and the factory continued modifying vehicles for the duration of the war at a rate of about twenty a month, often by fitting an armoured superstructure, armed with a light or heavy machine-gun, to the front or back of the chassis.

A considerable number of Lorraine tractors, about 360, fell into German hands. Due to its reliability, the type was well suited to the mobile tactics the Germans favoured in 1941 and 1942. They were first used as such, renamed the Lorraine Schlepper. 

As the Germans themselves had not produced a similar type, the Lorraine tractors filled a requirement for fully tracked supply vehicles as Gefechtsfeld-Versorgungsfahrzeug Lorraine 37L, or Munitionstransportkraftwagen auf Lorraine Schlepper. 

In July and August 1942, Major Alfred Becker directed the conversion of 170 of these vehicles into the 7.5 cm PaK40/1 auf Geschuetzwagen Lorraine Schlepper (f) or Marder I, a 75 mm equipped self-propelled anti-tank gun. 

At the same time 106 were converted into self-propelled artillery: 94 into the 15 cm sFH13/1 (Sf) auf Geschuetzwagen Lorraine Schlepper. 

and 12 into the 10.5 cm leFH18(Sf) auf Geschuetzwagen Lorraine Schlepper. 

Also an artillery observation vehicle was provided: the Beobachtungswagen auf Lorraine Schlepper, thirty of which were produced. 

A single conversion entailed the fitting of a Soviet 122 mm howitzer: the 12.2 cm Kanone auf Geschuetzwagen Lorraine.

For a time it has also been assumed that a 47 mm tank destroyer conversion existed: the presumed "4.7cm Pak181 auf PanzerJäger Lorraine Schlepper (f)", based on preserved photographs that however in reality depicted the French Chasseur de Chars Lorraine mentioned above, an ad hoc conversion built in June 1940.

The Germans also employed the VBCP 38L as Lorraine 38L.

Railroad cannons - Rautatie tykit

Suomessa oli jo Suomen sisällissodan aikana käytössä rautatietykistöä. Toisen maailmansodan aikana Suomella oli yhteensä kolme sotasaalis alkuperä järeä tai raskas rautatiepatteri sekä muutama itse rakennettu. Viipurin ns Aavetykki oli kuuden tuuman rautatietykki, joka tulitti kaupunkia Perkjärven asemalta.

Hanko alue vuokra-aikana tuotu neuvostoliiton järeät patterit olivat myös rautatietykkejä. Muilla rintama osilla ne edusti nopeasti liikuteltavaa järeää tykistöä. Kaksi kaapattua patteria palautetaan venäläisille sodan jälkeen ja loput romutettiin hiljalleen.

Venäläisille palautettu Hango rintama 305 mm rautatietykki on esillä Jasnaja Goran tykkimuseo.

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The Second World War saw the final use of the railway gun, with the massive 80 cm (31 in) Schwerer Gustav gun, the largest artillery piece to be used in combat, deployed by Germany. The rise of the aeroplane effectively ended the usefulness of the railway gun. Similar to battleships, they were massive, expensive, and, in the correct conditions, easily destroyed from the air.

Both Germany and Great Britain employed railway-mounted guns that were capable of firing across the English Channel between the areas around Dover and Calais. Germany employed a number of 40 cm guns. Britain employed three 13.5-inch (342.9 mm) railway mounted guns on the East Kent Light Railway, located around Lydden and Shepherdswell. These were known as Gladiator, Sceneshifter and Peacemaker.

9.2 inch Mark 13 guns were located near Canterbury and Hythe, Kent; and 12 inch howitzers, Mk 3 and 5, located around Guston, north of Dover on the Southern Railway line to Deal and Ramsgate.

The 18 inch Howitzer, Boche Buster, featured here, was sited on the Elham Valley Railway, between Bridge, Kent, and Lyminge, and was intended for coastal defence against invasion. It was not capable of cross-channel firing, having a maximum range of only 20 km (12 miles).
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   TM-1-180, Krasnaya Gorka fort  -  TM-1-180, Yhinmäki, Venäjä