The artillery and other branches of the armed forces required a tractor-type vehicle in order to tow heavy equipment to and from the battlefield. This vehicle needed to be fast and capable of operating in a variety of terrain. In 1932, contracts were signed with six different German companies to develop more vehicles of this kind; they were to be varied in size and classified according to weight. One such contract was signed with Hansa-Lloid-Goliath AG of Bremen to build a 3-ton tractor. The first prototype of this series, designated HLKl 2, was built in 1934, and the improved versions HLKI 3 and 4 came out two years later. In 1937 the HLKI 5 was built. Like its predecessors, it had a 6-cylinder, Borgward L-3500L engine. The final version, the HLKI 6, was built in 1939, and was equipped with a Maybach HL-38 Motor — later replaced by the HL-42. Officially called Leichte Zugkraftwagen 3t (SdKfz 11) typ k1 6, this vehicle was kept in production until 1944, by which time a total of 8,800 had been built. There were six versions, each for different tasks; primarily they were used as artillery tractors, towing 105mm guns; they also served as rocket launcher platforms and for transporting munitions. In yet another role they were also used to tow the 75 and 88mm antitank guns.
No comments:
Post a Comment