Saturday, July 6, 2013

Panzer Aces No.42

Right up to the end of the war 8350 units of this motorcycle were manufactured. This vehicle cannot deny its origins which come from the standard motorcycle (Called "Krad" in soldier jargon -short for Kraftrad which means motorcycle in German-), because its front wheel suspended in a hook -shaped like a parallelogram- and its handle were clearly taken from the motorcycle design. However the frame, the arrangement of the tracks, propelling wheels, course and steering were taken from the design of the larger Wehrmacht tractor vehicles. We've got as a result a vehicle -the "Kettenrad" which is a mixture between a motorcycle and a Halftrack tractor vehicle. In terms of maneuverability in any sort of ground, this motorcycle with tracks clearly got the better of the sidecar and other cycles, and could also be used as a towing tractor to carry light artillery. Where other vehicles capitulated -be it mud, bogs, sand, ice or snow- the "Kettenkrad" because of its tracks and its short width (about a meter), and its limited unloaded weight (I250kgs) and the pressure this vehicle exerted on the ground, it always found a way. This vehicle was driven with small directional impacts (of about 8 degrees) carried with the help of the front handlebar and the front wheel. The handlebar was the standard steering element in the motorcycles of the period, but even this was designed in a much more stable way. Along with the wider directional impacts, the vehicle was equipped with a steering brake, which acted on the inner track. In difficult ground these vehicles could also be driven without having to use the front wheel, but the vehicle was slowed down considerably as a result.

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