Neubaufahrzeug
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Neubaufahrzeug | |
|---|---|
| Type | Tank |
| Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1933 |
| Produced | 1934 to 1936 |
| Number built | 5 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 23 tonnes |
| Length | 6.65 m |
| Width | 2.90 m |
| Height | 2.90 m |
| Crew | 6 |
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| Primary armament |
75 mm KwK L/24 |
| Secondary armament |
37 mm KwK L/45 2x 7.92 mm MG13/34 |
| Engine | 290 hp BMW Va or 300 hp Maybach HL 108 TR |
| Operational range |
road: 120 km |
| Speed | road: 25 km/h |
 External images |
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|---|---|
| Neubaufahrzeug | |
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Technical data[1] |
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Photo of the tank[2] |
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Production[3] |
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 did not fit in with the Blitzkrieg tactics and therefore only five were made. These were primarily used for propaganda purposes, though three took part in the Battle of Norway in 1940.
Contents |
[edit] Development
Development of the Neubaufahrzeug (German for "new construction vehicle") started in 1933 when the then Reichswehr gave a contract for the development of a Großtraktor (heavy tractor) to both Rheinmetall-Borsig and Krupp. Grosstractor 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 two 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 Tankkanone L/45, with Rheinmetall's design mounting 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 two secondary turrets mounted to the front and the rear of the main turret. These secondary turrets were slightly adapted Panzer I turrets, with the standard machinegun armament.
Rheinmetall's design was designated the PzKpfw NbFz V ('PanzerKampfwagen NeubauFahrzeug V'), and the Krupp design the 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. Development nevertheless continued in order for the nascent German military to gain experience with multi-turreted tanks.
In 1934 Rheinmetall built two mild steel prototypes, the first armed with an in-house turret design, and the second with a Krupp turret. Three more prototypes were built with proper armor and the Krupp turret in 1935 and 1936.
[edit] Combat history
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 a special Panzerabteilung was formed which took the three armored prototypes with them to Oslo. They saw some combat there, with one being blown up by German engineers when it got stuck in swamps near Åndalsnes. To replace it, one of the mild steel prototypes was used.
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, which took place in 1942 according to documents captured by the British in 1945. The dates upon which the vehicles were scrapped are unclear, but it is thought that the beginning of the construction of the Grille prototypes (128 mm KwK44 L60 or L71 cannon on the Henschel Vk3001 and Vk3002 Chassis) dates from the same time. Certainly the two Grille were completed, one of which saw action against Russian troops near Kharkov, in both 1943 and 1944.
[edit] Sources
- Achtung Panzer - Neubaufahrzeug accessed 9 April 2005.
- OnWar.com Neubaufahrzeug accessed 9 April 2005.
