Joseph Vollmer (1871–1955) was a German automobile designer and engineer and a pioneering tank designer. As chief designer for the German War Department's motor vehicle section, he designed the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
German tanks
A7V
The A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as ''Überlandwagen'' cargo carriers. Th ...
,
K-Wagen
The ''Großkampfwagen'' or "K-Wagen" (short for ''G.K.-Wagen'') was a German super-heavy tank, two prototypes of which were almost completed by the end of World War I.
History
In June 1917, before the first A7V tanks had been completed, the Ger ...
,
LK I
The Leichter Kampfwagen ( en, light combat car) or "LK I" was a German light tank prototype of the First World War. Designed to be a cheap light tank as opposed to the expensive heavies coming into service at the time, the tank only reached the ...
and
LK II.
Early life
Born the son of a master locksmith, Vollmer grew up with three brothers in
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
. He attended the Municipal Trade School and after graduating in 1886 went to
Cannstatt
Bad Cannstatt, also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart's ...
, to take up an apprenticeship as a mechanic in the
Maschinenfabrik Esslingen
Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME), was a German engineering firm that manufactured locomotives, tramways, railway wagons, roll-blocks, technical equipment for the railways, (turntables and traversers), bridges, steel structures, pumps and boilers. ...
. In 1894 he completed his engineering studies at the
Technikum Mittweida in
Sachsen
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
.
Career
Vollmer's career as an engineer and automobile pioneer began at
Bergmann
Bergmann is a German or Swedish surname. It means "mountain man" in both languages, as well as "miner" in German.
'' Bergman'' is also a common surname in the United States, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.
The surname may refer to:
*Art Be ...
's automobile division in
Gaggenau
Gaggenau is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located some 8 km northeast of Baden-Baden.
History
Gaggenau was first mentioned in local records in 1243 under the name "Gaggenaw". The present distric ...
, beginning over 100 years of automobile construction in Gaggenau with the "Orient Express" automobile.
In 1897 Vollmer moved to the
Kühlstein Wagenbau company of
Berlin-Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...
.
From 1901, he worked for
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the Second World War, AEG ...
, where in 1902 he became head of their
NAG subsidiary. All vehicles produced by AEG-NAG until 1906 were produced under Vollmer's direction and were designed by him, including the world's first
truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
, the DURCH tractor-trailer of 1903.
In 1905 Vollmer married Hedwig Stöhr, with whom he had two daughters; they celebrated their
golden wedding anniversary in 1955.
Vollmer left NAG in 1906 and together with his friend Ernst Neuberg founded the Deutsche Automobil-Construktionsgesellschaft (DAC).
World War I
During World War I, Vollmer acquired the rank of captain, and as chief designer for the German War Department's motor vehicle section, he designed the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
German tanks
A7V
The A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as ''Überlandwagen'' cargo carriers. Th ...
,
K-Wagen
The ''Großkampfwagen'' or "K-Wagen" (short for ''G.K.-Wagen'') was a German super-heavy tank, two prototypes of which were almost completed by the end of World War I.
History
In June 1917, before the first A7V tanks had been completed, the Ger ...
,
LK I
The Leichter Kampfwagen ( en, light combat car) or "LK I" was a German light tank prototype of the First World War. Designed to be a cheap light tank as opposed to the expensive heavies coming into service at the time, the tank only reached the ...
and
LK II
Post war
Vollmer subsequently moved to
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, to join the
Skoda
Škoda means ''pity'' in the Czech and Slovak languages. It may also refer to:
Czech brands and enterprises
* Škoda Auto, automobile and previously bicycle manufacturer in Mladá Boleslav
** Škoda Motorsport, the division of Škoda Auto respons ...
company for whom he designed a wheel/track light tank, the KH-50 (Kolo-Housenka). This design had roadwheels mounted on the drive sprockets and jockey wheels behind them to support the tracks. Despite impressive specifications for the period - 13 mm armour, 37 mm turret-mounted armament, and a 50 hp engine capable of driving the tank at (on tracks) and (on wheels) - it was rejected by the Czech army.
The army was, however, impressed by the hybrid wheel/track concept and commissioned further studies, which resulted in the KH-60 (1928–29) and the KH-70 (1930). In these two designs the engine power was increased to 60 hp and 70 hp respectively and a better system was developed for switching between track and wheel use which allowed a change in less than 10 minutes.
2 KH-50 prototypes were built, one of which was later converted to a KH-60 and the other scrapped. Actual production included 2 KH-60s to the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and 1 KH-70 to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The wheel-on-track concept was finally abandoned in 1934.
During the course of his career Vollmer was granted 450 German and foreign patents. His life's work was honored by being awarded the
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
(Federal Cross of Merit).
Joseph Vollmer died after delivering a lecture in the
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
factory in
Brunswick on 9 October 1955.
In 2005 his hometown of Baden-Baden dedicated a bridge to him. The Joseph Vollmer Bridge is located between Europastraße/B500 and Schwarzwaldstraße. He had previously had a street in
Ortenberg named after him: Joseph-Vollmer-Strasse.
Notes
References
*
* (English Edition)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vollmer, Joseph
Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
German automobile designers
Engineers from Baden-Württemberg
German Army personnel of World War I
People from Baden-Baden
1871 births
1955 deaths
People from the Grand Duchy of Baden