The ''Mittlerer Ladungsträger Springer'' ('' Sd.Kfz.'' 304) was a demolition vehicle of the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Description

Based on the NSU

Sd.Kfz. 2 The (german: Sonderkraftfahrzeug 2) is a half-track motorcycle with a single front wheel, better known as the (), shortened to (pl. ). It was used by the military of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Design The started its life as ...

''Kettenkrad'' light tracked vehicle, NSU Werke at

Neckarsulm Neckarsulm () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. , Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers ...

developed and built around 50 Springer demolition vehicles in the final year of World War II. To make the vehicle capable of carrying a bigger payload without the motorcycle-style front fork of the original, two pairs of overlapping and interleaved road wheels were added to the aft end of the running gear on each side; giving three outer and three inner running wheels. It was powered by the same

Opel Olympia The Opel Olympia is a compact car by German automaker Opel, then part of G.M., from 1935 to 1940, and after World War II continued from 1947 to 1953. It was one of the world's first mass-produced cars with a unitary body structure, after the 1934 ...

engine of the ''Kettenkrad''. The Springer was a demolition vehicle. Its task was to carry a charge of 330 kg (728 lbs) high explosives under armor protection towards a target and detonate it there. A driver, sitting in the back of the Springer, drove the vehicle close to the target before dismounting. The final approach and the detonation of the charge was controlled by a wired or wireless remote control device. Springers were operated by "Radio Control Armoured Companies", a company made up of three ''Sturmgeschütz 40'' armoured control vehicles, each controlling three Springers and a ''Sturmgeschütz'' command vehicle.Tank Museum The Springer showed the same problems as other remote-controlled demolition vehicles: They were expensive and not very reliable. As the explosive charge was an integral part of the vehicle, it could be used only once.

Survivors

An NSU Springer is displayed at

The Tank Museum The Tank Museum (previously The Bovington Tank Museum) is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. It is about north of the village of Wool and west of the major port of Poole. The collection ...

, UK. Another example is preserved at the MM PARK near Strasbourg, in France.

References

* Jaugitz, Markus: ''Die deutsche Fernlenktruppe 1940–1943''. Waffen-Arsenal Special Volume 10, 1994, Podzun-Pallas-Publishers, Germany
Sd Kfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungsträger (E1951.48)
Tank Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Springer (Tank) World War II vehicles of Germany Research and development in Nazi Germany Military robots Robots of Germany Tracked robots 1940s robots Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944 Military vehicles of Germany

Description

Survivors

See also

References