Stoewer was a German

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

manufacturer before

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 opposin ...

whose headquarters were in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

(Now Szczecin, Poland).

History

The first company was founded by the Stoewer brothers, Emil (lived 1873 - 1942) and Bernhard (1875 - 1937) in 1896 for manufacturing

sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the inv ...

s in Stettin. In 1899, the Stoewer brothers founded the firm ''Gebrüder Stoewer, Fabrik für Motorfahrzeugen'' and started to produce automobiles. Their first

was the Großer Stoewer Motorwagen, with 6.5 hp (4.8 kW) and maximum speed. In 1908 Stoewers constructed the ''Stoewer G4''. This model was successful for them at the time - 1070 cars were built. In 1910, Stoewer cars were built under licence by Mathis of Strassburg. In 1916, the family-owned company was transformed into a limited company under the name of ''Stoewer-Werke AG, vormals Gebrüder Stoewer''. In the mid-20s a new class of cars was introduced: the ''D-Types'' included ''D3'', ''D9'' and ''D10'' with four-cylinder engines, as well as ''D5'', ''D6'' and ''D12'' with six cylinders. Something special was the 1921 ''D7'' with a proprietary six-cylinder

aero engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

with . Of the fifty "D10" made, the only survivor was in Melbourne, Australia in original condition. It was on display at the 2014 MotorClassica. It is now in Germany. Stoewer R200 special

In 1928 the company started to build ''S8'' and ''G14'' models with eight-cylinder engines. At the beginning of the 1930s Stoewers delivered their highlights: ''G15 Gigant'', ''M12 Marschall'' and ''P20 Repräsentant'', each with eight-cylinder engines, with 60 to 120 hp (45 to 90 kW) and maximum speed. The production of these cars had to be cancelled after 2,500 vehicles being produced due to worldwide economic troubles. In 1931 Stoewer constructed one of the first cars with

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longit ...

at all, class ''V5'' 25 hp (19 kW), maximum speed. The model named ''Greif Junior'' was built under the licence of Tatra.Odin, L.C. ''World in Motion 1939, The whole of the year's automobile production''. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG. Its successor ''V8 Greif'' was the last car constructed by Mr Stoewer himself; class ''Arkona'' and ''Sedina'' were the last civilian cars produced by the company. In 1936 the Stoewer factory developed the 'uniform light off-road car' (''le.E.Pkw'', leichter geländegängiger Einheits-PKW) for the

German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

, a versatile

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

car, the Stoewer R200 initially (until 1940) equipped with

four-wheel steering Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle. Introduction The most conventional steering arrangement allows a driver to turn the front wheels of a vehicle using ...

. Due to capacity-limitations, the cars also had to be produced by BMW-Factory Eisenach, as BMW 325, and by

Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and B ...

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

as the Type 20B. Together the three manufacturers made a total of ca. 13,000 units. Stoewer was one of several German companies that exploited slave labour during

WW 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 ...

and had its own camp for prisoners.Pomorze Zachodnie na przełomie dwu epok, 1944-1946 Kazimierz Golczewski Wydawn. Poznańskie,page 29, 1964 After

, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

seized the remaining production facilities, dismantled the factory and sent the equipment to the

Soviet Union 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 national ...

. The company subsequently ceased to exist.

Passenger car models

References

External links

Stoewer Museum
* {{Authority control Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1896 Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany History of Szczecin Companies of Prussia Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1945 1896 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Companies involved in the Holocaust Companies based in Szczecin

History

Passenger car models

See also

References

External links