Grosstraktor on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Grosstraktor'' (German: "large
After the first World War, Germany realized the value of tanks in warfare. In 1925, plans to design tanks for the Reichswehr were secretly initiated. The Grosstraktor was the first of the tank designs for the Reichswehr.
The Grosstraktor began life when design specifications for a tank known as the "Armeewagen 20" were created in 1926. It was to be a 15 tonne tank armed with a 7.5 cm gun in a fully rotating turret and having a length of 6 meters and a width of 2.4 meters. Contracts to design and build two chassis in soft steel were given to Daimler-Benz, Krupp, and Rheinmetall in March 1927. Krupp designed a turret for their own vehicle, while Rheinmetall designed a turret for both their own and Daimler-Benz's tanks.
Construction of the six Grosstraktor was started at a Rheinmetall shop in Unterlüß in August 1928, and was completed by the end of June 1929. They were then shipped to a secret testing ground near
tractor
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...
") was the codename given to six prototype medium tanks built (two each) by Rheinmetall-Borsig
Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...
, Krupp, and Daimler-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactur ...
, for the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
. Constructed in secret, they were tested by Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...
units at the Kama tank school The Kama tank school (german: Panzerschule Kama) was a secret training school for tank commanders operated by the German ''Reichswehr'' near Kazan, Soviet Union. It operated from 1929 to 1933. The school was established in order to allow the German ...
in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. They were used for training and retired as monuments after the Nazi party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
came to power.Peter Chamberlin and Hillary Doyle, ''Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two'', 1978, 1999, p. 147
Development history
After the first World War, Germany realized the value of tanks in warfare. In 1925, plans to design tanks for the Reichswehr were secretly initiated. The Grosstraktor was the first of the tank designs for the Reichswehr.
The Grosstraktor began life when design specifications for a tank known as the "Armeewagen 20" were created in 1926. It was to be a 15 tonne tank armed with a 7.5 cm gun in a fully rotating turret and having a length of 6 meters and a width of 2.4 meters. Contracts to design and build two chassis in soft steel were given to Daimler-Benz, Krupp, and Rheinmetall in March 1927. Krupp designed a turret for their own vehicle, while Rheinmetall designed a turret for both their own and Daimler-Benz's tanks.
Construction of the six Grosstraktor was started at a Rheinmetall shop in Unterlüß in August 1928, and was completed by the end of June 1929. They were then shipped to a secret testing ground near Kazan, Russia
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
for trials, arriving in July 1929. There, Mk 6/380/160 track links replaced the originals.
References
Bibliography
*External links
*http://www.achtungpanzer.com/leichte-traktor-grosstraktor-i-ii-iii-neubaufahrzeug-pzkpfw-v-vi.htm {{Interwar tanks Interwar tanks of Germany Medium tanks of Germany Trial and research tanks of Germany