''Kriegslokomotiven'' (german: for "war locomotives", singular: ''Kriegslokomotive'') or ''Kriegsloks'' were locomotives produced in large numbers during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

under

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Their construction was tailored to the economic circumstances of wartime

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

along with conquered and occupied territories across Europe, taking account of the shortage of materials, the transportation of goods in support of military logistics, ease of maintenance under difficult conditions, resistance to

extreme weather Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a loca ...

, limited life and the need for rapid, cheap mass production. In order to meet these requirements, economic drawbacks such as relatively high fuel consumption had to be accepted. Forced labour was used in the construction of some of the locomotives; German locomotive building firms employed prisoners from concentration camps and foreign, mostly Polish, workers.

Construction

The war locomotives (or ''Kriegslokomotiven'') were kept technically as simple as possible and the use of scarce materials (particularly copper) was dropped. Several German firms used prisoners from concentration camps as forced labour in the production of ''Kriegslokomotiven''.

Borsig Lokomotiv Werke (AEG) The rail vehicle factory in Hennigsdorf, Germany, was founded in 1910 by AEG. Locomotive production began in 1913, and in the 1930s absorbed the work of the August Borsig locomotive factory, being renamed the Borsig Lokomotiv Werke GmbH until 19 ...

used forced labour from

KL Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

Schichau-Werke The Schichau-Werke (F. Schichau, Maschinen- und Lokomotivfabrik, Schiffswerft und Eisengießerei GmbH) was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, Germany (now Elbląg, Poland) on the Frisches Haff (Vistula Lagoon) of then- Eas ...

used

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

from KZ Stutthof, and its subcamps. DWM Posen (''

Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken ''Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken Aktiengesellschaft'' (German Weapons and Munitions public limited company), known as DWM, was an arms company in Imperial Germany created in 1896 when '' Ludwig Loewe & Company'' united its weapons and am ...

Posen'') took over Polish manufacturer H. Cegielski – Poznań and turned its workforce into forced labour. Oberschlesische Lokfabrik Krenau took over Polish manufacturer

Fablok Fablok is a Polish manufacturer of locomotives, based in Chrzanów. Until 1947 the official name was ''First Factory of Locomotives in Poland Ltd.'' ( pl, Pierwsza Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce Sp. Akc.), Fablok being a widely used syllabic abbreviat ...

and used forced labour under threat of death. Identical engines were produced in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Kassel,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Stuttgart,

Kirchen Kirchen (Sieg) is a town and Luftkurort (climatic spa) in the district of Altenkirchen in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg, approx. 12 km southwest of Siegen. Among its notable features is the Freu ...

, Plzeň (Pilsen), and Strasbourg. The manufacture of electric locomotives as ''Kriegslokomotiven'' was a special case, because they could only be used in the core network where there was the working infrastructure able to supply the current: power stations, overhead transmission lines, electricity substations and

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superfici ...

. As a rule, locomotives were preferred that were dependent on additional infrastructure as little as possible. German electric locomotives were given aluminium windings in the

traction motors A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (electric multiple uni ...

and

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

s, and the steam engines had steel fireboxes, hence the name ''Heimstofflok'' or 'home-grown loco'.

Classes

A ''Kriegslokomotive'' usually had two classifications: one based on the normal peacetime classification system and a separate wartime classification. For example, a wartime steam locomotive or ''Kriegsdampflokomotive'' (KDL) was given a KDL class as well as its DRG (''

Deutsche Reichsbahn The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...

'') class. Likewise a wartime motorised locomotive or ''Kriegsmotorlokomotive'' had a KML class number and a wartime electric locomotive or ''Kriegselektrolokomotive'' would have a KEL class number. Besides the DRG, the German Armed Forces had their own locomotive classes. A field railway locomotive belonging to the Army were known as a ''

Heeresfeldbahnlokomotive {{unreferenced, date=December 2014 A Heeresfeldbahnlokomotive is the German term for a special wartime locomotive (''Kriegslokomotive'') for employment on military field railways (''Heeresfeldbahnen''), railways usually designed to transport militar ...

'' or HF. Standard gauge engines for the

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 ...

, mostly diesel switchers, were designated "Wehrmacht Standard Gauge Locomotive" (''Wehrmachtslokomotive für Regelspur'') or WR. The following classes of Kriegslokomotive were procured by the

and other customers (industrial and military railways) during the Second World War: DR Class 52

; Steam locomotives (''Kriegsdampflokomotive'' or "KDL") * DRB Class 52 (KDL 1) * BMB Class 534.0 (KDL 2) * DRG Class 42 (KDL 3) * ELNA 6 0-8-0T industrial (KDL 4) * 0-10-0T industrial (KDL 5) * 0-8-0T industrial (KDL 6) * 0-6-0T industrial (KDL 7) * 0-4-0T industrial (KDL 8) * 900 mm gauge 0-6-0T industrial (KDL 9) * 900 mm gauge 0-4-0T industrial (KDL 10) * HF 160 D (KDL 11) * HF 70 C (KDL 12) *

Henschel Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting v ...

"Riesa" type construction locomotive, austere version, (KDL 13) ; Internal combustion locomotives (''Kriegsmotorlokomotive'' or KML) * (KML 1) * WR D 311 - 2 were used on the 80 cm railway guns. Also base of some post-war development. *

DRG Köf II German ''Kleinlokomotiven'' (literally: small locomotives) like the DRG Kö II (later: Köf II) were developed as locomotives with a low weight and driving power for light shunting duties. There were two classes, based on engine power. The Cla ...

(KML 2) * HF 130 C (KML 3) * HF 50 B (KML 4) * O&K MD 2 (KML 5) * Twin-axled mining locomotives (KML 6, KML 7, KML 8) ; Electric locomotives (''Kriegselektrolokomotive'' or KEL) * DRG Class E 44 (KEL 1) * DRG Class E 94 (KEL 2) * Bo′Bo′Bo′ mining (KEL 3) * 900 mm gauge Bo′Bo′ mining (KEL 4) * 550–630 mm gauge Bo industrial (KEL 5) * 550–630 mm gauge Bo′Bo′ mining (KEL 7) * Bo Battery-electric mining (KEL 7, KEL 8, KEL 9) ; Fireless steam locomotives (''Dampfspeicherlokomotive'') * 0-6-0 (KFL 1) * 0-4-0 (KFL 2) A large number of DRB Class 52 locomotives were rebuilt by

into

DR Class 52.80 The '' Rekolokomotives'' of DR Class 52.80 first appeared in 1960 in service with the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany as extensive rebuilds of the wartime locomotives or '' Kriegslokomotiven'' of the DRB Class 52 built by Nazi Germany. This mo ...

References

* *

External links

* {{cite web , url = http://www.malletlok.de/ge/ge_d/br53.htm , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161215064455/http://www.malletlok.de/ge/ge_d/br53.htm , archive-date = 15 December 2016 , title = Das Projekt der Kriegslokomotive 53 0001 , language = de The Borsig class 53 project. Steam locomotive types Locomotives of Germany Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft locomotives Military locomotives of Germany

Construction

Classes

See also

References

External links