The Volkswagen Type 276 ''Schlepperfahrzeug'' (tractor vehicle) was a derivative of the
Type 82 ''Kübelwagen '' modified to enable it to tow a load, gun or a trailer.
The intention was to use them in units composed of two modified ''Schlepperfahrzeug''; one towing a
7.5 cm ''Infanteriegeschütz'' 37 infantry support gun
Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typicall ...
, the other an
ammunition trailer laden with 16 three-round cases of
AP shell, and seven men (drivers included). The Type 276 only appeared at the end of 1944 and never went into mass production.
.
Differences
Apart from having a standard Wehrmacht tow-hook fitted to the rear cross-body member, the Typ276 differed from the standard
Typ82 on the following points:
On the first model, the
rear suspension
Suspension is the system of tires, tire air, springs, shock absorbers and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels and allows relative motion between the two. Suspension systems must support both road holding/ handling and ride q ...
was strengthened, and the car had bigger
tyres (BF 200C16) on 7.00C16 rims (with a smaller offset inwards: 13 mm. instead of 33 mm). These were the same tyres and rims fitted on the
Typ 166 ''Schwimmwagen'' amphibious vehicle.
To improve traction which proved to be grossly inadequate when towing off-road, these Typ 276 were later fitted with different gears in the rear axle
reduction boxes (14:29 = 1:2.07 instead of 15:21 = 1:1.4); this increased the ground clearance by at the rear, brought the top speed down from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 54 km/h (34 mph) at an engine speed of 3,300 rpm, and lowered the rated mileage to 6.35 L/100km (37 mpg) on the road.
To prevent over-revving, especially when driving without a gun or trailer, the engine was fitted with a
governor on the generator shaft (as fitted on the Typ155
stationary engine
A stationary engine is an engine whose framework does not move. They are used to drive immobile equipment, such as pumps, generators, mills or factory machinery, or cable cars. The term usually refers to large immobile reciprocating engines, pr ...
).
With these modifications, the
drawbar pull In automotive engineering, drawbar pull is the amount of horizontal force available to a vehicle at the drawbar for accelerating or pulling a load.
Drawbar pull is a function of velocity, and in general decreases as the speed of the vehicle increa ...
reached, on
tarmac Tarmac may refer to:
Engineered surfaces
* Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902
* Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...
, when starting from a stand, and at a speed of 8 km/h (5 mph) and the Type 276 would create a drawbar pull of about at top speed.
References
Notes
Bibliography
* .
{{DEFAULTSORT:VW 276 Schlepperfahrzeug
World War II vehicles of Germany
276 Schlepperfahrzeug
Goods manufactured in Germany
Rear-engined vehicles
Cars powered by boxer engines
Military light utility vehicles
Military vehicles of Germany