Überlandwagen

Infobox Weapon|is_vehicle=yes|name=A7V


caption=
type=Supply carrier
origin= flagcountry|German Empire
service= September 1917 - November 1917
used_by= flagcountry|German Empire
wars= World War I
designer= Joseph Vollmer
design_date=1916
manufacturer=Daimler-Benz
unit_cost=
production_date=
number= 30
variants=
length=
width=
height=
weight=
suspension=Holt track, vertical springs
speed= 13 km/h
vehicle_range=
primary_armament=
secondary_armament=
armour=
engine=2×Daimler 4-cylinder
engine_power=200 hp (149 kW)
pw_ratio=
crew=2The Überlandwagen ("Over-land vehicle") was a tracked supply carrier built on the chassis of the German A7V Sturmpanzerwagen tank. When the A7V was first designed the design committee made allowance for the chassis to be fitted with an alternative load carrier body.

Description

The Überlandwagen shared a common chassis with the A7V tank, with suspension derived from the American Holt tractor and twin 100 hp Daimler engines centrally mounted. A driving position was sited above the engines on a platform, with dual sets of controls for driving in either direction to avoid the need to turn the vehicle. A canopy was fitted over the driving position and wooden dropsides and ends were fitted at the front and rear of the vehicle. Some examples had rails added to support a tarpaulin over the load spaces. Towing hooks were fitted at both ends of the chassis.

The vehicle had a top speed of 13 km/h and was manned by a driver and an assistant.

ervice

A production run of 30 Überlandwagens was projected but not completed before the end of the war. By the end of September 1917, an experimental transport column had been formed equipped with 8 Überlandwagens, the "ArmeeKraftwagen-Kolonne-Raupe Nr 1111". It was despatched to Northern France in November 1917, and initial reports indicated that the vehicles worked well. They were used up until the end of the war, chiefly to transport general stores and ammunition up to front line positions.

Two lightly armoured vehicles resembling the A7V tank were constructed after the war, one of which was named "Hedi", which were used by government troops or "Freikorps" to quell civil unrest in Berlin in 1919. It is thought that they were constructed using Überlandwagen chassis.

References

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