VW Kübelwagen Type 82

Model:	Kübelwagen
Production period:	1940 to 1945
Class :	Military
Body versions :	Various
Engines:	Gasoline: 1.0-1.1 liters (17,5-18 kW)
Length:	3740 mm
Width:	1600 mm
Height:	1110-1650 mm
Wheelbase :	2400 mm
Curb weight :	715-1160 kg

The as Kübelwagen designated VW type 82 is based on the KDF-carriage constructed motor vehicle of the armed forces . From August 1940 to April 1945, the Volkswagen factory at Fallersleben produced 50,788 pieces in various designs. After the end of the war, the Type 82 was for a short time unchanged as Type 21 referred to remaining parts. 

History

After the outbreak of World War II and the concomitant reorientation of the economy in the National Socialist German Reich on the production of military equipment derived from the KdF car off-road vehicle was built. The Type 82 was with total of pieces 50,788 built from 1940 to 1945 unnecessarily with minor changes. The Type 82 is an open, edgy car with fabric top and front windable windshield. It has four doors and can accommodate four people. The spare wheel is located on the sloping front end, in which there is also an accessible compartment for a jerrycan. The trunk is between the rear seats and the engine 

At the suggestion of the Army Weapons Office , Porsche KG began in 1938 with the further development of the KdF car for military purposes. The Army Weapons Office laid down the following requirements: open body, total weight 950 kg (vehicle 550 kg + 400 kg for three men with equipment), low height, possibility of large-scale production with the lowest possible development costs. Furthermore, emphasis was placed on minimum material and production costs. At the end of 1939, the first prototypes of the new off-road vehicle with the angular body were the Type 62 completed. The production of civilian "KdF cars", originally planned for hundreds of thousands of Germans through a savings contract, was abandoned: the use of the Volkswagen plant for armaments production due to the outbreak of war meant the end of the plans for production of the civilian version of the car. The serial production of the VW beetle began only after the war.

After further test drives and modifications to the Type 62, which included a shaft for higher ground clearance and greater wheel torque, the Wehrmacht High Command (OKW) was satisfied with the vehicle and the final vehicle was designated Type 82 . After the first cars were manufactured until the end of June 1940 at Porsche in Stuttgart, began on 3 August 1940, the series production in the Volkswagen factory. The bodies VW did not build itself, but they were delivered in Ambi-Budd from Berlin and painted in the factory. Since the foundry was not yet operational, VW took the castings from the company Rautenbach (Rautal-Werke GmbH) in Wernigerode . At the same time started the development of a version with all-wheel drive , the later type 87 .

In the field, the benefits of the type 82 showed its low weight and the 23.5 hp were with 985 cc displacement engine. Even without four-wheel drive, this was able to drive through difficult terrain. Other advantages were the air cooling , with the car was not dependent on replenishment of water and (in winter) antifreeze. During the course of the war, it became apparent that it could also be used under extreme climatic conditions, such as in North Africa in the Afrika Korps or in Russian winter. In 1943, the 985 cc engine for a stronger type 166 Schwimmwagen further developed 1131 cc engine with 24.5 hp replaced the smaller version. On the basis of the type 82, several variants, modifications and combinations of individual models were developed and built, for example the type 92 flatbed, the type 174 storm boat with VW engine and the type 287 command car. The top speed was about 80 km / h. The production of the wagon ended on April 10, 1945; in the following days American troops occupied the factory.