Fritz Fiedler
Today, few people remember that the Bavarian company BMW - one of the world's most famous and prestigious manufacturers of quality cars - started out with a large supply of military equipment to the German Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. It emerged during the First World War, through the merger of two smaller firms in Munich and manufacture of aircraft engines, originally called the "Bayerische Flyugtsoygverke" (Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, BFW), and in 1917 there was a famous BMW acronym formed from the names of its new "Bayerische Motorenwerke" (Bayerische Motorenwerke) - "Bavarian Motor Works".
In the 20-ies. BMW was on the verge of bankruptcy. To exit from the crisis in 1928, it acquired a small German company "Dixie" (Dixi) of Eisenach, produces 15-horsepower microcar DA-1 (3/15PS). With him at the disposal of the BMW entered and its simplified two-seater military option Kfz.1 for exploration and patrolling. The car served as the bearer of training dummy plywood tanks for training future soldiers. By making model release 3/15PS under the brand BMW, the newly formed automotive company has become one of the main suppliers of light motor vehicles for the German armed forces. Prior to 1931 they produced 300 copies.
in the ensuing years, the rapid militarization of Germany, almost all cars BMW, created under the direction of engineer Fritz Fiedler (Fritz Fiedler), delivered in units of the Wehrmacht in the military versions with simplified open-freight bodies for 2-5 places adapted for mounting machine guns, communications and special equipment.
BMW-325 Kfz 3 4x4
They are based on production models were "303", "309" and "315" with 4 - and 6-cylinder engines of 22-34 hp In the years 1933-36. they did about two thousand, and in the years 1937-40. BMW has produced over 3.2 million staff standardized wheel-drive cars with all wheel steering, developed by the company "Stever" (Stoewer) and the company is also going to "Ganomag" (Hanomag).
All of them had a single wheelbase of 2400 mm, an outdoor all-metal body with canvas Skid and the same chassis with a 5-speed gearbox, single-stage transfer case, three lockable differentials and independent lever-spring suspension at each wheel. 4-seater multi-purpose vehicle wore military codes and Kfz.1 Kfz.3, with the radio - Kfz.2 and with dual anti-aircraft machine gun - Kfz.4. Different version of BMW's use of its own 6-cylinder engine "325" (2.0 liter, 50 hp) with two carburetors. Served in the Wehrmacht and the standard BMW cars, and the model "335" used by the army command. During the war the company also manufacture aircraft engines and motorcycles.
EuroJeepBMW 4x4 1971
The second wave of the creation of military vehicles at BMW came in the mid 60s., When several Western European companies involved in the creation of standardized jeep for European NATO and the Bundeswehr. In 1967-68. BMW together with "voice" (Glas) produced a sample floating "European Jeep" with the power unit between the two front seats, an outdoor all-metal monocoque body, spring suspension and propeller. In 1971, it built its own modernized version of the full weight of 2.4 tons, which was tested with a 80-horsepower gasoline engine BMW or 70-horsepower flex-fuel engine MAN (MAN), a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed with an additional two-step gearbox and rear axle differential lock. On the highway, the car weighing 1900 kg reached a speed of 105 km / h, afloat - 8 km / h Its development is considered zadnemotornyh "Euro-SUV" model in 1972, established firms FIAT (FIAT), SAVIEM (SAVIEM) and MAN, but here the contribution of BMW's limited supply of 2-liter gasoline engine. Since then, the armed forces of many countries used a serial cars of this brand.
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