The Volkswagen Kubelwagen was one of the most familiar vehicles of World War II. It was designed by
Porsche as early as 1934, under instructions from Hitler to develop a "peoples car". In the following
years, a model was standardized for all military branches as a Type 82. In 1938 a Volkswagen plant
was constructed in Wolfsburg, and in 1940 production of the Kubelwagen began. The vehicle was designed
to be as light-weight, easy to manufacture and cheap to build as possible. It had a layout much like
the U.S. Jeep, and with its well designed independent suspension and self-locking differential, it had very
good cross-country performance. The Volkswagen Type 1 998cc 4-cylinder air-cooled engine that it used
became one of the most reliable engines ever designed, and with its ruggedness and ease of maintenance, it
was well suited for military use. There were several variants produced, one of which was adapted to
aid its poor performance in desert conditions. This was referred to as the "Tropical" version and
included larger sand tires. By the end of the war, roughly 55,000 Type 82 Kubels had been built,
compared to 600,000 American Jeeps, no doubt due to the constraints placed on German machinery production.
In the late 1930's the German government implemented the Schell plan, which standardized truck production to
designated models for different weight categories. Ford was one of six manufactures in the 3-ton
class. The Ford truck was generally similar to the regular commercial model, and was powered by either
a 3.6-liter or 3.9-liter engine. The larger engine had a five-speed transmission while the smaller
engine came with four speeds, and all were 4x2 drive. The earlier models had civilian type cabs but
as the war went on, they were produced with a square cab made from wood and compressed cardboard.
Over the course of putting this feature together, I somehow lost my notes as to the owner or home
location of these vehicle. If you own one of these vehicles, or have information about them, please
contact me HERE.
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