We Love Volkswagen's Past, Present And Future..,: Volkswagen Kübelwagen

VW type 82 'Kübelwagen'

Manufacturer: Volkswagen

Also called: 'Bucket / Tub Car'

Production: 50,435 (1940 - 1945)

Assembly: KDF-Stadt (= Wolfsburg)

Predecessor: VW type 62

Successor: VW type 181 'Thing'

Class: Military Vehicle

Body style(s):

4-door utility roadster

Layout RR layout

Platform VW type 1 Kdf-Wagen

Engine(s)

aircooled flat-4,
985 cc (23 hp) /
1,131 cc (25 hp)

Transmission(s)

4-speed manual;
self-locking differential

Wheelbase 240 cm (94.5 in)
Length 374 cm (147.2 in)
Width 160 cm (63.0 in)

Height

165 cm (65.0 in) (top up);
111 cm (43.7 in) collapsible

Curb weight 715 kg (1,576 lb) (GVW 1,160 kg)

Fuel capacity 30 L (7.9 US gal; 6.6 imp gal)

Related:

VW 166 'Schwimmwagen'

VW 276 Schlepperfahrzeug

The Volkswagen Kübelwagen (short for Kübelsitzwagen, meaning "bucket-seat car") was a military vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche and built by Volkswagen during World War II for use by the German military (both Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS). Based heavily on the Volkswagen Beetle, it was prototyped as the Type 62, but eventually became known internally as the Type 82.

With its rolling chassis and mechanics built at Stadt des KdF-Wagens (Stadt des Kraft durch Freude Wagens, now Wolfsburg) and its body built by US-owned firm Ambi Budd in Berlin, the Kübelwagen was for the Germans what the jeep was for the Allies.

History

The Kübelwagen on the Eastern Front in 1943.

Volkswagen Kübelwagen

VW Kübelwagen rear

Although Adolf Hitler discussed with Ferdinand Porsche the possibility of military application of the Volkswagen as early as April 1934, it wasn't until January 1938, that high ranking Third Reich army officials formally approached Porsche about designing an inexpensive, light-weight military transport vehicle that could be operated reliably both on- and off-road in even the most extreme conditions, suggesting that the Beetle could provide the basis for such a vehicle.

Porsche began work on the project immediately, having a prototype of the vehicle ready within the month, but realized during development that it wouldn't be enough to reinforce the Beetle's chassis to handle the stresses that military use would put on it. In order to guarantee adequate off-road performance of a two-wheel driven vehicle with a 1,000 cc FMCV 1 engine, it would have to be light-weight. In fact, the army had stipulated a laden weight of 950 kg including four battle-dressed troops, which meant that the vehicle itself should not weigh more than 550 kg. Porsche therefore sub-contracted Trutz, an experienced military coachbuilder to help out with the body design.

Developmental testing by the military began after a presentation of the prototypes designated as Type 62 in November 1938. Despite lacking four wheel drive, a mainstay of the American military Jeeps, the vehicle proved very competent at maneuvering its way over rough terrain, even in a direct comparison with a contemporary standard German army 4x4, and the project was given the green light for further development. The vehicle's light weight and ZF self-locking differential compensated for the lack of 4X4 capabilities.

Further development of the Type 62 took place during 1939, including a more angular body design; and pre-production models were field-tested in the invasion of Poland, that started in September that year. Despite their overall satisfaction with the vehicle's performance, military commanders demanded that a few important changes be made: the lowest speed of the vehicle had to be reduced from 8 km/h to 4 km/h as an adjustment to the pace of marching soldiers. Secondly it needed some improvement of its off road ability. Porsche responded to both requests by mounting new axles with gear-reduction hubs, providing the car with more torque and more ground-clearance all at once. Revised dampers, 16-inch wheels and a limited slip differential, as well as countless small modifications completed the specification. In order to reflect the changes, the vehicle was re-named Type 82.

Full scale production of the Type 82 Kübelwagen started in February 1940, as soon as the VW factories had become operational. No major changes took place until production ended in 1945, only small modifications were implemented—mostly eliminating unnecessary parts and reinforcing some which had proved unequal to the task. Prototype versions were assembled with four-wheel drive (Type 86) and different engines, but none offered a significant increase in performance or capability over the existing Type 82 and the designs were never implemented. As of March 1943, the car received a revised dash and the bigger 1,131 cc engine developed for the Schwimmwagen that produced more torque and power than the original 985 cc unit. When Volkswagen production ceased at the end of the war, 50,435 Kübelwagen vehicles had been produced and the vehicle had proven itself to be surprisingly useful, reliable, and durable.

VW resurrected the basic Kübelwagen design several decades after the war as the 1969 Type 181, developed for the German Federal Armed Forces and later also produced for the civilian market known as "Thing" in the US, "Trekker" in the UK and "Safari" in Mexico. Although similar in looks and design, almost no parts were interchangeable with the type 82.

Technology and performance

VW Type 82 with visible engine in Sicily (1943).

When the German military took delivery of the first vehicles, they immediately put them to the test on- and off-road in snow and ice to test their capability at handling European winters; several four-wheel-drive vehicles were used as reference points. The two-wheel drive Kübelwagen surprised even those who had been a part of its development, as it handily out-performed the other vehicles in nearly every test. Most notably - thanks to its smooth, flat underbody—the Kübel would propel itself much like a motorised sled when its wheels were sinking into sand, snow or mud, allowing it to follow tracked vehicles with remarkable tenacity.

In November 1943, the U.S. military conducted a series of tests as well on several Type 82s they had captured in North Africa; they concluded that the vehicle was simpler, easier to manufacture and maintain, faster, and more comfortable for four passengers than the U.S. Jeeps.

At the same time another Kübelwagen also captured in North Africa had been dissected in Britain by engineers of the Humber Car Company, whose report was equally unfavourable and dismissive.

Among the design features that contributed to the Kübelwagen's performance were:

Light weight - although over a foot longer than the Willys MB, it was over 300 kg (some 700 lb) lighter

(the car was even lighter than the smallest US military jeep ever accepted for service: the M422 'Mighty Mite')

Very flat and smooth underbody, that allowed the car to slide over the surface it was traversing, if need be:

Considerable ground clearance - roughly 28 cm (11 in) —in part thanks to:

The use of portal gear hub reduction, providing more torque and ride height simultaneously

Independent suspension on all four wheels

Self-locking differential, limiting slippage and retaining traction

Apart from that the air-cooled engine proved highly tolerant of hot and cold climates, and naturally invulnerable to bullet holes in the absence of a radiator.

Only for starting under winter conditions, a specially volatile starting fuel was required, contained in a small auxiliary fuel tank.

Also the body of the vehicle could easily be modified to special purposes, since it was not a load-bearing part of the structure of the vehicle.

The Kübelwagen could reach a top speed of 80 kilometers per hour.

Body variants

Type 82E – Kübelwagen chassis / Beetle body.

Type 82E rear

The following body types and variants of the Type 82 were produced:

Type 62: Prototype Kübelwagen, constructed from May 15, 1938; pre-production models (1939) field tested in the invasion of Poland

Type 67: 2-stretcher ambulance; Type 60 Beetle chassis with modified Type 82 body

Type 82/0: Basic four seater

Type 82/I: Three-seat radio car

Type 82/2: Sirencar (Siemens motordriven siren mounted on passenger side in place of the rear seat)

Type 82/3: Mock-up armoured vehicle/command car with machinegun-fitted turret over the cabin

Type 82/5: Kübelwagen chassis with the Type 60 LO Lieferwagen (open pickup truck) body

Type 82/6: Tropical version sedan-body box van

Type 82/7: Three-seat 'Command car' made up of a Type 82 chassis, fitted with a Beetle body and roll-up canvas roof section. These three-seaters had a co-drivers seat with fully reclining backrest for the commander.

Type 82/8: Like Type 82/0 but had an open body made of wood

Type 82/E: Kübelwagen chassis with Beetle body (688 manufactured)

Type 86: All-wheel drive prototype (6 fabricated)

Type 87: 'Kommandeurwagen' Type 86 4x4 Kübelwagen chassis with Beetle command car body. Fitted with running boards, under-hood-mounted spare tire (accompanied by a gas can, a jack, a small tool kit, and a shovel), and widened fenders for its larger-diameter Kronprinz (Crown Prince) off-road tires, some were provided to preferred officers, who could push through virtually any kind of terrain with them (667 produced)

Type 89: Fitted with an experimental automatic transmission

Type 98: 4x4 Kübelwagen-chassis with a Beetle body

Type 106: Fitted with an experimental transmission (assumed different from the Type 89)

Type 107: Fitted with a turbocharger

Type 115: Fitted with a supercharger

Type 126: Fitted with a fully-synchronized gearbox (assumed different from the Type 278)

Type 155/1: Half-track / snow-track Kübelwagen prototype. Pictures of several track-set designs exist,

although it is possible that these were consecutively fitted to the same prototype.

Trials proved that the Type 155 was able to cover the most difficult terrain, but the modifications necessary to the standard Kübelwagen were extensive and the resulting vehicle was both very slow and forbiddingly inefficient.

Type 157: Railway car equipment, used for Types 82 and 87

Type 164: Six-wheeled, twin engine, dual-control prototype; never entered production

Type 177: Fitted with a 5-speed transmission (as opposed to the standard 4-speed unit)

Type 179: Fitted with fuel-injected Volkswagen engine

Type 198: Fitted with a PTO and auxiliary gearbox for starting the engines of armoured fighting vehicles

Type 235: Fitted for power by an electric motor

Type 239: Fitted for power by a wood-gas generator mounted on the nose (also listed as Type 230)

Type 240: Fitted for power by bottled gas

Type 276: Type 82 fitted with a towing hook to pull a 37 PAK gun

Type 278: Fitted with synchronized gearbox

Type 307: Fitted with a heavy-duty carburetor

Type 309: Prototype fitted with a diesel engine

Type 331: Prototype fitted for power by a "native fuel system" (acetylene gas) engine (also listed as Type 231)

Type 332: Fitted for power by anthracite coal

Additional information

The Kübelwagen concept was the basis for other projects: the Australian Volkswagen Country Buggy, the VW Type 181 (The Thing) and the Porsche Jagdwagen.

The object resembling a helmet, often seen in the left front bumper of many Kübelwagen (and Kommandeurwagen), is actually a Notek black-out driving light.

The German word Kübelwagen is an abbreviation, fully pronounced Kübelsitzwagen (bucket-seat car).

The car was drivable in the Java level and was featured in Body Harvest on the N64.

It still used the name Kübelwagen in the game.

The car was also drivable in the game Call of Duty 3, in particular the Eder Dam map.