Factory &
prototypes
Drawings
New
Pictures
Sources / links
Illustrations
Modells
Survivors
About this site
Questions

Exact translation of the article.
Guy Franz Arend was the collector and driving force behind the (in)famous Victory museum in Arlon. The article was writen in those days. The collection seemed to exist from a part that was on loan, many magnificent Italian vehicles among them, and a part that was in the end sold(?) to Auburn where it was the Victory museum again, until auctioned off. Many exhibit had reconstructed components. Mr. Arend sadly was never heared of.

39/45 magazine, N⁰ 78, Décembre 1992

Page 1: Museum exhibit the s.WS from the "Victory Memorial Museum" [in Hondelange, near Arlon, Belgium] (Part 1) Author: Guy Franz Arend

The two heavy Wehrmacht tractors (s.WS) on display at the Victory [Memorial Museum] are without a doubt the two rarest vehicles in the collection, even though it already contains many other rarities. Moreover, their adventure is not exactly banal... I never hoped to find these vehicles. I would even say that they were practically unknown and it was only chance, as was the case with many vehicles in the collection, that got things rolling.

Among the various armored vehicle parts we received, we found an armor plate of unusually large dimensions; as we could not identify it immediately, we put it aside. We almost cut it up several times to help restore other armored vehicles; it only escaped this reuse because of its considerable thickness, which no angle grinder could get through. One day, while looking for information on a half-track in John Milson's book "German Half-Tracked Vehicles of WW2", I discovered, right at the end, the German half-track tractors of the third generation. I immediately ran to our warehouse where this plate was and identified it: it was the front armor of the armored cabin of the armored s.WS! This exceptional vehicle was not on our ideal list of vehicles that should make up the collection; it is true that the experts who put it together did not hope to find even one or two German half-tracks. Let us remember that the collection ultimately includes sixteen of eighteen known models...

Captions:
- s.WS Cargo on display at the Victory Memorial Museum;
- s.WS armored with 3.7cm FlaK 43 on display at the Victory Memorial Museum;
- The road wheels of the s.WS Cargo are of a rare model found only on the s.WS;
- The front axle of the s.WS Cargo was moved forward by extending the original chassis;
- This s.WS only survived thanks to the use of its very robust chassis, which can carry heavy gravel pit equipment.

Page 2:

Captions:
- This other s.WS luckily survived by its use in a gravel work;
- Freed from it's impressing contraption, this s.WS can be restort;
- Rare stroke of luck, the frontwheels are original!

The hope - which is always a starting point - of finding an s.WS chassis seemed to be zero. So I was all the more delighted when I was offered one. As you can already imagine, I didn't hesitate for long. The attached photos show the condition of the chassis, like a second one that was offered to us later and how both had survived the test of time through reuse... The second chassis was even rarer: it is equipped with wheels that deviate from the standard, which can only be explained by production towards the end of its life. They are solid wheels that are not perforated as usual. Needless to say, we were on the winning side with just one armor plate and a chassis that also had the front axle steering modified... But this plate told us the dimensions and angles for the hood and the correct position of the front fenders. Just a few other components and our knowledge should be enough to completely restore this impressive, armored vehicle. For the restoration of the unarmored version, we were lucky enough to find many of the necessary components, which made our work much easier.
(To be continued)

39/45 magazine, N⁰ 79, Janvier 1993

Page 3:

Museum exhibit --- The s.WS from the "Victory Memorial Museum" (Part 2) Author: Guy Franz Arend

In the first part we described the journey of the two examples in the collection from their discovery to the completion of their restoration. Here we supplement the illustrations from the first part and provide some explanations about the history and technical data of these exceptional vehicles. In July 1942, on Hitler's orders, production of the Sd.Kfz. 6 5t tractor was stopped in favor of the s.WS. These were to be simplified, slow half-track vehicles to serve the infantry as supply transporters in difficult conditions. Büssing-NAG was entrusted with this project, in collaboration with Ringhöfer-Tatra. On July 27, 1942, the Army High Command ordered 7,484 s.WS vehicles, to be delivered over the next two years. The first 150 examples were to be ready in the spring of 1943, but in reality only five were delivered by the end of that year. The collaboration with Tatra meant that after the war, production for the Czechoslovak army continued in a similar form. By December 1944, only 381 s.WS had been delivered to the Wehrmacht, the total being just under 1,000 units by the time of the capitulation. It is therefore a very rare vehicle that appeared late on the battlefield. It served mainly during the Battle of the Bulge, as numerous archive photos attest. The s.WS was intended to gradually replace all other half-track tractors in a late standardization look. But the Germans did not have time for this. A bit about the technology... It is curious to note that this heavy vehicle was powered by the Maybach HL42 TRKMS six-cylinder engine, which can also be found in the 1t and 3t half-tracks, which were much lighter and already underpowered!

The result is, as is well known, [...]

Captions:
- The s.WS Cargo on its first trip;
- The armored s.WS with 3.7cm FlaK 43 on display in the "Victory Memorial Museum";
- Factory photo of the s.WS Cargo;
- Factory photo of the s.WS before the cannon was mounted;
- The chassis of the s.WS was sandblasted and painted with anti-corrosion protection. The reconstruction of the superstructure can now begin.

Page 4:

[...] a very slow speed. The Tatra model was equipped with their air-cooled 111 engine. The design of the tracks was similar to that of the Panther and 50cm wide. Many parts of the 1t and 3t series were adopted, such as the dry double clutch. The gearbox had four (?) forward and one reverse gear. The steering was pneumatically assisted, with the tracks being locked. The unarmored Cargo model had an open cabin with a fabric top and a classic flatbed, also with a fabric tarpaulin. The armored model was heavier (10 tons empty weight), had a payload of 3.5 tons and 8 tons towing capacity, so with its usual appendage: the 8.8cm cannon. In the rear part of the armored cabin there was a bench to accommodate and protect the crew (?). The armor was 16mm thick at the front, compared to 8mm on the sides. The unarmored model had a winch under the bed, the armored one did not.
However, we are in the presence of two real rarities, a criterion which, together with the quality of the restoration, represents the value and interest of a collection.

Captions:
- The drive of the armored s.WS was found intact;
- The suspension with torsion bars;
- The armored s.WS with 3.7cm FlaK 43 of the Victory [Memorial Museum] on its first outing. The paintwork is from the Panzer Division Herman Goering, Stb III, FlaK Regiment.

Main | Sitemap | | last revised: October 17 2024