German Staff Cars

[p***@hotmail.com]

I have often seen those big Mercedes open-topped staff cars in WW2
movies; it occurs to me that this may reflect the vehicles available to
film makers rather than historical reality.

Were other makes in use as well as Mercedes-Benz?

Were sedans or other enclosed body styles ever used?

Were Waffen SS staff cars distinguished from Wermacht ones in terms of
make, model, paint scheme, or markings?

Thank you,
Peter Wezeman
anti-social
Darwinist

[Don Phillipson]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I have often seen those big Mercedes open-topped staff cars in WW2
movies; it occurs to me that this may reflect the vehicles available to
film makers rather than historical reality.

Original sources of information include abundant
photographic records of luxury cars actually used
by top German politicians 1933-1945 (abundant because
Hitler's activities were documented by his personal
photographer.) Mercedes-Benz and Horch open limousines
were common because of Germany's leading role in
automobile production (and racing) between the wars, in
competition with Lagonda, Hispano-Suiza and other marques.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[Cub Driver]

Have you checked the Schiffer catalog? Sounds like the perfect topic
for them.


-- all the best, Dan Ford

email: usenet AT danford DOT net

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

[p***@hotmail.com]

Post by Cub Driver
Have you checked the Schiffer catalog? Sounds like the perfect topic
for them.

Thank you for your suggestion. They list something titled _German
Trucks and Cars in World War II, volume one_, which deals with personel
cars.

Peter Wezeman
anti-social
Darwinst

[brandon]

The Kubelwagen (modification of Volkswagen beetle) was also extensively
used as a staff car.

[Rich Rostrom]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I have often seen those big Mercedes open-topped staff cars in WW2
movies... Were other makes in use as well as Mercedes-Benz?

Other makes were in use.

And not all of the ones in the movies are
Mercedes-Benzes - it may just look that
way because Mercedes was the most prominent
and longest lasting manufacturer of cars
with that body style.

Another fairly common make of German staff
car was Horch.

The car which rumbled through the gate in
the opening credits of "Hogan's Heroes"
was a Horch.

[p***@hotmail.com]

Post by Rich Rostrom

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I have often seen those big Mercedes open-topped staff cars in WW2
movies... Were other makes in use as well as Mercedes-Benz?

Other makes were in use.
And not all of the ones in the movies are
Mercedes-Benzes - it may just look that
way because Mercedes was the most prominent
and longest lasting manufacturer of cars
with that body style.
Another fairly common make of German staff
car was Horch.
The car which rumbled through the gate in
the opening credits of "Hogan's Heroes"
was a Horch.

Does Horch have a present-day corporate descendent?

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

[Bill Shatzer]

***@hotmail.com wrote:

-snip-

Post by p***@hotmail.com
Does Horch have a present-day corporate descendent?

In 1932, Horsch joined DKW, Audi, and Wanderer to form the Auto Union
company.

Auto Union renamed itself Audi in the late '60s.

The four companies which amalgamated to form Auto Union are, incidently,
the origin of the "four ring" badge currently sported by Audis.

Cheers,

[s***@nospamplease.cs.tu-berlin.de]

***@hotmail.com wrote:

: Does Horch have a present-day corporate descendent?

Audi.

Regards, Sven

[Justin]

Post by p***@hotmail.com

Post by Rich Rostrom
The car which rumbled through the gate in
the opening credits of "Hogan's Heroes"
was a Horch.

Does Horch have a present-day corporate descendent?

August Horch was forced out of his company before WW1 and founded Audi.
The name is a Latin analogue to his last name, which means "listen" in
German.

Audi and Horch and two other companies merged to form Auto Union in the
early '30s, but still made cars under their own brand names. The four
rings symbolizing the merger is still Audi's logo. Auto Union and Audi
lived on after the war, but Horch did not.

--Justin

[Rainer Hausbach]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
Does Horch have a present-day corporate descendent?

IMHO Horch is now part of VAG (Volkswagen, Audi AG)
BTW: the Latin word 'audi' actually means 'horch!' (do hear!)

HTH
Rainer

[Don Phillipson]

Post by brandon
The Kubelwagen (modification of Volkswagen beetle) was also extensively
used as a staff car.

This seems to make no sense. Certainly German
generals may have ridden in Kubelwagen, but this does
not make the vehicle a "staff car." Allied generals sometimes
rode in jeeps but their staff cars were limousines, typically
made by Humber or Chrysler.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[brandon]

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

[Pavel Vozenilek]

Post by brandon
Another type of staff car was from Tatra, a auto firm in Czech taken
over by Germans and producd vehicles for Wehrmacht during the war.

Tatra 57 K was produced during 1941-47, some 6,000 machines assembled
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/votw/tatra57k.htm
Another picture:
http://www.militarymuseum.cz/cz/cz/muzeum_expo_detail.php?id=31&id_muzeum=5&id_kat=5


Model Tatra 87 was a luxurious car, 8 cylinders, 55 kW, 3,000 machines
assembled during 1936-50.

Info page (text in Czech):
http://www.tatra.infomorava.cz/encyklopedie/objekty1.phtml?id=73848&user=24&session=58348551&menu=&lng=
Few photos:
http://tatraklub.tatraportal.sk/t87.htm



The company, Tatra in Koprivnice, Czechoslovakia,
had also built trucks and railway cars.

/Pavel

[brandon]

Since the early thirties Tatra was a pioneer in producing cars with
rear mounted air cooled engines.

It is said that the Volkswagen Beetle idea was originally derived from
Tatra cars by Porsche, especially from models like Tatra T97 which look
remarkably like the Beetle (
Loading Image... )

Post by Pavel Vozenilek

Post by brandon
Another type of staff car was from Tatra, a auto firm in Czech taken
over by Germans and producd vehicles for Wehrmacht during the war.

Tatra 57 K was produced during 1941-47, some 6,000 machines assembled
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/votw/tatra57k.htm
http://www.militarymuseum.cz/cz/cz/muzeum_expo_detail.php?id=31&id_muzeum=5&id_kat=5
Model Tatra 87 was a luxurious car, 8 cylinders, 55 kW, 3,000 machines
assembled during 1936-50.
http://www.tatra.infomorava.cz/encyklopedie/objekty1.phtml?id=73848&user=24&session=58348551&menu=&lng=
http://tatraklub.tatraportal.sk/t87.htm
The company, Tatra in Koprivnice, Czechoslovakia,
had also built trucks and railway cars.
/Pavel