Schwimmwagen on the Elbe- May 1945

[43rdRecceReg]

Having looked at my fleet of Tanks, I've decided that the Taigen alloy Pz 111 hull will support a Tauchpanzer upper hull, as I already have a StuG 111, albeit in plastic. 'Tauch', incidentally, comes from the same root as 'duck' (not the bird, but the action 'to duck' as in dive for cover. Or: 'Duck you suckers!' ) In Old English (Anglo-Saxon) 'T' and 'TH' probably sounded like D' (English: Thick/ German Dick; English: Thorn/ German-Dorn, English: Thorpe/ German-Dorf,, etc) Blah, blah. You get the picture.
This then made me thing over waterproof vehicles, and how we saw a wonderful example of a DD Sherman tank here lately. The Germans via Volkswagen, however, came up with this neat vehicle which should be a great project for an advanced builder: the Schwimmwagen. Note: it's emission figures couldn't be altered digitally, as the silicon chip hadn't been invented then!

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Then I discover some black and white snaps of GIs crossing the Elbe in a captured Schwimmwagen in May, 1945:

Schwimmwagen on the Elbe May 1945 pic A

Schwimmwagen with four GIs on the elbe in May 1945

Now here's a souped-up Schwimmwagen, with a spot of extra propulsion from external paddle wheels. They're like the nautical equivalent of Grousers.

Adapted and beefed up Schwimmwagen.

Adapted Schwimmwagen.jpg (53.42 KiB) Viewed 2205 times

If you want to spend the rest of the day looking at historical black and white WW2 pics- in fact, the rest of the week, 'cos there are thousands- then go to my fave online Archive:
http://histomil.com/viewtopic.php?f=338 ... 32...Click to enlarge the two Elbe shots.

[43rdRecceReg]

Direct access to almost 250,000 WW2 pics at the Bundesarchiv:
https://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/cross- ... 543746586/
'Bild 101' is the category for the Nazi Era. The archive overall has some 11,000,000 pics

[43rdRecceReg]

As for the Schwimmwagen, it appears that Edouard did a 1/16 version:
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/120300- ... en-typ-166#
I expect, if check the archives someone may have already RCd one

Hmm well, i see that when I was absent, Eddy from Riga (what a talent) finally built the Eduoard he began back in 2015...
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18135&hilit=Schwimmwagen+1%2F16

[Model Builder 4]

The schwimmwagen is a neat little vehicle Roy, I have a 1/16 one in my German fleet albeit a static version, the tub was already glued together when I received it so I didn't really want to cut it apart to try and rc it as it is pretty fragile , it still looks cool as a static piece though

Cheers, Lee.

[Son of a gun-ner]

I have the 35th scale one, it was one of my earliest Tamiya kits at about 13.

Something about the schwimmwagen, was my favourite non tank vehicle at the time

Oh, and as for the photo site link, I hate you Roy, it's amazing.

[Max-U52]

The main trouble with a 16th schwimmwagen is the limited amount of space inside. I'm not sure I would try to waterproof the entire vehicle, I think I'd just make a waterproof container for the battery and electronics. The brushed motors are fine underwater and I think just a good grease would take care of the running gear. One of these days I AM going to do a schwimmwagen in 1/6 scale, and I think that's how I'll approach it, just make sure the water can't get to the sensitive bits and just let the rest get wet.

[43rdRecceReg]

Now here's a souped-up Schwimmwagen, with a spot of extra propulsion from external paddle wheels. They're like the nautical equivalent of Grousers.

Adapted Schwimmwagen.jpg

.

The "Grousers" are actually for snow travel..

Cheers!

Aye, and that's why I wrote 'nautical equivalent', E.F.. Chains for cars in snow and mud; Grousers for Armour in similar conditions; snowshoes or skis for hapless humans!.. Paddle wheels for extra 'grip'/propulsion in water, or flippers for humans..
That 1:6 Dragon version of the Swimmwagen looks pretty interesting, but not cheap at $360.. Know anybody who's built one?

[43rdRecceReg]

Thanks to Lee and Gary for their respective observations.
I guess living near a suitable pond, boating lake, or local stream (not the fast flowing type) would be a prerequisite for a build in 1/16, but especially for a 1:6 scale effort. It might even be an inducement, hey, Gary?
My neighbour has a sizeable Lochan all of his own(a wee Loch, or big pond .. ), and I could use that...if the resident ducks don't protest to much. The full-size real thing, Loch Ewe, is at the bottom of my path, and is tidal-and often pretty wild. I would have to bear this in mind for any sort of floating project, from a Landing Craft through to a Schwimmwagen; or, it's It's likely to end up as a 'sinkwagen'.

[43rdRecceReg]

Following on from Eastern Front's mention of the 1:6 scale version, I found this vid of one in working condition. It looks like a lot of fun

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I only have tracked vehicles in my collection so far, and though tempted by the ingenuity and detail of some truck transmissions on the Forum, (CV joints etc.,), I'm not inclined to join the truck fraternity-not just yet, anyway.
If I were to diversify, something that floats and runs (no, not a tu*d) such as this Schwimmwagen, would fit the bill nicely.

[Son of a gun-ner]

The "Grousers" are actually for snow travel..

Cheers!

Aye, and that's why I wrote 'nautical equivalent', E.F.. Chains for cars in snow and mud; Grousers for Armour in similar conditions; snowshoes or skis for hapless humans!.. Paddle wheels for extra 'grip'/propulsion in water, or flippers for humans..

Roy, I think you'll find that Mr Eastern Front meant those paddle wheels are meant for the snow