Classic Military Vehicle – September 2019

The with

words Richard Gunn pictures Archive

The with

words Richard Gunn pictures Archive

BiteBite

The with

Bite

The with

W

atch practically any war movie

or TV drama set in Germany,

occupied Europe or North Africa,

and almost inevitably a Volkswagen-based

Kübelwagen or Schwimmwagen will pop

up at some point. These two vehicles, built

in substantial numbers (approximately

52,000 of the Kübelwagen and 14,283 of the

Schwimmwagen), were as synonymous with

the Wehrmacht as Jeeps and DUKWs were

with Allied forces during World War Two.

Bug

However, throw in the vehicle that both

the fi ghting Kübelwagen and fl oating

Schwimmwagen originated from – the

Kraft durch Freude-Wagen (KdF-Wagen) or

Volkswagen Type 1, more commonly known

post-war as the Beetle – and many might

question whether it was an anachronism.

Granted, the Beetle (we’ll call it that for ease of

identifi cation, even though it wouldn’t earn that

nickname until the 1950s) had been launched

by the time Word War Two started and limited

Richard Gunn tells

the story of the

Kommandeurwagen,

the Volkswagen Beetle

saloon that became a

4x4 fi ghting machine

One of the two 1946

British Army trial

Kommandeurwagens,

showing its roller

front end to try and

avoid digging-in