9781422278208

VOLKSWAGEN

Sitting on a 94.5- inch wheelbase and on 16-inch wheels, the Schwimmwagen handled well in high terrain and high water areas. In all, only 14,276 Schwimm-wagens were built. This is a rare, but pristine example of German technology during World War II.

The Beetle Is Born By 1938 the Series 38 had emerged, now sporting a split rear window. It was identified as the KdF-Wagen ( Kraft durch Freude, or “Strength Through Joy”). In March, the foundation was laid for the Volkswagen factory near Fallersleben. In September a new company, Volkswagenwerk GmbH, was formed to produce the cars. The new car was not sold on a cash basis but through a stamp-purchase plan. German workers purchased stamps each week. When the worker’s stamp card was full, he could turn it in for a new Volkswagen. An estimated 170,000 stamp-purchase plan applications were filed with Volkswagen between August 1, 1938, and the end of 1939. Very few workers received their cars, however, due to the outbreak of war. Production of the civilian Beetle was almost nonexistent. When war broke out in September 1939, production was shifted to military use. The factory began outputting the military Kubelwagen, the German equivalent to the Jeep, powered by a much stronger 1131-cc engine which generated 25-horsepower. The factory also built the amphibious Schwimmwagen. The Kubelwagen was a ubiquitous all-purpose vehicle in Europe during the war, becoming instantly recognizable to later generations through films about World War II. Sitting on a 94.5-inch wheelbase and on 16-inch wheels, the Kubelwagen was perched high off the ground for easy and nimble handling over rough terrain—from the deserts of North African to the snow-covered expanse of the Soviet Union. These vehicles were virtually all soft-tops with four steel doors and a large fuel tank under an angular nose, with the spare tire mounted on top. In all 50,788 Kubelwagens and 14,276 Schwimmwagens were built. Through 1945 only 630 Beetles were produced. While these numbers are paltry com­ pared to U.S. war production of vehicles, the Kubelwagen played a vital role

Under British control at the end of World War II, Volkswagen Beetles began to move swiftly off the assembly line. Early Beetles used Kubelwagen chassis.

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