German Armored Forces & Vehicles

Porsche Typ 175 ( Radschlepper ost)

This strange vehicle was the Porsche response to a German army requeriment for a towing and transport special lorry. The radschlepper ost (wheeled tractor for the East) was to be capable to operate in the worst mud and snow conditions, for that purpose the doktor Porsche choosed a design with all steel spiked roadwheels with large diameter which teorically helped to achieve grip in soft ground but probably gave a very hard ( and noisy) ride over pavement. The vehicle weight was 7000kg, had all wheel drive and it was capable to carry his own weight or tow about 5 tons, maximum speed in soft terrain was just 15 km/h, the weak 4 cilinders engine with just 90 hp probably didnt help much. 200 Typ 175 were ordered in 1942 but the order was reduced to merely 50 made by Skoda in 1943 after the failure to fullfill the requirements.