Büssing MB amphibious truck

The Büssing MB was an amphibious truck developed by the German maker Büssing for the Bundeswehr in the 1960s. Four different prototypes, designated MB0 to MB3, were built, but the type never went into series production.

Design

The trucks used a Büssing U11D horizontal underfloor diesel, a six-cylinder of 11 litres producing about 210 PS. Drive was to the rear axle with a selectable front axle, and front and rear differential locks could be engaged separately. The gearbox was a non-synchronised six-speed with a reduction stage in the transfer case. Suspension was independent with coil springs and telescopic dampers. In the water a variable-pitch propeller provided thrust and allowed the truck to go astern.

The MB0 weighed about 7,000 kg empty and carried around 2,500 kg, with a permitted gross weight of 12 tonnes. It could climb an 86% gradient and reach about 90 km/h on the road and 12 km/h afloat.

Survivors

In 2004 a German enthusiast bought the first vehicle, MB0, and began restoring it; it was incomplete and needed many parts. He also made contact with the vehicle's still-living designer, who held the only handwritten manual. The second prototype, the MB1 of 1964, is preserved in the Bundeswehr's Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung in Koblenz. What happened to the other two is not known, and at least one was probably scrapped.