Landwasserschlepper

The Landwasserschlepper (LWS, 'land-water tractor') was an amphibious tracked tug developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig for the German Army. Work began in 1936, when the general staff asked for a tracked vehicle for landing operations that could tow a floating trailer carrying vehicles or cargo of up to about 18 tonnes, and then haul it ashore for unloading.

Design

The LWS was essentially a motor tug on tracks. A boat-shaped hull with a pronounced bow sat on two long track runs, each with four pairs of leaf-sprung roadwheels. On top was a cabin with portholes for a crew of three and room for about 20 passengers, topped by a funnel-like engine air intake. Two large propellers at the stern drove it in the water. Power came from a Maybach HL120 TRM V12 petrol engine. The matching floating trailer ran on one front and two rear axles and had a rear ramp; a typical load was an SdKfz 9 18-tonne half-track. Special 10- and 20-ton amphibious trailers were built because the LWS itself had little cargo space.

History

The project moved slowly until the planned invasion of Britain, Operation Sea Lion, gave it brief urgency, although the vehicle was better suited to calm inland waters than the English Channel. The first seven were completed in July 1940 and, according to one source, a further 14 by March 1941. The lack of armour and the clumsy trailer were seen as drawbacks, and the project was dropped as attention turned to the invasion of the Soviet Union. LWS vehicles served on the Eastern Front and in North Africa, and after the war one was taken to Britain for evaluation.

Variants

A follow-up, the Panzerfähre (PzF), kept the general layout but used Panzer IV running gear and a lightly armoured superstructure. Two PzF were intended to carry a large pontoon between them to ferry a tank. Two prototypes were built and tested before the programme was cancelled in 1942.