Ampersand's Kubelwagen & Schwimmwagen

As the Jeep was the standard light truck/transport of the Allies during WWII, so it was with the Kubelwagen and the Germans. Designed by Ferry Porsche, it used the basic floorplan of what was to be the 'people's car', and what came to be the VW Beetle. Only one civilian Beetle was ever built, that being a convertible given to Adoph Hitler, but post war, the car had a remarkable run.

What made the post war VW so popular was its simplicity and ease of maintenance. Unlike the Jeep, the Kubelwagen was not four wheel drive, yet this did not seem to be much of a detriment to its off road capabilities. Probably the reason for it working so well in the rough is that the vehicle was quite light. Two men would have no problem lifting one side of it well off the ground.

Such was the popularity of the vehicle that many have survived today and at one time during the Beetle's rising popularity, a near modern duplicate 'The Thing' was produced to spirited sales.

In addition, a version able to transverse water was developed, the Schwimmwagen. It had the same basic components, but provided a power take off unit that drove a propeller that could be lowered into the water and steered with the steering wheel. Quite a few of these have also survived.

In line with others in the visual history series, the book begins with a history of the vehicles then goes into section that has a large number of period photos showing the development. The additional photo provided depicts the prototype so you can see that changes were not extensive as the first vehicle still is easily identified as a Kubelwagen as the last. Thanks to the number still extant, we get a good chance to see these vehicles in full color. This includes all the variations that were made on the vehicles as production and experience dictated changes.

In all, it is a great read and something that gets modeler's interested in reproducing one. Enthusiasts will also find the book to be very helpful  one they will want on their shelves. Highly recommended.

 August 2016

Review copy courtesy Ampersand Publishing. Get yours today at this link.

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