MODEL 4
Dec 2001
KETTENKRAFTRAD
"Ketten"
= "Tracks"
"Krad"
is the military short form of "Kraftrad" = "Motorcycle".
So
a "Kettenkrad" is a "tracked motorcycle".
The Kettenkraftrad was developed during World War
II by the Germans. A few of its uses were :
- To transport officers to and from the battle fronts. It could easily get
through mud and trenches, Fast!
- Due to fuel restrictions, they
were used to tow fighter jets around on the runways to line them up before
takeoff.
- There were drum cable trailers used to lay
communications cables.
- Just about anything!
How does the Kettenkrad steer?
Like
a motorcycle with sidecar: With the handlebar! (A normal motorcycle is not
steered with the handlebar, it is steered by weight transfer of the rider!)
Why does it have a front wheel?
The
front wheel gives stability when driving straight on at high speed. And it
steers the vehicle through wide bends. Only in sharp bends the steering brakes
were engaged, too.
In very hard off road terrain (Rock, deep mud) the front wheel is removed. This
is recommended in the
driver's manual. In this terrain you don't drive fast.
My model had a 9V battery under the engine mount in
the middle of the vehicle. A motor from a matrix printer was used to power it
along. The track was from one of the newer model kits. It was made only from
strips, angle brackets and fishplates. i.e.. no angle girders, flat girders,
plates etc.
My model has a water tanker trailer used to bring
water to troops on the frontline.
Being a simple model, it did not steer very well, with the front wheel pulled left or right the Ket would just plough straight ahead!