Kriegslokomotive
Encyclopedia
Kriegslokomotiven were German 'war locomotives', produced in large numbers during the Second World War, whose construction was tailored to the economic circumstances of wartime Germany
, such as shortages of materials, goods transportation (in support of military logistics), ease of maintenance under difficult conditions, resistance to extreme weather, limited life and rapid, cheap, mass production. In order to meet these requirements, economic drawbacks such as relatively high fuel consumption had to be reckoned with.
s, and the steam engines had steel fireboxes, hence the name Heimstofflok or 'home-grown loco'.
The manufacture of electric locos as Kriegslokomotiven has to be seen as a special case, because they could only be used in the core network where there was the working infrastructure able to supply the current: power stations, overhead transmission lines, electricity substations and catenary
. As a rule, locomotives were preferred that were dependent on additional infrastructure as little as possible.
) class. Likewise a wartime motor locomotive or Kriegsmotorlokomotive had a KML class number and a wartime electric locomotive or Kriegselektrolokomotive would have a KEL class number. Besides the DRG, the German Armed Forces had their own locomotive classes: an Army locomotive was known as a Heeresfeldbahnlokomotive
or HF and a Wehrmacht
engine as a Wehrmachtslokomotive or WR.
The following classes of Kriegslokomotive were procured by the Deutsche Reichsbahn
and other customers (industrial and military railways) during the Second World War:
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, such as shortages of materials, goods transportation (in support of military logistics), ease of maintenance under difficult conditions, resistance to extreme weather, limited life and rapid, cheap, mass production. In order to meet these requirements, economic drawbacks such as relatively high fuel consumption had to be reckoned with.
Construction
The Kriegslokomotiven were kept as technically simple as possible and the use of imported materials (particularly copper) was generally avoided. For example, German electric locomotives were given aluminium windings in the traction motors and transformerTransformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
s, and the steam engines had steel fireboxes, hence the name Heimstofflok or 'home-grown loco'.
The manufacture of electric locos as Kriegslokomotiven has to be seen as a special case, because they could only be used in the core network where there was the working infrastructure able to supply the current: power stations, overhead transmission lines, electricity substations and catenary
Overhead lines
Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
. As a rule, locomotives were preferred that were dependent on additional infrastructure as little as possible.
Classes
A Kriegslokomotive usually had two classifications: one based on the normal peacetime classification system and a separate wartime classification. For example, a wartime steam locomotive or Kriegsdampflokomotive (KDL) was given a KDL class as well as its DRG (Deutsche ReichsbahnDeutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
) class. Likewise a wartime motor locomotive or Kriegsmotorlokomotive had a KML class number and a wartime electric locomotive or Kriegselektrolokomotive would have a KEL class number. Besides the DRG, the German Armed Forces had their own locomotive classes: an Army locomotive was known as a Heeresfeldbahnlokomotive
Heeresfeldbahnlokomotive
A Heeresfeldbahnlokomotive is the German term for a special wartime locomotive for employment on military field railways , railways usually designed to transport military supplies to the front line.- Classes :...
or HF and a Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
engine as a Wehrmachtslokomotive or WR.
The following classes of Kriegslokomotive were procured by the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
and other customers (industrial and military railways) during the Second World War:
- DRB Class 52 (KDL 1)
- DRB Class 53 (KDL 2) - not completed.
- DRG Class 42DRG Class 42- DB Class 42.90 :In 1952, the firm of Henschel rebuilt locomotives 52 893 and 52 894 with Franco-Crosti economisers...
(KDL 3) - HF Class 160 D (KDL 11)
- HF Class 70 C (KDL 12)
- Henschel "Riesa" type construction locomotive, austere version, (KDL 13)
- WR Class 360 C 14 (KML 1)
- WR Class D311 - 2 were used on the 80cm railway guns. Also base of some post-war development.
- DRG Köf II (KML 2)
- HF Class 130 C (KML 3)
- HF Class 50 B (KML 4)
- O&K MD 2 (KML 5)
- Twin-axled pit locomotives (KML 6, KML 7)
- DRG Class E 44 (KEL 1)
- DRG Class E 94DRG Class E 94The DRG Class E94 is an electric heavy freight locomotive built for Deutsche Reichsbahn's since 1940, with the bulk of deliveries taking place in the same year. It is a major evolution of the DRG Class E93, and even after World War II, new units were ordered and delivered as late as 1957....
(KEL 2)
Literature
- Alfred B. Gottwaldt: Deutsche Kriegslokomotiven 1939 - 1945, Transpress, ISBN 3-344-71032-X
- Alfred B. Gottwaldt: Deutsche Eisenbahnen im Zweiten Weltkrieg / Rüstung, Krieg und Eisenbahn (1939 - 1945), Kosmos, ISBN 3-440-05161-7
External links
- Eine Zusammenstellung über das Projekt Baureihe 53
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany