The SLT 50 is a heavy duty tractor unit

Tractor unit

A tractor unit, prime mover , road tractor, or traction unit is a heavy-duty commercial vehicle within the large goods vehicle category, usually with a large displacement diesel engine, and several axles. The tractor unit serves as a method of moving trailers...

 and tank transporter

Tank transporter

A tank transporter is a specialized road vehicle for the transport of tanks, to and from the battlefield or during peacetime. They are necessary to limit the mileage of the tracked vehicles and also to reduce wear on road surfaces which can easily be damaged by such heavy vehicles...

 currently in use by the German Army

German Army

The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...

.

History

To replace the first generation tank transporter then in use, as well as to be able to haul the armoured vehicles then in service (among them the Leopard 1 Main Battle Tank), the German Army asked Faun GmbH

Faun GmbH

Faun GmbH is a German engineering firm, based in Pegnitz, Bavaria and owned by the Japanese company Tadano. They make mobile cranes.-History:*1845: Justus Christian Braun founded a bronze casting company in Germany....

 to develop a new all-terrain heavy tractor, and in parallel Krupp

Krupp

The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...

 was asked to develop the tank transport semi-trailer.

The result was the SLT 50-2 tractor and the 52-ton SaAnh semi-trailer. The combination was first tested in 1971. The first production combination was delivered in April 1976. Some 324 were built up to 1979, in one series, by Faun (tractor) and Kässbohrer (trailer, under Krupp license).

To be able to cope with the newest versions of the Leopard 2

Leopard 2

The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve...

 MBT, the vehicles were upgraded from 1994 to the standard SLT 50-3. This modernisation program was completed in 2000, and it is expected that the vehicles will be able to operate until 2015.

SLT 50-2 tractor

8x8 tractor.

• length: 8.83 m
• width: 3.07 m
• height: n/a m
• weight: 22,800 kg

• Engine: Deutz
  Deutz
  There are multiple topics for Deutz* Deutz, Cologne, a former town, since 1888 a quarter of Cologne, Germany* Deutz AG, a diesel-engine manufacturer based in Cologne, Germany* Deutz-Fahr and Deutz-Allis, an agricultural equipment company....
  
  MWM diesel TBD 234 V12. Power: 734 bhp at ? rpm.
• Transmission: n/a

• speed: 65 km/h on road, level ground.
• Range: 600km

52-ton SaAnh (Sattelhänger)

52-ton semi-trailer.

• length: 13.1 / 7.8 m (total / loading platform)
• width: 3.15 / 3.15 m (total / loading platform)
• height: n/a
• weight: 16,200 kg (unladen)
• Max.load: 52,000 kg

External links

• Brief description and picture (of a scale model) of the vehicle, in the "Revell Germany" website.