| Artikelnummer:: | TAK5001 |
The Wehrmacht heavy tractor multi-purpose vehicle Hanomag SS-100 was produced from 1936 to 1945. Originally manufactured in 1936 as the SP-100 heavy agriculture tractor, it was quickly pressed into military service with both the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe, and became one of the most widely used heavy tractors in German military service. Powered by a 8550 cc 6-cylinder D85 diesel engine, it could accommodate up to five passengers and a driver and supported a variety of supplemental equipment attached to the rear frame. Among other things, V2 units used used it to tow the Meillerwagen, which transported the V2 rocket to the launch site and erected the rocket into firing position before fuelling. After 1945 it was produced in France as the ST-100. Known in the civilian world as the 'Gigant', Hanomag road tractors of all sizes were popular as offroad transport well into the 1960's.
Designed by the German Army Research Center Peenemünde during World War II, the Meillerwagen was a trailer used to transport V-2 rockets to the launching point in order to erect the missile onto the firing stand, and to act as a service gantry for fuelling the rocket with hydrogen peroxide from a 126 liter tank. It was moved via hand winches to the firing stand, and then levelled using the two screw-jacks mounted on extendable outriggers for launch preparation. The hydraulic erecting frame suspended the rocket vertically as the rocket stand was raised up until the rocket could be clamped into a collar, after which the Meillerwagen was uncoupled for fuelling the rocket with A, B, P, and T-stoff before withdrawing for launch. The total time from arriving at the launch pad to firing the rocket officially took 110 minutes to perform.
