All Articles Tagged 'germany' (167)

It's time for the Auto Union Type D racer - the last but not the least in line.

By limiting the maximum weight of Grand Prix cars from the 1934 season onwards to 750 kg, the sport's governing body, the Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs…

Another page of the Mercedes-Benz racecar saga: the W154:

Shortly after the first races were held organizers created rules and regulations to create a somewhat level playing field and to keep things relatively safe. In that light the rules setup for Grand Prix racing from 1934 to 1936 made little…

Overshadowed by more famous and spectacular German aircraft, the Siebel Si 204 boasted a distinctive Dieselpunk appearance and played at least four different roles.

Used in substantial numbers by the Luftwaffe as a light communications aircraft and crew trainer, the Siebel Si 204 was essentially a scaled-up …

It's been a long time since we had an Auto Union racer in our garage. Today, Silver Fish are here again!

Mercedes-Benz domination in Grand Prix ended with the Auto Union Typ C. It took a few years to get it right, but Ferdinand Porsche's daring design with a mid-mounted V16 finally won. It claimed many victories…

Allied airmen had to face every manner of threat when penetrating the skies over the Reich. From Focke Wulf fighters to deadly German "88s" the air over Europe was filled with threats a plenty. But as the Reich crumbled and the Allied moved deeper in the lands of Germany, a series of last ditch weapons were…

Lightweight, powerful and superfast. Meet the Mercedes-Benz W125.

With the rapid development of technology, Grand Prix racing was subject to constant changes in the 1920s and early 1930s and sport's governing body (AIACR) struggled to create a definitive set of regulations that…

Just look at this car:

Isn't it fantastic?

The Maybach Zeppelin DS-8, powered by a 8-liter V-12 engine, was introduced in 1931. It was one of the most refined automobiles of the period, a formidable rival of the Rolls-Royce, Grosser Mercedes and Hispano-Suiza. Superficially, the Zeppelin was a rather…

This Saturday, your air mail is brought to you by a flying boat called "Wal" (Whale) and designed by no other than Claudius Dornier.

The Do J was a fairly modern (compared to World War I types) flying boat with a high-mounted strut-braced monoplane wing. Two piston engines were mounted in tandem in a nacelle above the wing and…

The story of Porsche-designed Auto Union racers continued in 1935:

Actually, the work on Type B, an improved version of the glorious Auto Union Type A, started in the autumn 1934. The car received a new 16-cylinder…

It was a remarkable aircraft - huge, all-metal, with an enclosed pilots' cabin, seats for eighteen passengers, complete with a luggage compartment, kitchen and toilet. And it was built as early as in 1920!

The all-metal Zeppelin-Staaken E.4/20 four-engined monoplane, the last creation of the dying…

Back to the racetrack! Meet one of the most unusual and highly successful Diesel Era racing cars - the Auto Union Type A.

Four months ago, we heard the story of its mighty rival, the…

This column, introduced in summer 2009, doesn't need much fanfare to celebrate its third anniversary. Let's fuel our tanks and go!

Today, I'd like to show some pictures from an amazing collection of Raymondx1 @ Flickr: amateur shots showing cars as family members. Common…

A beautiful example of pre-war streamline:

Meet the Jawa 700 Coupe - a little red wonder from Prague. It was built by Jawa Motors using a standard Model 700 platform and a custom body designed along Jaray principles. Well, Paul Jaray and his legacy are featured in…

Jet aircraft long before the Jet Age? A turbojet? There's no mistake: the Heinkel 178 was successfully flown on the eve of the World War II.

This aircraft is assured a distinguished place in aviation history: on 27 August 1939, piloted by Flugkapitän Erich Warsitz, it…

1920s airliners... Some are famous, some have fallen into obscurity.

Have you ever heard of the Albatros sleeper - a very unlikely descendant of WWI Albatros fighters?

The Albatros L 73 was a German twin-engined biplane airliner of the 1920s. Of conventional configuration, it featured a streamlined, boat-like fuselage and…

The only 1.5-liter Adler to race at LeMans:

The Trumpf Rennlimousine was designed in 1936-1937 by an outstanding German aerodynamics expert Baron Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld (his other creations, the BMW Wendler Coupe and…

The Saturday Air Mail brings you the breaking news - again!

Last week, we talked about the unsuccessful Transatlantic flight attempt of Messrs. Sikorsky and Fonck. Today, quite another story - a…

Since starting Weapons of War I've profiled a number of World War II anti-tank or anti-material rifles, usually beasts of weight, size and power. Not truly anti-tank calibers by the late war, more effective against soft-skinned vehicles or lightly,…

The pocket pistol to some evokes images of cheap, dangerous handguns that often are more deadly to their handlers than opponents. However, well made pocket pistols was one of the strong suits of the firearms giant Mauser during the first decades of the 20th century.

Mauser produced a series of pocket…

On the subject of rare variants of Georg Luger's pistols, consider his flashlight assisted pistol. Today there are two of these known to exist. They were used by the personal bodyguards of Adolph Hitler and were called the "Night Pistols." Besides illuminating the darkness, they were loaded with tracer rounds…