It was in 1927 that the first TV 300 three-wheeled delivery van left the factory "Metallwerke Frankenberg GmbH" in Frankenberg. JS Rasmussen, the owner of the Zschopauer motorcycle factories (later DKW) and engineers Richard Blau and Paul Figura, had founded the Frankenberg Metallwerke as a subsidiary of the Zschopauer motorcycle factories. Although the initial production equipment and machine tools and devices, as well as the design documents, were provided by the Zschopau plant, the Frankenberg Metallwerke were always considered as an independent company.
Frankenberg’s manufacturing program initially included motorcycle saddles, clutches, kickstarters and carburetors, which were manufactured exclusively for the motorcycles produced in the Zschopau motorcycle works. This production program was expanded with the establishment of a self-created design department, who expanded the range of products for other German motorcycle manufacturers, including BMW, NSU. Wanderer, Zündapp, Ardie, Schüttoff, etc. Thanks to their design, quality and price, the Frankenberg company was able to firmly establish themselves, practically without competition, both in Germany and abroad, even during the Great Depression (1929 to 1932).
The company developed rapidly. Based on the demands of the time, there was growing interest from traders for transporter for smaller loads. The small, high-performance two-stroke engine developed for DKW motorcycles at the beginning of the twenties was the ideal engine for this. In 1927, the factory created the transport tricycle TV 300 already mentioned. The TV 300 was constructed with the "motor above the front wheel and loading area behind the driver", thereby doing pioneering work in the development history of van construction (Fig. 1). There were insurance and tax benefits at this time for tricycle transporters, which guided the design.
Within a short time, the vehicle conquered the streets and, thanks to its low maintenance costs and reliability, replaced the usual means of transport. The vehicle did not place too high demands on the technical knowledge of the owners, and it could be used for a wide variety of transport needs for loads up to 500 kg. The first type had neither an electric starter nor a steering wheel, reverse gear or a closed cab, and yet it still held its ground until the end of 1930.
The successor type was the LT 200 or 300 light transport tricycle from 1931 to 1933. This van was optionally equipped with an air-cooled 200 or 300 cm DKW engine and had a three-speed gearbox attached to the engine and a driver's cab to protect from bad weather. This type had a central tubular frame and was available in a chassis version, a flatbed wagon with or without soft top, a closed box, a chassis with driver's cab, and a station wagon (Fig. 2). On request, but at an additional cost, an electric starter and a "device for backward running" were available. The version as a chassis was delivered in large numbers to India in 1931 where it was equipped with a special body, the so-called rickshaw passenger car (Photo 3) The export business of the company started with this foreign delivery.
The 1933 type LTH 200/300 differed from its predecessor by the addition of a steering wheel with worm steering, a bonnet. a more comfortable cab and a transmission with three forward gears and one reverse gear (picture 4). These improvements change the transport tricycle into a ‘real’ motor vehicle. With these three-wheel transporter types, the company achieved 48.6% of the transporter market in Germany due to their solid and reliable construction. The good sales figures brought the company well through the times of the Great Depression.
In parallel with the transport tricycles, the company came up with an original development in 1932/1 933 - the first passenger tricycle "Stromer" type FP 200/300 (Fig. 5.) In the "ADAC Motor World" review from July 14, 1933: “Since the turn of the year, several companies have been trying to solve the problem of the small motor vehicle with low purchase and maintenance costs, including well-known motorcycle factories. Tried with success, above all, it is a satisfaction to be able to review the new designs emerging recently. Thanks to the progress of our technology it is no longer necessary to accept the inhibitory arguments of ‘makeshiftness’ when choosing between a medium sized car and a strong quality motorcycle when purchasing a vehicle, which all too often leant in favour of the latter.
One of the most original, and at the same time structurally advanced, miniature cars of this type is the tax-free and license-free Framo-Stromer. It deserves special attention from the fact that in spite of its being a very small vehicle, it is in the truest sense of the word a cluster of technical progress."
The small. elegant vehicle could accommodate two adults and two children or two adults, a child and a suitcase. What was remarkable was the resilient suspension of the front-end in two solid rubber rings. The suspension could be adjusted from the outside using a spindle. The streamlined body was built of plywood on a frame in accordance with the method used in aircraft construction at the time and, after completion, covered with synthetic leather.
By installing a second rear wheel with a rigid rear axle and leaf springs and a van body, the three-wheeler Stromer was used to create the four-wheeler delivery truck FPT 300 (Fig. 6).
The political situation caused by the rise of power to the fascists brought changes to the company. The former barracks in Frankenberg, which had by then been completely taken over by the Framo factories, were to be returned to military use and had to be cleared in stages in 1933/1934. From 1934, the company relocated to a plant at Hainichen under the name Framo-Werke G.m.b. H. Fashion and taste also had a great influence on the outer shape of the transport tricycles. In 1935, the further improvement of the body shape and improvements to its technical details resulted in the LTP 200/300 transport tricycle with pendulum suspension in the fork head. The rest of the characteristics remained unchanged. This model was manufactured until 1937. In 1934, Framo launched the VH 200/300 "Framo-Piccolo" as a four-wheel vehicle for two adults and two children as the second small passenger car (Fig. 7).
The DKW engine (either 200 or 300 cm displacement) transferred its power to the left rear wheel of the rigid rear axle using a roller chain. The Piccolo was only delivered as a convertible limousine. Its production was discontinued in 1935. After this failed attempt to get back into the passenger car market. The Framo factories remained true to the tradition of van construction and in the following years brought a relatively large number of types onto the market. The HT 600 was first introduced as a one-ton delivery truck in 1935 (Fig. 8) Manufactured as a platform truck (open box) with or without a soft top, and as a box truck (closed box).
It was a natural process that after a new group of buyers had been won over by the transport tricycle, that higher demands were expected from these vehicles, along with the improvement in the technology of automobiles overall. More improvements to the tricycle van were demanded, which ultimately resulted in the four-wheel small truck, or rather the fast transporter, developed with all the characteristics of a full truck. In the years 1937 to 1939 the first one-ton four-wheel van HT 1200 or V 1200 was developed as a replacement type for the HT 600 one-ton truck (Photo 9). For the first time, this four-wheel quick transporter used a body in a mixed construction "steel sheet on wooden frame." In addition, for the first time a four-stroke engine was installed in a standard vehicle of the company.
As the last representative of the transport tricycle, the completely newly developed type LTG and D 200/500 came off the assembly line from 1937 to 1939 (Photo 10). This met the demand for improvement of the tricycle transporter with a 500 cm engine and a payload of ¾-tons, however, at the same time it reached the limits of the design. With the parallel development of this type, in 1939, Framo revealed the first 3/4-ton four-wheel van type LTV or V 500 (Fig. 11). This van was built as an open (flatbed) and closed box and proved itself in large numbers at home and abroad.
In 1938 the fascists implemented drastic economic reforms across the motor vehicle market. The program of the fascist military economy called for "standardization" and limited the production range, only allowing the Framo factories to manufacture the ¾-ton four-wheel four-wheeler type V 501 from 1941 to 1943 (image 12). With the outbreak of the war in 1939, vehicle production was to be stopped altogether for a period, but it was possible to continue production until September 1943 with special permits. The armaments business, which was fueled by profit, finally led the management to participate in war production, which led to the complete cessation of van production. The workforce and many hundreds of foreign forced laborers and political prisoners had to manufacture fog generators, handguns and other armaments for the fascist war machine under the most severe conditions for the war and profit interests of the entrepreneurs.
In May 1945, the entry of the victorious Red Army in Hainichen put an end to the fascist activity in the Framo factories. Later in 1945, a small circle of well-established workers recommenced operations under spartan conditions. As everywhere else, the production of everyday goods was the priority, for example handcarts, potato baskets, hoes, prams and kitchen stoves.
In the middle of 1946 approval was granted to start the production of a wagon for agriculture. In addition, the production of motor vehicle spare parts and the repair of motor vehicles started. July 1, 1949 was a turning point in the company's history. On this day, the plant was transferred to public ownership and at the same time incorporated into the "IFA" association. In the fourth quarter of 1949, production of the 3/4-tonne V 501/2 fast transporter powered by the Framo U engine, which had stopped in 1943, was resumed. It was available as a platform truck with or without a convertible top.
In the subsequent years of the reconstruction of our socialist economy, business mergers were carried out within the automotive industry in order to be able to manufacture the transporters that were so urgently needed for our economy. In 1951, instead of the Framo U engine, the IFA (formerly DKW) F 9 engine of 24 hp was installed in the fast transporter, which gave it the designation V 901.
In 1954 the wheelbase of the V 901 was extended by 100 mm to 2,800 mm, which also made it possible to widen the cab. At the same time, the range was expanded to include the combination, minibus and ambulance versions to meet the increased needs. With these design changes, the vehicle became known under the type designation V 901/2 (Fig. 13).
Original article in German
No comments:
Post a Comment