The Büssing A5P was an armoured car produced in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

History

The

Büssing Büssing AG was a German bus and truck manufacturer, established in 1903 by Heinrich Büssing (1843–1929) in Braunschweig. It quickly evolved to one of the largest European producers, whose utility vehicles with the Brunswick Lion emblem were w ...

company had received its first orders of military vehicles in 1910, producing

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked. Traction There are two ...

s and supply trailers. By November 1914, the German Army had become aware of the potential of the armoured car by the hit-and-run tactics employed by the Belgians with the

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...

. The ''

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

'' decided to produce its own armoured vehicle and the manufacturing companies Ehrhardt, Daimler and Büssing were requested to develop an armoured car with

all-wheel drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...

. During 1915, Büssing delivered the ordered prototype. In contrast to the Belgian armoured cars, the A5P was a massive vehicle, using a 'double-ended' layout that could at least pose a tactically useful high ground clearance. Its powerplant was Büssing's successful 6-cylinder truck engines. It had a large steel armoured body and was crewed by ten men. Six of the crew operated three 7.92 mm

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

s, usually the

MG 08 The ''Maschinengewehr'' 08, or MG 08, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 served during Wo ...

or MG 15nA. Some vehicles even received two Becker 20 mm cannons. In 1916, the A5P began production. Nevertheless, the German Army considered the Ehrhardt design more effective to fulfil the demanded operational tasks. As a result, only one vehicle was produced. The A5P, together with several other armored cars, served in a column on the

Romanian Front The Romanian Front ( ro, Frontul Românesc, FR) was a moderate fascist party created in Romania in 1935. Led by former Prime Minister Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, it originated as a right-wing splinter group from the mainstream National Peasants' Part ...

in 1916 and on the Russian Front in 1917.Bussing A5P - Tanks Encyclopedia
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References

*"Fighting Vehicles of the World" by Philip Trewhitt and Chris McNab, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bussing A5p World War I armoured cars World War I armoured fighting vehicles of Germany