Gunther Adolf Burstyn (6 July 1879 in

Bad Aussee Bad Aussee (Central Bavarian: ''Bod Ossee'') is a town in the Austrian state of Styria, located at the confluence of the three sources of the Traun River in the Ausseerland region. Bad Aussee serves as the economic and cultural center of the Styr ...

, Steiermark – 15 April 1945 in

Korneuburg Korneuburg () is a town in Austria. It is located in the state Lower Austria and is the administrative center of the district of Korneuburg. Korneuburg is situated on the left bank of the Danube, opposite the city of Klosterneuburg, and is 12&n ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

) was an inventor, technician, and officer of the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. He is best known for his ''Motorgeschütz'', the first detailed concept of a modern

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

Personal life

Burstyn's father Adolf Burstyn came from a Jewish family in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

, but Burstyn converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

along with his spouse Juliane ( Hoffman). Burstyn was initially christened "Günther," but in later life chose to omit the umlaut and use the name "Gunther".

Invention of the tank

In 1911, he produced and patented the first design of a cross-country fighting vehicle with swivelling gun turret (a

), based on the gun turrets from naval warships and armoured vehicles using the then decade-old combustion engine. He called his tank the Motorgeschütz (literally "motor-gun"). His draft design, more advanced than some of the tank designs of World War I, was rejected both by Austria-Hungary and by the German Empire and no prototype was ever produced. He later sought to patent his design, but was told that it might infringe existing patents, so he dropped all plans to do so. The vehicle would have been 3.5m long, 1.9m wide and 1.9m tall. It would have been armed with a light rapid firing cannon (30-40mm calibre) and possessed a road speed of 29 km/h and an off-road speed of 8 km/h. The vehicle would have been powered by a 60 hp truck engine. The four auxiliary wheels could be raised and lowered; the rear would be able to assist in traction while the front pair could be pivoted for steering. The vehicle was envisioned as being used to attack enemy machinegun nests and supporting infantry attacks, as well as attacking enemy artillery positions.

World War II

At the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Burstyn supported the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. On March 31, 1941, Burstyn was able to personally present his tank innovations to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. Burstyn was awarded the

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross (german: Kriegsverdienstkreuz) was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Meri ...

, 1st and 2nd class, with Swords. At the end of the war (April 1945), he committed suicide because he feared Soviet captivity.

References

External links

* http://www.doppeladler.com/kuk/burstyn.htm. Biography (in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Burstyn, Gunther 1879 births 1945 deaths People from Bad Aussee Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Austro-Hungarian Army officers Austrian military engineers Austrian people of Jewish descent Suicides in Austria History of the tank 20th-century Austrian military personnel Jewish collaborators with Nazi Germany

Personal life

Invention of the tank

World War II

See also

References

External links