The Büssing A5P was an armoured car produced in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 vehicle A military vehicle is any vehicle for land-based military transport and activity, including combat vehicles, both specifically designed for or significantly used by military. Most military vehicles require Off-road vehicle, off-road capabilities ...

s 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 m ...

s and supply trailers. By November 1914, the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

had become aware of the potential of the armoured car by the hit-and-run tactics employed by the Belgians with the

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

. The ''

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, "Supreme Army Command", 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. Types The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflects one axle with ...

. 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 guns, usually the

MG 08 The MG 08 ( 08) is a heavy machine gun (HMG) which served as the standard HMG of the Imperial German Army during World War I. It was an adaptation of Hiram Maxim's 1884 Maxim gun design, and was produced in a number of variants during the war. Th ...

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

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