Joseph Vollmer (1871–1955) was a German automobile designer and engineer and a pioneering tank designer. As chief designer for the German War Department's motor vehicle section, he designed the

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 ...

German tanks

A7V The Sturmpanzerwagen A7V was a heavy tank introduced by Germany in 1918 during World War I. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, ten to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies, and the remainder as '' Überlandwagen'' ...

K-Wagen The ''Großkampfwagen'' or "K-Wagen" (short for ''G.K.-Wagen'') was a German super-heavy tank, two prototypes of which were almost completed by the end of World War I. History In June 1917, before the first A7V tanks had been completed, the Germ ...

LK I The Leichter Kampfwagen () or "LK I" was a German light tank prototype of the First World War. Designed to be a cheap light tank as opposed to the expensive heavies coming into service at the time, the tank only reached the prototype stage befor ...

and

LK II The Leichter Kampfwagen II ("light combat vehicle"), commonly known as the LK II, was a light tank designed and produced in limited numbers in Germany in the last year of World War I. A development of the LK I, it incorporated a fixed rear supe ...

Early life

Born the son of a master locksmith, Vollmer grew up with three brothers in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

. He attended the Municipal Trade School and after graduating in 1886 went to

Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt (), also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900), is one of the outer Stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous of Stuttgart' ...

, to take up an apprenticeship as a mechanic in the

Maschinenfabrik Esslingen Maschinenfabrik Esslingen (ME) was a German engineering firm that manufactured locomotives, tramways, railway wagons, roll-blocks, technical equipment for the railways, (turntable (rail), turntables and traverser (railway), traversers), bridges, s ...

. In 1894 he completed his engineering studies at the Technikum Mittweida in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Career

Vollmer's career as an engineer and automobile pioneer began at

Bergmann Bergmann is a German or Swedish surname. It means "mountain man" in both languages, as well as "miner" in German. '' Bergman'' is also a common surname in the United States, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. The surname may refer to: *Art Ber ...

's automobile division in

Gaggenau Gaggenau () is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located some 8 km northeast of Baden-Baden. History Gaggenau was first mentioned in local records in 1243 under the name "Gaggenaw". The present distr ...

, beginning over 100 years of automobile construction in Gaggenau with the "Orient Express" automobile. In 1897 Vollmer moved to the Kühlstein Wagenbau company of

Berlin-Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

. From 1901, he worked for

AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

, where in 1902 he became head of their NAG subsidiary. All vehicles produced by AEG-NAG until 1906 were produced under Vollmer's direction and were designed by him, including the world's first

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

, the DURCH tractor-trailer of 1903. In 1905 Vollmer married Hedwig Stöhr, with whom he had two daughters; they celebrated their

golden wedding A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date that a wedding took place. Couples often mark the occasion by celebrating their relationship, either privately or with a larger party. Special celebrations and gifts are often given for partic ...

anniversary in 1955. Vollmer left NAG in 1906 and together with his friend Ernst Neuberg founded the Deutsche Automobil-Construktionsgesellschaft (DAC).

World War I

During World War I, Vollmer acquired the rank of captain, and as chief designer for the German War Department's motor vehicle section, he designed the

German tanks

and

Post war

Vollmer subsequently moved to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, to join the Skoda company for whom he designed a wheel/track light tank, the KH-50 (Kolo-Housenka). This design had roadwheels mounted on the drive sprockets and jockey wheels behind them to support the tracks. Despite impressive specifications for the period - 13 mm armour, 37 mm turret-mounted armament, and a 50 hp engine capable of driving the tank at (on tracks) and (on wheels) - it was rejected by the Czech army. The army was, however, impressed by the hybrid wheel/track concept and commissioned further studies, which resulted in the KH-60 (1928–29) and the KH-70 (1930). In these two designs the engine power was increased to 60 hp and 70 hp respectively and a better system was developed for switching between track and wheel use which allowed a change in less than 10 minutes. 2 KH-50 prototypes were built, one of which was later converted to a KH-60 and the other scrapped. Actual production included 2 KH-60s to the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and 1 KH-70 to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The wheel-on-track concept was finally abandoned in 1934. During the course of his career Vollmer was granted 450 German and foreign patents. His life's work was honored by being awarded the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

(Federal Cross of Merit). Joseph Vollmer died after delivering a lecture in the

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

factory in Brunswick on 9 October 1955. In 2005 his hometown of Baden-Baden dedicated a bridge to him. The Joseph Vollmer Bridge is located between Europastraße/B500 and Schwarzwaldstraße. He had previously had a street in Ortenberg named after him: Joseph-Vollmer-Strasse.

Notes

References

* * (English Edition) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vollmer, Joseph Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German automobile designers Engineers from Baden-Württemberg German Army personnel of World War I People from Baden-Baden 1871 births 1955 deaths People from the Grand Duchy of Baden