VOMAG 8LR LKW (Lastkraftwagen) - 6x4 German heavy truck - case report

Schwere LKW-Fahrer!!!

    This project is an order from a modeler friend. We are going to build one of the most refined and developed heavy truck built in the 1930s. This giant of the roads was designed to transport heavy and/or bulky loads throughout Germany, proudly taking advantage of the highway network that was being implemented throughout the country. A logistical necessity and a boastful statement that, with the outbreak of WWII and its military use, proved to be unsuitable for the harsh conditions of the battlefront. Here is the "King of the German Autobahns", the VOMAG 8LR schwerer Lastkraftwagen (LKW).

Meet Gustav, a truly naive driver
of VOMAG 8LR LKW
Heading East!!!

History:

    The Vogtländische Maschinenfabrik AG (VOMAG) was a major company in the Saxon town of Plauen. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Century, it was a major employer for up to 6,000 people, making it one of the largest companies in Plauen's history. 

General view of theVOMAG factory near Plauen,
with 3.300 employees at the time (around 1910)

   The founding of VOMAG in 1881 was a result of the strong regional embroidery industry, as there was a great need to repair the numerous hand embroidery machines. The company mainly produced machines for the textile industry.

Plauen factory- Shuttle embroidery machine
with automatic system ZAHN - 1913

Plauen factory - Rotary printing press  - 1913

    From 1912 it also started producing (offset) printing machines. In 1915, in connection with the World War I, it also started producing vehicles on behalf of the army leadership. Initially, these were three-tonners with chain drives and Cardan drive . 

VOMAG propaganda pamphlet at the time of the
beginning of WWI, with the 3-tons truck as the main image.

First VOMAG truck for the German army,
the 3 tonnes truck - 1915

Front view of  3 tonnes truck VOMAG
for the German army  - 1915

    The production of these 3 tonnes trucks for the German Army continued until the end of the conflict, in 1918.

VOMAG advertising image in a period magazine, showing a 3-ton truck
with German army markings, on a steep road - 1918

    With the end of the WWI and the defeat of Germany (and the heavy sanctions imposed on the defeated countries) VOMAG, like many other companies that produced war material, was no longer able to produce such equipment for the Army, with its sales being restricted to the civilian market, which was extremely weakened by the intense post-war economic depression. Due to the global economic crisis triggered by the New York stock market crash ( Black Friday ) and the resulting drop in sales at VOMAG, the company had to lay off numerous employees and take out loans in 1929 in order to maintain production. Production was reduced to a minimum. In 1930, only 15-20 vehicles were produced per month.

VOMAG advertising for the civilian market, in 1919-1920,
praising the qualities of the truck tested on the battlefields.
Notice that the 3-ton truck shown has chain drive.

  

VOMAG 3 ton - 1919 towing a trailer
Notice the chain drive in the rear left wheel

  During the 1920s, VOMAG concentrated its efforts on the development and production of municipal transport vehicles, both for people (buses) and for goods (medium-tonnage trucks for urban deliveries). This was an excellent strategy, as it allowed the company to continue to receive regular orders from various municipalities in all regions of Germany. 

VOMAG 3 ton special flatbed truck 1921

VOMAG Omnibus of the Reichspost  - 1922

VOMAG 3 ton truck (1921) with trailer of the company
Lausitzer Wollwerke - Peitz - 1928 (year of the photo)
Notice the Lanz Bulldog tractor after the trailer

VOMAG advertising omnibus of the
Zschopauer Motorenwerke (DKW) - 1923

VOMAG Omnibus intercity
road traveler - 1924

VOMAG Omnibus OII, with his odd advanced driver's cab
left view - Saxony - 1924

Right view of VOMAG Omnibus OII, with his odd advanced driver's cab
 City of Riesa (Saxony) - 1924.

VOMAG Omnibus intercity road traveler 
with 3 axles (6 wheels) - the first of its kind on the market
1924

Right view of VOMAG Omnibus with advanced driver's cab
with 3 axles (6 wheels) - 1924

Auto-Ausstellung Berlin (Berlin Motor Show) - Germany - 1925
VOMAG omnibus intercity road traveler  - 3 axles
"Giant passenger transport car” VOMAG
font: Bundesarchiv 102-02037

    VOMAG's main product at the time was buses, but the production and development of trucks was not neglected. After 1925, VOMAG produced box trucks with a load capacity of 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 tons. The company focused its efforts on meeting the specificities of the market and orders, and was one of the first companies to offer the civil market a large truck with a load capacity of up to 10-11 tons. 

VOMAG  flatbed truck type P30(3 tonnes) - 1925

    In the 1930s, in particular, after Hitler and the Nazis came to power in 1933, an industrial reorganization began in Germany towards the production of dual-use goods, i.e. goods that could be used equally well for both civilian and military purposes.

VOMAG 4 LR 446 - 1931

VOMAG 5LR 444 - 1933

Deutsche Reichsbahn

    However, VOMAG continued to manufacture machines and vehicles primarily for essentially civilian purposes. Its large buses and trucks, created in the mid-1930s, were the true kings of the Autobahns, the modern highways that had recently been built throughout the country. Large buses allowed intercity and regional travel with a greater number of passengers and with greater speed and safety, while the big trucks made it possible to transport very large and heavy loads to any corner of the country, running parallel to or connecting the railways.

VOMAG 5 OR 658 Omnibus - 1938

VOMAG 5LR 444 towing solid rubber-tyred trailer
transporting long timber - 1934

VOMAG 5LR 644 in factory picture

VOMAG  6 LR 653 - 1934

VOMAG 6LR 653 - 1936 with Schneider trailer

    Some examples of these magnificent machines were heavy buses and trucks, with three axles and six wheels (with 6x4 rear traction) were the VOMAG 7OR 660 Omnibus and VOMAG 8LR 654/658 Lastkraftwagen (LKW), that shared practically the same heavy three-axle chassis, created in 1935. 

VOMAG 7OR 660 chassis

    At the time, these 6x4 vehicles was almost a masterpiece of engineering. The VOMAG 8LR 654/658 was designed for rapid cargo transportation between cities.

VOMAG 8LR 654 Lastkraftwagen (LKW) - 1935

VOMAG 8LR 654 Lastkraftwagen (LKW) – 1935

VOMAG 8LR 654 Lastkraftwagen (LKW) 
with closed cargo bed - 1936

VOMAG 8LR 658 truck showing its closed body
integrated into the cabin, towing a two-axle trailer
Germany - 1935

VOMAG 8LR 654 Lastkraftwagen (LKW) (IA-15834)
towing a two axle trailer - 1935

VOMAG 8LR 658 Lastkraftwagen (LKW) with
closed body integrated into the cabin - 1936

    But from 1934 onwards, Hitler (now self-proclaimed Führer) ordered a drastic increase in military spending, initiating a reconstruction of the German Armed Forces, lighting the long fuse of Horrors that would be unleashed in Europe and the World within a few years.

    In 1935 appeared the VOMAG 7OR 660 Omnibus, an evolution of  the VOMAG 5 OR 658 Omnibus, with a beautiful original streamlined body and the same powerful 150hp diesel engine. After the coming to power of Hitler, in conditions of accelerating militarization of production, the enterprise started securing more and more orders for the production of dual purpose vehicles. VOMAG buses were under construction not only for the needs of the municipalities of German cities, but also by order of Deutsche Reichspost, the German post service, which right after the onset of military operations was quickly merged with military transport and delivery services. No wonder that from the beginning of the war many "post" buses including VOMAG vehicles, were quickly taken over for the transportation of troops from one part of the front to another.

    With these government intrusions into German industry and VOMAG in particular, there was a shift in priorities on the assembly lines. In the following years, only 50 of the VOMAG 7OR 660 Omnibus and 100 of the VOMAG 8RL 654/658 heavy trucks managed to be built, as VOMAG, like all other leading giants of German heavy industry, was increasingly involved in the execution of military production directives due to the inevitability of the conflict in the coming years. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, almost all VOMAGs buses and trucks, as well as the vast majority of other civilian trucks from other manufacturers, were requisitioned for the needs of the Armed Forces.

VOMAG 5 OR 658 Omnibus - 1938
Vehicle requisitioned by the Wehrmacht
Blitzkrieg - France, 1940.

VOMAG 7OR 660 Omnibus - 1938
Vehicle requisitioned by the Deutsche Reichspost

Line of VOMAG 7OR 660 Omnibus - 1938
Vehicles with markings of the Deutsche Reichspost

VOMAG 8LR 654 Lastkraftwagen (LKW)
Wermacht - Smolensk - Russian Front - Winter, 1941.

     In 1939, the production of the VOMAG 7OR and VOMAG 8LR was interrupted by the factory and its facilities were completely requisitioned for the production of armored vehicles, such as the Wehrmacht warhorse: the Panzerkampfwagen IV . 

    The VOMAG 8RLs heavy trucks were mainly required to keep the long supply lines of the "resource-hungry" German armed forces active during their dizzying advances at the beginning of WWII. The Blitzkrieg required enormous amounts of logistical resources in order to continue operating at full capacity. 

    At the beginning of the war, with movement restricted to the outskirts of Germany and its neighboring countries, such as Poland, Belgium and France, with their excellent paved and prepared highway networks, the VOMAG 8LR trucks fulfilled their transport missions with gallantry and tranquility, but with the advent of the Invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa) in 1941, the things changed for these huge trucks.

VOMAG 8LR 654 Lastkraftwagen (LKW)
stuck up to its axles in mud
Wermacht - Russian Front - 1941.

     The complex engineering solutions laid down in the design of the 8LR model, especially its oscillating rear suspension and transmission systems of the so-called "king of the Autobahns", were insufficiently strong for the horrible off-road conditions of the Soviet front, which were characterized by the complete and simple absence of normal road surface. The giant VOMAG 8LRs began to fail mechanically, becoming constantly unavailable for their intended purpose, being stopped for major repairs. 

Mechanics working on the rear suspension of a
VOMAG 8LR 654 Lastkraftwagen (LKW)
Wermacht - Russian Front - Spring, 1942.

    In early 1940, 21 to 24 (the exact number is controversial) VOMAG 7OR 660 chassis were modifieded as Selbstfahrlafette auf Fahrgestell VOMAG 7OR 660 mit 8,8 cm Flak (Self-propelled gun on chassis VOMAG 7 OR 660 with 8.8 cm anti-aircraft gun)  and as Flakmesstruppkraftwagen (Flak troop carrier vehicle) vehicles. The Selbstfahrlafette auf Fahrgestell VOMAG 7OR 660 mit 8,8 cm Flak were in use exclusive by 1. Bataillon of  Flak Regiment 42.

VOMAG 7OR 660 mit 8,8 cm Flak (late version)
 knocked out in Budapest in 1945.
Notice the presence of shield in the gun

VOMAG 7OR 660 mit 8,8 cm Flak (early version)
under maintenance

Baterie (4 units) of VOMAG 7OR 660 mit 8,8 cm Flak (early version)
Notice the additional armour plate over the engine hood

A heavily camouflaged with bushes
VOMAG 7OR 660 mit 8,8 cm Flak (early version),
ready for action

A VOMAG 7OR 660 mit 8,8 cm Flak (early version)
from Luftwaffe under maintenance in his front axle.
These machines were fragile, in bad road conditions...

A VOMAG 7OR 660 Flakmesstruppkraftwagen
built as stereoscopic rangefinder vehicle, carrying
a Kommandogerät 40 (Kdo. Ger. 40).

    By 1942, its operational use had become increasingly limited, given the severe road conditions that could be used by the Wehrmacht in the Eastern Campaign. Attempts to build a truck of the same tonnage and load capacity but with the robustness of a true military vehicle were made, through feasibility studies and development, but all of VOMAG's war efforts were now devoted to maintaining the production of those already mentioned Panzerkampfwagen IV.

Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. F2

    The result of VOMAG's concentration on maintaining the production lines for the Panzer IV and its derivatives, such as the Jagdpanzer IV in late 1943, was that the factory had to be expanded considerably. 

Jagdpanzer IV L/70 Lang

   This made Plauen a priority target for Allied Bomber Command, and it suffered several raids, which reduced the industrial facilities to rubble. After the end of WWII, the remains of the company were dismantled by the Soviets, with the machines still in operation being confiscated as 'reparations' and sent to the Soviet Union.

Consolidated B-24 Liberators - 8th Air Force
bombing Vomag Tank Works at Plauen.
Germany - 4 May 1945.

    Although designed for less aggressive driving conditions, these brave trucks were used until their mechanical annihilation, with the last known record of the use of the VOMAG 8LR on the Eastern Front, against Soviet troops, being dated 1943. After that date, the heavy trucks VOMAG 8RL disappeared of the reports and photographs, remaining only in the photographic records of the years before the war and the first years of the Blitzkrieg and Operation Barbarossa. Despite their limited production, the VOMAG 8LR trucks played a significant role in transportation during their time. None of these magnificent machines have survived to this day.

List of VOMAG buses:

• P 20 f, 40 HP
• P 30 z, 40/45 HP
• 3 AC, 60/70 HP
• C 3 A, 60/80 HP
• O II, 55 HP
• O II , 60 HP (rail bus)
• O II A, 55/70 HP
• O II A, 60 HP
• OM 57, 100 HP
• OV 57, 75 HP
• 3 OHG, 75 HP
• 3 OR 649, 95 HP
• 4 OR 652, 88 HP
• 4.5 OHG 460, 100 HP
• 5 OM 1258, 300 HP
• 5 OR 658, 150 HP
• 6 DR 652, 160 HP
• 6 OV 57, 110 HP
• 7 OR 660, 150 HP
• Type Buenos Aires “Imperial”, 60 hp
• Type Leipzig, 50/65 HP
• Type Montevideo, 50/55 HP
• Forward, 100 hp

List of VOMAG trucks:

• 3 ton army wagon
• Standard diesel, 3 ton x HP
• P20, x HP
• P30, x HP
• P45, x HP
• 3LR 443, x HP (diesel)
• 3LV 443, x HP (Otto engine)
• 4LR 446, x HP (diesel)
• 5Cz 45 / 50 / 56, x HP (Otto engine)
• 5LR 444, 100 HP (diesel)
• 5LR 644, 100 HP (diesel)
• 5LR 648, 100 HP (diesel)
• 6LR 653, 150 HP (diesel)
• 8LR 654, 140 HP (diesel)
• 8LR 658, 150 HP (diesel)

Specs:

Vomag 8LR LKW - 6x4 German heavy truck
Type	6x4 Heavy truck +6×6 Cargo truck
Place of origin	Germany
Production history
Designer	Vogtländische Maschinenfabrik AG (VOMAG)
Designed	1935
Manufacturer	Vogtländische Maschinenfabrik AG (VOMAG)
Produced	1935 - 1939
No. built	100
Specifications
Mass	3.860 kg - empty 11.000 kg - loaded
Length	10.400 mm
Width	2.520 mm
Height	2.664 mm
Engine	VOMAG 8R - 6 cyl. in line Diesel -150 Hp
Transmission	5-speed manual ( 4 fw x 1 rev)
Suspension	beam axles on leaf springs
Fuel capacity	180 Liters
Maximum speed	80 Km/h

Kit:

    For the construction of this German heavy transport vehicle, the only option on the market (at least for now: July 2024) is the Roden kit no. 822: VOMAG 8 LR LKW - WWII German Heavy Truck.

Roden kit nº.822 box cover art

Original Roden box art

        Let's start this project. The main problem I am encountering in the development of this model is the almost total absence of historical and mechanical references. So much so that some important gaps were left open in the description of the model's history, which facilitate the construction of the model.

    But following the instruction manual (which is quite Spartan and, at times, not very explanatory...): starting by the wheels!! These elements are 7 in number, 2 front, 4 rear and a spare wheel, very well injected but with simple details. The treads with minimal groove details look like worn tires, with 3/4 of their life already worn. The spare wheel surprises with the care in its manufacture, without screws and without the brake hub.

The VOMAG wheels...
Notice the spare wheel: very good!!

    Now, a rough detail: in parts 25i and 12i (rear differential gearbox) there are no fittings, notches or pins that show the correct position of fitting between these parts. These parts will only be glued later, when the chassis, suspensions and drive shafts are built, so that we can align the 12i parts on the respective rear axles. See the diagram and pic below:

Step 4: building the rear differential gearboxes.
The problem is not the instructions, but the engineering
of the molds of the parts involved.

These parts will be separated for later gluing,
according to other components.

    Now building the suspensions... The front single axle with two semi-elliptic springs and the rear twin semi-elliptic leaf springs:

The rear and front suspensions sets.

Tool boxes for the cargo bay

Tool boxes and fuel tank...

    Now, the loooong chassis: the stringers are correctly injected, without deviations or warps (thank the Gods...). The big detail here is to join the long longitudinal stringers with the transverse crossbars in perfect alignment, maintaining parallelism.

Squared chassis: Superior German Engineering!!

The chassis is aligned like a pool table!!!

    And while the chassis dries its glue, we will take care of the construction of the truck cabin...

Cabin parts and other details...

    Floor and firewall details glued to the cabin. My intention is to build the engine hood with the side flaps open, exposing the 6-cylinder diesel engine...

Firewall and cabin floor...
Notice the exhaust and jack...

    The VOMAG Diesel engine is a prominent piece, due to its size and grandeur... and I think it is a waste to enclose this large piece inside a closed hood. And, since there are historical antecedents of it being exposed, both in civilian and military vehicles, I will detail the VOMAG 6-cylinder diesel engine and leave it exposed, removing the upper side walls of the engine hood. 

Civilian VOMAG 8LR LKW with
engine exposed

Military VOMAG 8LR LKW with its engine exposed.

    The problem is the lack of historical references for the engine detailing. The only photo I found of this engine is attached in the photo below:

Preparing the engine for detailing by reproducing the
diesel injection ducts. Injection pump (yellow)
and cylinder heads (red) being drilled with a fine drill bit...

Using copper wires of various diameters to
reproduce the main fuel lines

VOMAG Diesel engine
left view

VOMAG Diesel engine
right view

The engine, after being painted,
glued into position.

The instrument panel, with its hand-painted dials
(decals here would save a lot of time, Mrs. Roden!!)

      To properly install and glue the radiator and the curved upper part of the engine hood, I dry-fitted the sidewalls of the hood before performing the cutting surgery. Since these parts are interdependent in terms of position and squaring, I chose to do this sequence now, before cutting the sidewalls to expose the engine.

The sidewalls of the hood, held in position by a rubber band.
The radiator can be glued without fear of it coming out of square...

Checking the alignments between the parts....

Gluing the upper portion of the bonnet into position,
taking care not to glue the side walls, which will be
removed and "undergone surgery" to remove
their "movable" portions.

The engine hood in its final form.
Left view

The engine hood in its final form.
Right view

Now let's remove the vertical side walls by moving
 the pieces outwards... Left view

Right view

The right side wall of the bonnet. The lower portion is fixed and the upper (fenestrated) is hinged and removable, in the original vehicle. We will cut on the marked line (between yellow arrows, below)  to "remove" this "hinged" portion and glue the still fixed portion in the lower portion of the engine bonnet.

Right sidewall of the hood.
Let's cut with the help of a metal ruler and a 15c scalpel blade...

Right side cut!!!
Gustav drinks a beer in honor of the surgeon's expertise!
Cheers!!!

Same procedure with the piece on the left side.
Gustav is happy! The upper portions will be discarded...
Hail!!!

Gluing the fixed portions of the side walls to the bonnet and chassis.
View from the right side.
We are all smiling!!!

Left view!!
Tatsächlich, viel besser!!

    And since we have the surgeon's spirit "influencing" our heads, let's cut the door windows. Putting the glass completely in prevents the view of the details of the dashboard instruments and giving a detail of partially lowered glass I think enhances the appearance of the kit...

The door glass, purposely cut to different sizes...

The glass, installed in the doors...
Sehr gut!!!

Internal details in leather,
in the cabin...

Hood and cabin...
The kit is very simple...

Front fenders in position

Note the "clamps" of the sides of the hood open,
falling on themselves or resting on the fenders

Using the fenders as an alignment base, for gluing
the rear axles and their semi-elliptical springs.
The Tamiya paint is to add some weight to the structure,
while everything is glued together...

Finally, we can glue the 12i parts in their correct places (yellow),
since we have the rear axles installed and the
two drive shafts as reference (blue).

     Assembling the front wheel brake hubs is a bit confusing, even more so when the instruction diagram WRONGLY states that part 8L should be glued to the 28i. Here is a three-dimensional image of the entire correct assembly of the front wheels

The wrong (diagram) and the right of the construction
 of the front wheels

      The front axle has two pins at its ends that I'm not going to waste: I'm going to open two holes of the same diameter in the wheel hubs to strengthen the gluing of the wheels, in this sector...

The pins at the ends of the front axle...

... and the two holes I made to insert these pins into the hubs.
More stable mechanical fixation!!

Gluing the wheels with a nice square between the wheels
and the vehicle. Here I'm going to forget a little about
caster and camber, because in this scale,
 these values ​​would be imperceptible...

Installing the steering bars, with their components...

And finally, installing the rear wheels,
also well aligned and squared with the chassis.

Cabin closed and adding details to cargo bed...
right side view

Cabin closed and adding details to cargo bed...
left side view

Gluing the rear fenders and
testing the spare wheel in place...

Gluing the side walls of cargo bed...

    Well... these are the records, so far... I'm on vacation and away from my workbench, now... Completion of this work next month!!!  A big hug to everyone and thank you for following...