DER STRABOKRAN: GERMAN GENTRY CRANE 1942-45

The road gantry cranes were an indispensable tool for maintaining the new Tiger and Panther heavy tanks and Elefant tank hunter near to the front line. An exceptional use for the gantry crane was from 1944 onward with the Division z.V. for loading and unloading of delivered A4 (V2) rockets onto the 'Vidalwagen' or 'Meillerwagen' launching trailers. For the first time this fascinating gantry crane’s development history is documented, with patent applications, as well as its use in action with the Panzer-Werkstattkompanien, engineering units and Division z.V., based on original documents and a lot of pictures. Seen for the first time is a complete series showing the removal and replacement of a Panzer turret and other usage. By drawings and close-up pictures a comparison of 15t and 16t Strabokran shows the differences of both gantry crane types. Also included for modellers a detailed set of drawings of all Strabokran variants in 1/35 scale. 256 pages, more than 240 images, contemporary and close-up pictures of survivors, mostly printed in large format, tables, patents, K.St.N., and scale drawings.