Austrian Icon: The Steyr 1500A

Throughout World War II, armies on both sides continued to introduce new weapons and vehicles. One such vehicle was the Austrian-designed Steyr 1500A, which was a relative late-comer, entering service in 1942. Like many other vehicles it was used in all theaters where the German fought and remained in use until the end of the war in 1945. Even with barely three years active service, the 1500A proved to be a remarkably well-designed and versatile vehicle.

The Austrian company of Steyr was founded in 1864, and during the First World War was an important armaments manufacturer, producing some 4,000 weapons per day, including pistols and rifles, with a workforce of around 15,000 employees. After the end of the war in 1918, the company faced bankruptcy and only survived by producing motor vehicles and later diversifying into the manufacture of bicycles. In 1934, the company amalgamated to form a partnership known as Steyr-Daimler-Puch, SDP, but always managed to retain an interest in weapon manufacturing.

The next important stage in the company’s history came in March 1938 when Austria was annexed by Germany in the “Anschluss’’, thereby absorbing the country into Hitler’s Greater Third Reich. Austria’s manufacturing base was now available to support the expanding German Army and the company of SDP found itself one of many companies to be absorbed into the massive industrial organization of Reichswerke Herman Goering. This placed it in a prime position to receive many military contracts.

Georg Meindl, an Austrian industrialist and economist, as well as being an ardent Nazi, was appointed as the new general director to the company. Under his direction, SDP implemented a new production plan called the “Schell Plan” in 1939, so-called after its creator, Colonel, and later Lieutenant General, Adolf von Schell. The idea was to modernize and streamline production of motor vehicles with all-wheel drive by reducing the number of different types and standardize designs. The plan was launched on Jan. 1, 1940 and reduced the number of truck designs down from 114 to just 19 and the number of passenger cars reduced by 40% from 52 down to 30.

Among the new designs to fit into the Schell Plan were several types produced by SDP, including the Steyr 220, which had a load carrying capacity of 1.5 tons, as well as its 640 and 740 models, both of which dated from 1937. The design team at Steyr, headed up by Ferdinand Porsche, were also working on a new vehicle known as the 270, from which would be developed the Steyr 1500A. Production commenced in September 1941 and ran until February 1945, during which time some 18,050 vehicles in three main variants were turned out by three factories.

By 1938, Steyr had supplied thousands of vehicles to the German Army and with the 1500A it was now supplying another successful design. Between September 1941 and March 1944, some 12,450 1500A were turned out in what was known as “Einheits” or standard design. The “A” in the designation stood for allradantrieb, all-wheel drive, 4x4. All versions shared the same chassis design. Front suspension was provided by means of an independent torsion bar system and an auxiliary two-speed gear box was fitted in addition to the four-speed transmission. In late 1943, the chassis was strengthened and extra leaf springs were added to the rear axle. In the same year, the rear fenders were removed in a move to economize on steel.

Minor changes were made to the design throughout the service life of the vehicle design. For example, the early models carried their spare wheel internally and were designated as 1500A/01. In August the superstructure was modified to carry the spare wheel externally in a recessed attachment point just behind the driver’s door; this version was given the designation 1500A/02.

As the war progressed, in another move to save steel, the Einheitsfahrerhaus design of the driver’s cab, literally the standard cabin, was changed to a style using a combination of wood and pressed cardboard. The introduction of the 1500 saw the replacement brought an end to the complicated heavy einheits models, with their time consuming maintenance requirements, as produced by Auto Union at its Siegmar factory.

The three main versions were a staff car, light truck and and eight-seater personnel carrier, known as the mannschaftskraftwagen with the designation Kfz70, being the most commonly produced type. The staff car version, kommandandeurwagen, was designated as the Kfz21. It had four doors and collapsible roof cover, and was favored by command staff generals. In fact, this version proved so successful that from 1943 it began to replace Kfz11 and Kfz12 staff cars. All versions of the 1500 were used in North Africa, Italy, Western Europe and Russia, where the method of air-cooling the engine prevented freezing. The range proved very popular with the troops, who appreciated the reliability and their good cross-country capability and load-carrying capacity.

The design range was functional, especially the light truck and personnel carriers, which were easily pressed into alternative roles, such as civilian fire tenders. During the war several districts used converted examples of the 1500A as fire tenders to carry ladder, pumps and hoses along with other equipment.

Another version was known as the funkkraftwagen. It carried radio equipment and fitted with a roof-mounted dachantenne, a type of aerial sometimes referred to as being a “bedframe” from its distinctive shape. Other roles for the light truck included serving as an artillery tractor, being termed protzkraftwagen (prime mover gun tractor) with the designation Kfz 69 being and an ambulance version. In the radio and ambulance roles, the 1500 chassis were converted by fitting “box” bodies, which accommodated the equipment — in the case of the ambulance, four stretcher cases or eight seated casualties. A very few variants known as truppenluftschutzkraftwagen, designated as Kfz4, were developed using the 1500A chassis and are known to have been used in Greece.

The Kfz70 version could carry up to 11 men, including driver and co-driver, with their equipment and could form part of Panzer reconnaissance units. As a gun tractor, the Kfz69 version could be used to tow infantry guns, such as the 7.5cm Le IG18, or Pak40 7.5cm when serving with anti-tank platoons. For this role the 1500 required no conversion because the vehicles were already fitted with tow bars, effectively making them purpose ready. The accompanying ammunition carrier could also tow a trailer with more supplies.

Production at the main SDP factory was halted in March 1944 when the facility was badly damaged following a heavy Allied air raid. In August, vehicle production commenced on the 2000A, an improved version of the 1500A. This had an increased wheelbase length and flatbed space, taking the weight up to more than 4.5 tons, but also increased the load-carrying capacity to almost two long tons. By early February 1945, some 6,400 examples of the 2000A version had been produced. By the end of the war, the factories engaged in producing the 1500 and 2000 models, including the Audi factory in Zwickau, had completed almost 30,000 vehicles.

Today, vehicles in the Steyr 1500 range are popular with owners and re-enactment groups alike and are quite often seen at shows, where they participate in mobility displays. Occasionally, they are used in battle re-enactment scenarios as they were 80 years ago. This includes transporting personnel into the display arena, towing anti-tank guns and depicting supply trucks.

Even in static lineups they attract a lot of attention from visitors to the shows who admire the well-preserved state of these vehicles, which are now 80 years old and still going strong thanks to good restoration and maintenance. Examples frequently come up for sale and the fact they are quickly snapped up proves their continued popularity.