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Steyr Raupenschlepper Ost |
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Steyr Raupenschlepper Ost |
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During winter of 1941 and spring of 1942 the Wehrmacht
realized that it needed a tracked tractor to restore the mobility in the
mud and snow on the Eastern Front. Sturdy Russian tractors such as Stalinetz
S-65 and STZ-5 that was taken in qualtities during operation Barbarossa
and a vehicle inspired by these was ordered.
The RSO was developed by Steyr during 1942 and used the transmission of their standard 1.5ton Truck. The suspension was of a rather crude design, and it gave rise to excessive vibration which contributed to the low speed. The wheels were entirely of steel and mounted on quarter-elliptic leaf springs. But it had a ground clearance of 55cm (22"), which allowed the vehicle to keep moving even in the worst conditions. RSO tractors were mainly used to tow 75mm PaK and 105mm leFH, and it was extensively used by Volksgrenadier divisions. In 1944 Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz, Gräf & Stift and Wanderer joined Steyr in the production that continued right up to the end of the war. In all 27950 was made in three models: RSO/01: The original model made by Steyr from late 1942 to 1944
One day I was looking a the 5934 Dino Explorer/Track Master I noticed the small cargo area and I decided to make a model with room for more cargo. A bit of research revealed the RSO as a nice model to do. |
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STZ-5 tractor | |||||||||||||||||||
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The original RSO/01... | |||||||||||||||||||
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...and the model | |||||||||||||||||||
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An open topped version
(not entirely authentic, just built for the fun of it) |
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Left Side
showing the suspension and the raised wheel at the front. This makes the track touch the bottom of the cab which makes a truely authentic sound when the model is pushed around. |
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Front and back views
show that it has not been possible to make the model with a large ground clearance |
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| Blueprint | Technical Specifications | |||||||||||||||||||
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