German tank development followed a very predictable course. This included engine development. After experiments in the 1920s and early 1930s, German tanks settled on the Maybach V-shaped series. These gasoline engines that worked at high RPM (about 3000) were characteristic for German tanks. They were used until the end of the war, although some began to think about an alternative as early as 1941-42. Ferdinand Porsche was among those who had his own idea about what a tank engine needs to look like.
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Simmering-Graz-Pauker is best known as a producer of train cars and locomotives. |
The first attempt to build a diesel engine was undertaken by Daimler-Benz in 1940. The MB 809 and later MB 507 were unlucky. Work on diesel engines was not abandoned. Porsche K.G. picked up the relay, working closely with Austrian companies. The new team created a brand new engine known as the Simmering-Graz-Pauker Sla 16. This was an X-shaped air cooled diesel engine which opened a whole new direction in development of tank engines. However, Germany did not have time to make use of the fruit of this labour.
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The predecessor of the SLa.16 was initially developed for the Typ 205, shown here in its configuration as of October 1942. |