German Motorway - Autobahn

I locate an intereresting article about the begining of the Autobahn in Austria. As you must known, from March 1938, Austria are anexed to Germany. Is very documented, with many plans, and photos. All are builded in the period 1938-1942: Geschichte der Autobahn in Österreich 1938-42.








Jan.

 

All those Silver Arrow drivers may have had to be members of the NSKK but you can't help feeling fighter pilot would be their military destiny.
That's a logical thought, but actually far from the truth. Most of them were actually too old and only a few had private planes pre-war, although there is an exception that proves the rule in the shape of EG Burggaller, who had flown with von Richthofen's squadron alongside Goering in the Great War. He retired from racing and re-enlisted in the Luftwaffe in 1938. He was assigned mainly to home defence duties and died on a training flight in January 1940.

The racing driver who made most impression on the air war was of course Whitney Straight, but he never drove for the German teams (although he was invited to test for Auto Union). The next most enthusiastic pilots were Nuvolari, Seaman and Rosemeyer: Tazio was probably too old for the Regia Aeronautica - and probably not tall enough either! Seaman and Rosemeyer were both dead before the war started, but I can certainly see Dick at the controls of a Spitfire, while Bernd's extraordinary powers would probably have meant he'd have either become a test pilot or been assigned to some other special duty like photo-recce.

The other Silver Arrows driver who died in the air was one of the more minor characters - Ulli Bigalke, who was killed in an He 111 over the Channel in August 1940. I believe he was attached to a Luftwaffe propaganda unit and was doing combat filming at the time - he had produced a film about Rosemeyer for Auto Union.

Of the rest of the Silver Arrows drivers, only Rudi Hasse died during the war - of disease on the Eastern Front.

Rudi Caracciola spent the war in his home in Switzerland, while Manfred von Brauchitsch bagged a cushy desk job which he varied with a bit of tank testing: he also somehow managed to acquire a lingerie shop in Prague and sat out the closing months of the war in a sanatorium. Hans Stuck's wartime career was even murkier...

Jean-Pierre Wimille of Bugatti was in the Armée de l'Air at the outset of war, but was demobbed after the fall of France: like a number of other racers he later joined the Resistance.

British top-line racing drivers who were killed in planes during the war included 1935 Le Mans winner and air racer Luis Fontes, who flew with the ATA (probably due to a previous prison term) and Tim Rose-Richards (RNVR).

 

Nice post Vitesse about the careers of the drivers - they certainly lived high risk lives.

 

There is no further news on this venture, which, I feel, must be partly due to the downturn in the Automotive industry.

The stand still looks forlorn when you drive past it.

Regards
Tom

 

Tom, any chance of a few pic when you pass by next? Just t remind us of how the place looks?

 

Gerard,

The Avis is closed due to major reconstruction work (Several bridges have to be replaced and it is causing severe traffic problems every day.

I did manage to take a fleeting photograph as I passed by the Messe near to the Avis and took this shot of the monument to motorcycle racing.

Alone and taken through a closed window it turned out reasonable enough to publish.

Regards
Tom

 

In convoy on the Autobahn when it came over the air 'yahoo the road runner!' A plum coloured Rolls Royce Corniche convertible went by the convoy like a bloody rocket - whoosh as it shot past us! Before the keep off the net signal came over the air much hilarity, Hello India 33 this is India 3 'tail that Roller' - in a 432! Later the battalion signals officer blew a fuse on the air threatening blue murder, somebody and some of us had an idea, was coming on air - mimicking the road runner me me!


On another occasion one of my pals was lucky a coach on passing his 432 shed its silencer box and about five feet of pipe, we saw it bounce on the 432 over the cupola and into the path of the vehicle behind who rightly did not attempt to stop - he munched it.

 

In Neuschwabenland-Archiv/Filme/Bis-1945/, interalia
1933 - Fritz Todt - Zum Bau der Reichsautobahnen (1m 42s)



Jan.

 

I don't think they had a proper motorway in Ireland in the early 90s. :p

Funny fact - Konrad Adenauer in his last public post prior to the war (Mayor of Cologne) opened the first Autobahn.

All the best

Andreas

 

Germany's first autobahn which Adenauer opened as Mayor of Cologne (1917-1933) in 1932 was the Cologne -Bonn section.As said the autobahn concept was envisaged by the Weimar Republic from 1928.History tends to give Hitler the credit for them from his policy of minimising unemployment.

Certainly makes easy motoring...once traveled from Zeebrugge to Passau..all on motorway....section west of Nurnberg merged from 3 to 2 lanes causing a holdup...negotiated with a delay..good discipline I recall....vehicles got into the two lanes in turn.....excellent motor stops on the way down with quality fare.

Once drove up from the Mosel to Hamburg...lanes fully loaded through the urban areas..accidents...no hard shoulder...emergency services went down the middle of the two lanes and expected those in the lanes to part to give them room.

 

Autobahn Atlas 1938:

http://www.landkartenarchiv.de/reichsautoatlas1938.php

Landkartenarchiv 1938:

http://www.landkartenarchiv.de/deutschland_shell_1938.php


The Autobahn in pictures (Die Strassen Adolf Hitlers):

https://archive.org/stream/Vollbehr-Ernst-Die-Strassen-Adolf-Hitlers/VollbehrErnst-DieStrassenAdolfHitlers-Baujahr1933-1934193597S.ScanFraktur#page/n0/mode/2up


A place served in?


http://www.landkartenarchiv.de/deutschland_stadtplaene_shell.php

 

I see the autobahn photograph shows the use of what appear to be concrete interlocked blocks.I had never seen the use of such blocks until I visited Denmark in 1980 and their use now in the UK seems to be commonplace.

These publicity photographs always attempt to convey the perception of autobahn tranquility.

Incidentally the photograph is very much like the autobahn photographs which appeared in the English version of the German military magazine Signal.

 

I have a family film of my father and grandparents driving down the Autobahn in 1938 when they went on holiday down to Italy. It also has film of the german locals in various villages and stacks of timber by the autobahn and gangs of road workers.

 

Autobahn 1937:


http://www.britishpathe.com/video/faster-and-faster-on-germanys-new-motorhighways/query/autobahn