Intensive firepower in World War I promoted the development of armored vehicles. During this period, tanks and armored personnel carriers officially entered the world stage. At that time, other concepts were also being tried, such as the German Marienwagen I 4 tracked heavy armored vehicle, which can be regarded as a primitive heavy-fire armored vehicle.
Marienwagen I can be traced back to the First World War. Germany hopes to improve the maneuverability of artillery by motor vehicles. This idea has been extended to the installation of armor and weapons, becoming an armored vehicle with maneuverability, protection and firepower. The prototype was started in 19 15 and delivered in the spring of 19 17.
The biggest problem in the development of this weapon is the lack of a suitable chassis. Because the engine and suspension technology are still insufficient, Marienwagen I modified the chassis of a 4-ton truck. It has a metal frame, with the engine, gearbox and radiator installed in the front, followed by the cab and task platform.
The car is driven by the rear axle and the steering wheel, but interestingly, the steering wheel is driven by a chain. It does not use wheeled walking devices, but uses four sets of independent small crawler instead of wheels. The crawler is suspended by leaf springs, but the leaf springs are fixed on the body frame. Install a cross beam under the leaf spring, and then install tracks at both ends of the cross beam. The front track can deflect like the steering wheel to realize the steering of the vehicle.
The car provides full armor protection. The engine room, cockpit and rear manned cabin are riveted with 9 mm thick armor plates around and at the top. There is an observation window in the front of the cab, and there are many shooting holes on both sides of the manned cabin.
9 mm armor was not too thin during World War I, at least conventional rifles and machine guns couldn't help it. Although there are no weapons installed in the vehicle, the designer intends to install two 20 mm Becker guns, a flame thrower, several machine guns and soldier rifles for the armored vehicle. These weapons can be used not only to strafe ground targets, but also to fight in the air. So many weapons also need to be equipped with more personnel. It is estimated that the configuration of the vehicle group is 6-7 people.
Marienwagen I is a very good armored vehicle concept, which highlights the firepower output capability. If it can be realized, it is equivalent to a mobile firepower point on the battlefield, which is somewhat similar to a fire support vehicle. However, limited by the technical conditions at that time, the actual performance was very poor. The car is expected to have a combat weight of 20 tons, and tanks in various countries are just like this. The weak engine can only make it reach the speed of 3~5 kilometers per hour on the flat ground, and it is even more difficult to cross the country.
It is thought that Germany only made 1 or two prototypes to test the improvement, but this project failed. And it affected the A7V tank to some extent. Are tall and heavy steel boxes on the battlefield.