Tatra 111

The Tatra 111 was a truck produced in Czechoslovakia by the Tatra company.

History

The T111 was developed and manufactured during World War II as a heavy truck for use by the Wehrmacht. Production started in 1942 and continued for twenty years, ending in 1962 when it was replaced by the Tatra 138. Despite being built for the Nazi war machine, the vehicle ultimately played an important role after the war ended. The Tatra 111 contributed significantly to the rebuilding effort during the postwar era, mainly in Eastern Europe and the USSR. To its chief designer, however, it brought charges of treason and collaboration with the Nazi regime after the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia and contributed to the imprisonment of Tatra's design guru Hans Ledwinka.

Design and technology

The design was based on the proven Tatra concept of a backbone tube chassis construction with swing half axles, a modular gearbox and differential assemblies. The main advantages of the central load carrying backbone tube are its high torsion and bend strength, which protects the truck body against load stresses. The secondary advantage is that it houses all important parts of the drivetrain. Due to its torsional stiffness and use of differentials locks the vehicle had exceptional offroad capabilities. Of note was the ability to use a cranking handle to start the engine.

Tatra Mountains

The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra (Tatry either in Polish (pronounced [ˈtatrɨ]) and in Slovak (pronounced [ˈtatri]) - plurale tantum), are a mountain range that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. The Tatras should be distinguished from the Low Tatras (Slovak: Nízke Tatry) which are located south of the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia.

The Tatra Mountains occupy an area of 785 square kilometres (303 sq mi), of which about 610 square kilometres (236 sq mi) (77.7%) lie within Slovakia and about 175 square kilometres (68 sq mi) (22.3%) on the territory of Poland. The highest peak, called Gerlach, at 2,655 m (8710 ft) is located north of Poprad. The highest point in Poland, Rysy, at 2,499 m (8200 ft) is located south of Zakopane.

The Tatras' length, measured from the eastern foothills of the Kobyli Wierch (1109 m) to the southwestern foot of Ostry Wierch Kwaczański (1128 m), in a straight line is 57 km (35 mi) (or 53 km (33 mi) according to some), and strictly along the main ridge, 80 km (50 mi). The range is only 19 km (12 mi) wide. The Tatras' main ridge leads from Huciańska Pass (905 m) in the west to Zdziarska Pass (1081 m) to the east.

Tatra 80

Tatra 80 is an automobile from Tatra designed by Hans Ledwinka in 1931. It was Tatra's flagship product at the time, powered by water-cooled 5991 cc V12 engine, including the familiar backbone chassis and swing axle suspension. With engine power of 120 bhp (89 kW) the car has top speed of 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph).

References

Literature

Tatra 17

Tatra 17 is a vintage automobile produced by the Czech manufacturer Tatra from 1925 to 1929. It was the company's top-end model which was sold alongside the economy car Tatra 12 and middle class Tatra 30.

Design

Engine

Originally, the car was fitted with a liquid-cooled six-cylinder OHC in-line Tatra 17 engine with 1,930 cc (118 cu in) and 35 hp (26 kW) power. The block was made from silumin and cylinder heads from aluminium. It was the first Tatra with an ignition battery. The maximum attainable speed of the 1,130 kg (2,491 lb) heavy car was 100 km/h (62 mph). Altogether 205 vehicles were made before 25 September 1926.

Another engine used was from even more up-market Tatra 31. It was also a liquid-cooled six-cylinder in-line OHC, however this time with 2,310 cc (141 cu in) and 39,4 hp (29,4 kW) power. The maximum speed was raised to 110 km/h (68 mph). 250 vehicles were made with this engine.

Tatra 17/31 was for some time manufactured alongside the successor model Tatra 31, of which 300 vehicles were made.