The road
gantry cranes were an indispensable tool for maintaining the new heavy tanks
Tiger, Panther, and tank hunter Elephant near to the front line. An exceptional
use for the gantry crane was from 1944 onward with the Divison z.V. for loading
and unloading of delivered A4 (V2) rockets onto the 'Vidalwagen' or
'Meillerwagen' launching trailers.
For the first time this fascinating gantry crane’s development
history is documented, with patent applications, as well as its use in action
with the Panzer-Werkstattkompanien, engineering units and Division z.V., based
on original documents and a lot of pictures. Seen for the first time is a
complete series showing the removal and replacement of a Panzer turret and other
usage. By drawings and close-up pictures a comparison of 15t and 16t Strabokran
shows the differences of both gantry crane types. Also included for modellers a
detailed set of drawings of all Strabokran variants in 1/35 scale. 256 pages,
more than 240 images, contemporary and close-up pictures of survivors, mostly
printed in large format, tables, patents, K.St.N., and scale
drawings.
