On Saturday June 9 2018, the Traditionsverband provided the historic framework for the traditional day of Vienna’s 1st Infantry-Battalion “Hoch- und Deutschmeister”. The Battalion carries the proud tradition of the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Army’s 4th Infantry Regiment, and the historic Regimental Band is well known throughout Europe. The 1st Infantry Battalion is tasked with protecting vital infrastructure in the Vienna area, thus both the historic and the currently active part of the battalion could present themselves “on their home-turf” in front of beautiful Belvedere Castle.
The first weekend in June saw the already 11th big annual gathering of historic vehicles at the Military History Museum in Vienna, “On Wheels & Tracks”. Around ten thousand visitors used the perfect summer weather to see “what moved the Army” over the last hundred years.
The Traditionsverband this year complemented the museum’s special exhibition “To Protect and to Help – The Austrian Army Between 1955 and 1991” with vehicles as they could be seen during the Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968) crises, as part of Austria’s United Nations contingent on the Golan Heights and during disaster relief operations.
After almost a full year, our ATS 59G artillery tractor has returned from major overhaul in Slovakia and is now again in mint condition. When it originally arrived in 2011, first attempts at starting the engine showed that the engine pre-heating system exhaust was full of coolant, indicating a leak of the cooling system. As the pre-heating system is located on the right-hand side of the hull beneath the water/oil cooler, engine exhaust and engine oil tank, we totally stripped the right side of the engine and thought that we had identified the problem – a failed weld in the exhaust/coolant heat transfer chamber. After re-welding this part, the vehicle spent several years waiting to be re-assembled (and had become well known to the visitors of our annual fall gatherings because it provided an unobstructed view on the 12-cylinder V2 engine). By July 2017 we had agreed with our sister organization in Slovakia to call upon their help to re-assemble the vehicle, and it was transported across the border.
Steyr Type 380 after successfully receiving new engine transplant
By the end of 2017, we agreed with one of the Advisors of the Traditionsverband (Dr. Herbert Werner) to transfer his Steyr Type 380 into our collection. The vehicle was delivered to the “Defense Office” in the Austrian Chancellery on January 11 1956 – before the Ministry for Defense was officially created by the newly formed Austrian Republic. Unfortunately, no records exist which units it has been serving with, however by December 4 1958 it was re-assigned to the Ministry of Defense and issued the license number W 175.407. Note that until the early 1970s, Austrian Army vehicles still bore the civilian “W” license plates for “Vienna”. Only by 1974, a dedicated „BH“ (for “Bundesheer”) Army license plate was issued. By March 22 1976 the vehicle was retired from active service and sold. For the next 45 years the “Lattice Steyr” (as it was often called due to its characteristic front grill) was preserved in private hands, in March of this year we had it overhauled and found the engine to be shot. Fortunately, the Steyr WD 413 engine had also been licensed for production in Hungary, and we could source a brand-new engine to be transplanted. This vehicle is now the oldest military vehicle from post-WW2 Austrian production in our collection.
The first weekend in June traditionally is the time for military vehicle enthusiasts to gather at the Museum of Military History in Vienna. This year will see the already 11th anniversary of this event.
Naturally the Traditionsverband will have a lot of heavy equipment on display during its presentations (Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm).
