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ÖAF gl sLKW 20.320 G3

For the general background on the development of the ÖAF gl sLKW 20.320 see the section on the G1 model. The G3 version with the heavy 17 mt hydraulic crane was mostly assigned to the Engineer Battalions. When looking at the crane mounted behind the cab, it’s obvious that the massive construction represented the state-of-the-art in hydraulic cranes in the early 1970s. To be able to store the crane behind the cab when not in use, its main arm has to be folded in two – an activity that required a lot of effort. As a result, most G3 drivers laid the crane on the loading platform during transit.

ÖAF gl sLKW 10t 20.320 G1

The ÖAF gl sLKW 20.320 was developed by ÖAF (Österreichische Automobil Fabrik) as a heavy supply and engineer vehicle for the Austrian Army starting in 1974. As a consequence of the first oil price shock in 1973 and the resulting economic downturn in many European countries, the Austrian government in 1974 instigated the development of a high-mobility, heavy truck for the Austrian Army to be produced by Austrian manufacturers. While a similar concept already existed from MAN for the German Bundeswehr (the MAN “Kat1”), it was decided not to procure German vehicles but instead push for an Austrian development. As ÖAF by that time was already cooperating very closely with MAN (and was later absorbed into the MAN group), it based its development on the MAN Kat1 but selected a water-cooled MAN D2538 engine over the air-cooled Deutz engine in the Kat1. This was intended to resolve a weakness when driving the vehicle at very low speeds and low engine RPM where the air-cooled Deutz sometimes encountered overheating problems. Because of the low cab (to comply with vehicle height restrictions for rail transports), no front-mounted radiator could be incorporated, so ÖAF placed the radiator on the right side of the vehicle just behind the cab and equipped it with a hydraulically-driven radiator fan whose RPM was now independent of the engine RPM.

Voest-Alpine TROSS 130

Starting in 1980, Austrian company VOEST-ALPINE developed the TROSS 130 as a multi-purpose support system for Engineer and Supply units. It replaced the previously used German HATRA loaders and was supposed to work as a heavy loader and recovery vehicle (with the Engineers) as well as a heavy forklift and crane (for the Supply units). While most competitors by the early 1980s had moved to articulated chassis solutions, VOEST-ALPINE still favored the swivel loading concept with a straight chassis and the loading arm mounted on a 360° swivel in the front.

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