Friday 30 June 2017

1940 DKW Engines for Transport





DKW produced a variety of stationary engines for industrial purposes. One of these uses was in various transport machinery, such as the triporters and luggage haulers shown in this flyer. 

1940 DKW Stationary Engine Range

Thursday 29 June 2017

1940 DKW F9 Sportswagen


The development history of the DKW F9 has for a long time been a palimpsest, incompletely documented and filled with gaps. Similarly, the development of the East German successor, the IFA F9, remained shrouded in a silence imbued by the grim atmosphere of East German politics.  Only relatively recently have archival documents begun to surface that cast a thin ray of light on the development of DKW's most important vehicle. The revelations of this research have led me to completely rewrite my posts on the history of this period. The revised story of the development of DKW F9 can be found here:
https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2017/07/1939-dkw-f9-prototype.html

In December 2014 a special exhibition was held at Fahrzeugmuseum in Chemnitz detailing the early development of the F9. The curators of the exhibition managed to put together a comprehensive display that included the Werner F9 pre-production car from Audi Tradition, a transversely mounted three cylinder engine and gearbox, a very early IFA F9, an IFA F9 sportscar and - the showpiece of the exhibition - the sole IFA F9 roadster that had been discovered abandoned in a shed near Berlin shortly before the exhibtion.
https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2017/07/1950-ifa-f9-roadster-prototype.html

In preparing for the exhibition, a large amount of original documentation, including drawings, specifications, testing reports and memoirs of participants were uncovered. So much material was presented that it could not all be reviewed and cataloged in time for the exhibition.

A 1940 DKW F8 (left) and the surviving pre-production F9 sit side by side. We now know that William Werner's F9 was built at the end of 1943. Technical Director Werner did not get to use the car for long as it was completed in late December 1943 before being damaged in a bombing raid in Berlin in February 1944. Between the two cars is a very early triple cylinder engine in transverse layout. DKW manufactured approximately 40 of these engine-gearbox units for the initial road trials. The motorcycle style clutch and gearbox proved to be incapable of dealing the torque of the 3=6 engine, with none lasting more than 500 kilometres before failing. This necessitated developing a longitudinal gearbox, based on the Auto-Union C Type race gearbox, completely changing the engine layout in the F9 series.

With all the information gathered during the exhibition, Fahrzeugmuseum historian, Frieder Bach, and director, Dirk Schmerschnieder, were able to produce a book about the DKW F9 project and the resurrection of the IFA F9 in East Germany. The book is available from the Fahrzeugmuseum shop:
https://fahrzeugmuseum-chemnitz.de/?staff=f9-der-saechsische-konkurrent-des-volkswagens 

Among the documents the curators discovered as they worked through the papers was an enigmatic schematic from the Auto-Union AG Chemnitz design studio, labeled 'Sportswagen DKW F9.' The body design came from the well-known designer Günther Mickwausch, responsible for F9 and Horch 930S. Arthur Kordewan drew the technical diagram. Although the drawing contained little other information, the context of the drawing was clear.

In the 1938 Auto-Union began testing a series of streamlined bodies in a series of long distance road races, such as the Liege-Rome and the Berlin-Rome endurance trials. Three F8 chassis were fitted with streamlined aluminum bodies for the Berlin-Rome race of 1938. The three cars were initially fitted with the F8's standard 700cc two cylinder two-stroke engines. After the race the cars were used for road testing with various engine configurations, including the V4 two-stroke and the new three cylinder two-stroke. There is even some indication from surviving documentation that an Audi 6 cylinder and a Wanderer 4 cylinder engines were also trialed.

For the Liege-Rome-Liege endurance race of 1938 Auto-Union fielded three Wanderers with open topped aluminum roadster bodies. Despite their streamlined appearance, the unsupercharged Wanderer engines did not perform well and the Wanderer's failed to place. They would return in 1939 with supercharged engines and performed much better.

The DKW F9 Sportswagen drawing bears a close resemblance to the Wanderer roadsters. Notations on the diagram, such as a large fuel tank and twin spare wheels - which were requirements for the endurance races - reveal that Auto-Union intended to field DKW F9 roadsters in the 1940 race program. Unfortunately, the war intervened and the cars were never built.

During his research into the development of the F9, Frieder Bach recalled reference to a tender from Auto-Union for the construction of special sportscar bodies. He put in a call to the Prototype Museum in Hamburg, which holds a private archive of some prewar Auto-Union documentation. They provided Bach with a copy of the tender, confirming that DKW had indeed planned to build a DKW roadster. For photos of the excellent Prototype Museum, see this link:
https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2013/05/prototyp-museum-hamburg.html

Inspired by the discovery, Frieder Bach determined he would build a replica of the lost DKW roadster. Having restored DKW and IFA cars for decades, sourcing running gear for the vehicle was rather straightforward. The challenge was the car's aluminum bodywork. Here he was helped by a fortunate coincidence. One day, when dropping off his granddaughter at school, he bumped into a fellow from the metalworking school of Fraunhofer Institute in Chemnitz. Being recognized as a well known vehicle restorer, the fellow mentioned to Bach that he needed a project to develop his thesis papers for a computer controlled metalworking process. Bach recognized this was an opportunity and, working with the Fraunhofer Institute, the car was modeled in virtual reality and some of the more complex panels were pressed using the new process. The project is documented here: http://www.silberhummel.de/silberhummel/web2d/

Working with his son, Thorston, Bach put together the replica in his home garage. The car was basically complete - but not running - in February 2020, in time for a special exhibition at the Fahrzeugmuseum for DKW's racing history. The exhibition runs until 14 February 2021. See here:
https://fahrzeugmuseum-chemnitz.de/?event=fix-voran-mit-frontantrieb-90-jahre-dkw-rennwagen 

In April 2020 the car was running and taken onto the Sachsenring racetrack for a photoshoot for the 79 Oktan magazine. The photos following come from that shoot.

79 Oktan is a print magazine for East German and Ost-Bloc vehicles. https://79oktan.de/

There is also a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/79oktan/

The sportswagen is powered by an early IFA F9 engine. The early IFA engines with their side mounted spark plugs more closely resemble the original DKW F9 three cylinder engine.

Photograph of the 1940 DKW F9 engine. You can observe that the IFA F9 engine has the spark plug and dynastart placed on opposite sides to the original. The radiator pipe entry is also reversed.

https://fahrzeugmuseum-chemnitz.de/?staff=dkw-f9-der-letzte-berlin-rom-sportwagen-von-dkw-1940-2020

https://www.sachsen-fernsehen.de/mediathek/tag/auto-union/video/dkw-die-kultigen-rennwagen/#

Thorston and Frieder Bach. Bach's book "The Last Auto-Union Sports Car from Chemnitz" is available from the Fahrzeugmuseum shop. https://fahrzeugmuseum-chemnitz.de/?staff=der-letzte-auto-union-sportwagen-aus-chemnitz