Tempo

In 1926, two Hamburg-based locksmiths produced a motorcycle-based three-wheeled truck which they named Tempo. Among the customers for this machine were coal merchants Oscar Vidal and his father Max. Sufficiently taken by the potential of the Tempo, in 1928 the Vidals purchased the manufacturing rights and, with the engineer Otto Daus, established Vidal & Sohn to produce the three-wheeled Tempo Pony.

In 1933, the larger Front 6 was produced, with the single wheel now positioned at the front rather than the rear. Powered by a 200cc single-cylinder engine, the Front 6 was also manufactured as a passenger car.

A four-wheeled van was offered for sale in 1936, along with an equivalent car, but three-wheeled commercial vehicles were always in the majority and in 1937 Vidal were producing some 40% of all delivery vans sold in Germany.

In 1936 the all-wheel-drive G1200 military light car was introduced, remaining in production until 1939. Designed by Otto Daus, the vehicle featured independent suspension all round and was powered by two 2-cylinder engines of 596cc, one located at the rear and one at the front, each driving its respective axle through a four-speed gearbox. Marketed in 40 countries, the Tempo G1200 was sold to the Wehrmacht in small numbers and was also trialled by the British Army. Approximately 1,200 examples were produced.

During World War Two the Tempo E400 was the German Army’s standardised three-wheeled load carrier.

After the war the A400 (later known as the Hanseat) three-wheeled light commercial vehicle went back into production, estate car versions of the vans remaining available until 1956. The four-wheeled Matador was introduced in 1949 and the three-wheeled Boy 880-1,1001b (400-500kg) truck was produced in 1950, and joined by the Wiking in 1953. In 1956, Oscar Vidal sold 50% of the company to Rheinstahl-Hanomag. Ten years later Rheinstahl-Hanomag acquired the remainder of Vidal, with the vehicles being marketed under the Hanomag name until 1970, then as Hanomag-Henschel until about 1974 when Hanomag became part of Mercedes-Benz.

The Land Rover story begins in early 1952, when the German Federal Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS) issued an invitation to tender for a six-seat cross-country vehicle intended to be used for

Above: Post-1954 Tempo had a bonnet-mounted spare wheel. The high-sided body was of steel construction. (JT)

Patrolling the border with East Germany. A number of domestic manufacturers were approached but showed little interest, all of them presumably being too busy with meeting civilian demand. In April 1952 the BGS conducted a series of trials which pitched seven examples of the home-grown Mercedes-Benz Unimog against seven 80in (2.03m) Series I export Land Rovers. Although the Land Rover was clearly the more suitable, it appears that the factory was not in a position to supply the required number of vehicles within a reasonable timescale and anyway the BGS was enthusiastic - or possibly even under an obligation - to purchase a German-produced vehicle. Vidal had already shown an interest in securing the contract, having already experimented with cross-country vehicles with the G1200 in the 1930s, but lacked the time and resources necessary to develop a new vehicle from scratch.

Aware of the licence-built Minerva vehicles being produced in Antwerp, Vidal approached

Land Rover seeking a similar arrangement. At the end of 1952 Vidal & Sohn received a licence to assemble Land Rovers in Germany using body and other parts of local origin.

Between April and August 1953 somewhere between 100 and 189 vehicles were assembled in the Hamburg-Harburg factory using chassis.

Axles, gearboxes and power units supplied from Solihull. Although the bulkhead was supplied from the UK, as were the bonnet and grille, the remainder of the bodywork, which was generally of steel construction, was produced locally by Herbert Vidal & Company, owned by Oscar Vidal’s brother.

Some sources suggest that there was a second order for 80in (2.03m) vehicles calling for a

Further 48 examples, but definitive information is not available.

In appearance the vehicle was unmistakably a Land Rover, but closer examination reveals considerable differences. Most noticeable is the high-sided rear body and the length of the doors, both of which reached to the bottom of the windscreen. A stowage box was provided across the bonnet for the removable side windows and a

Left and below: A

Preserved post-1954 Tempo. The vehicle is UK based but note that the windows in the hood are not to the original pattern. (JT)

Locker was built into the front/top of each front wing. The spare wheel was carried centrally on the rear, in the style of a Jeep. Rather than being removable, the canvas top was arranged to fold down. Door handles were sourced locally and differed from those used in the UK. There were flashing indicators on the sides of the front wings, with a flashing blue light and siren inboard of the wings and ahead of the radiator. An auxiliary switch panel was fitted on the dashboard above the standard Rover item. Some examples were fitted with a front-mounted capstan winch, and there were ‘bumperettes’ fitted to the cross-member at the rear, together with a radio antenna.

The wheels appear to have been the standard UK-produced one-piece steel rims, but the tyres were 6.00x16 rather than the 6.50x16 type used on the two-piece wheels of British Army Series Is.

Inside the body there were two tip-up seats for the driver and passenger (the centre seat was not fitted) with provision for four more men on inward-facing lateral benches in the rear. If a radio was carried, it was mounted between the front seats. A heater was fitted as standard equipment.

Power was provided by the standard l,997cc four-cylinder petrol engine, driving through a Rover four-speed gearbox and two-speed transfer box. Although almost all of the under-bonnet components were of UK origin, a high-capacity Bosch generator was fitted. The electrical system featured a negative-earth return rather than the positive return of UK vehicles of the period.

In 1954, in line with changes made in the UK, the wheelbase was increased to 86in (2.18m) and a number of other changes were made, with the revised models designated‘041’.

The spare wheel was moved to the bonnet and the stowage box for the side windows was removed; the windscreen hinges were set higher as on the revised UK vehicle. Although the wing-top lockers remained, stowage clips were also provided on the bonnet and wing tops for pioneer tools. Width indicators were fitted to the front wings. There were two fuel tanks, together with an auxiliary tank under the passenger seat, which doubled the original 11 gallons (50 litre) capacity. A jerrycan was carried at the rear alongside the spare wheel. The sidelights and indicators were combined in a single unit and mounted on the front faces of the wings. Changes were made to the instrument panel, with the auxiliary switches now placed to the left rather than above the standard instruments. Between 150 and 187 examples were produced in this form.

In 1956 the BGS allocated 100 of the best examples of Tempo Land Rovers to the newly-

Above: In original form, the Tempo was fitted with a storage box across the bonnet designed to accomodate the sidescreens.

This was deleted in 1954. (JT)

Right: A radio-equipped Tempo of the Bundeswehr. Storage lockers were also incorporated in the front wings. (1/7)

Formed Bundeswehr, along with 10,000 former BGS personnel

Vidal was keen to obtain further orders and actually produced two Series Il-based vehicles as demonstrators. These were constructed on an 88in {2.24m) chassis; the body was of the slab-sided type. Additional width was inserted into the front wings to match the new, wider bulkhead design. Chassis number records also show that Vidal received two 109in (2.77m) Series I chassis in March 1958 although what became of these, is not known. Sadly, there were to be no further orders and production was terminated in 1956.

All future Bundeswehr Land Rovers were supplied directly from the UK and the Tempos were withdrawn from service during the mid-1960s.

Vidal had also hoped to be able to sell the vehicle in civilian guise, but contemporary catalogues suggest that they were simply marketing the standard 86in (2.18m) Rover product badged ‘Tempo’. There is some uncertainty as to how many were actually purchased but, Vidal & Sohn continued to operate as the Land Rover distributor in Germany for many years.

Above: Interior of the Tempo showing the tipping seats at the front and lateral benches at the rear. (JT)

Technical specification Tempo-Rover; 1953 to 1956

Typical nomenclature: field car, y4 ton, 6 seater, 4x4; Tempo-Ro«r.

Engine: Rover; four cylinders; l,997cc; overhead inlet valves, side exhaust; petrol; power output, 52bhp at 4,CXX)rpm: torque, 101 Ibf/ft at l,500rpm. Transmission: 4FlRx2; part-time 4x4.

Steering: recirculating ball, worm and nut. Suspension: live axles on multi-leaf semi-elliptical springs; hydraulic double-acting telescopic shock absorbers.

Brakes: hydraulic; drums all-round.

Construction: steel ladder chassis with pressed/fabricated-steel body.

Electrical system: 12V.

Dimensions

Length, 147in (3.7m) (including rear-mounted spare wheel), 140in (3.6m) (without spare wheel).

Width, 61in (1.55m).

Height, 76in (1.93m) (top up), 56in (1.42m) (top and windscreen folded).

Wheelbase, 80in; 86in (2.03m; 2.18m).

Ground clearance, 8.5in (22cm).

Weight, (unladen) 3,1351b (1,422kg), (laden) 4,5101b (2,046kg).

Performance

Maximum speed, (road) 55mph (88.5kph);

(cross country) 15mph (24kph).

Range of action, 217 miles; 435 miles (349km; 700km).

Approach angle, 36°.

Departure angle, 47°.

Fording depth, 24in (61cm).

Military Land Rover

Right: Air-portability can be achieved in all sorts of ways.

Here a Land Rover and trailer is slung under a Chinook helicopter. (BM)

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The Land Rover is the world's most widely recognised military vehicle. Inspired by the Wlllys Jeep during World War 2, the British Army developed its own 4x4, culminating in the launch of the Land Rover in 1947. This British-designed and built model met with immediate success, not just in the military role but in export sales and civilian applications.

An essential part of British armed forces equipment for 60 years, the Land Rover has served in virtually every theatre of operations involving British troops since 1947. Its battle honours include the conflicts resulting from the retreat from Empire in places such as Malaya and Aden, the troubles in Northern Ireland and the Falklands War, through to current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, the Land Rover has been acquired by the armed forces of many other nations.

Military Land Rover - Development and In Service offers the reader a comprehensive history of the Land Rover in Its various guises in military service in Britain and overseas. Written by one of the country’s leading military transport experts, the book is published in the 60th anniversary year of the Land Rover project being given the go-ahead. Superbly illustrated throughout with some 250 mono and colour photographs, it is a remarkable account of the military career of one of the most successful motor vehicles ever built In the British Isles.