Mowag
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Defence |
Founded | 1950 |
Founders | Walter Ruf |
Fate | Acquired by General Dynamics in 2003 |
Headquarters | , Switzerland |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | |
Website | www.gdels.com |
Mowag is a
History
The Mowag GmbH , originally Mowag Motorwagenfabrik AG (translated: "Motor Car Factory"), was founded in 1950 as a privately owned company by engineer, Walter Ruf. During the past 50 years [when?] Mowag has concentrated on the development and production of specialised vehicles.[citation needed]
Its initial success was the development and production of more than 1,600 troop carriers, the
Mowag has built many different types of vehicles, such as ambulances, fire trucks, like the Mowag W300, dummy tanks, electric vehicles, scooters or tracked tanks. In the civilian sector, Mowag has been particularly active in the construction of fire-fighting vehicles where several generations of emergency vehicles have been built on Dodge pickups. Many models were based on factory designed firefighting trucks. In Germany, Mowag was well known for developing a four-wheel drive armoured car, that was built under licence from Thyssen and Bussing/Henschel.
In 1963, vehicles for the Federal Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz = BGS), Mowag's production ran for decades. Mowag had from the beginning to the end of the 1960s, built military vehicles and civilian trucks. Among them were the heavy trucks, Mowag M5-16F with four seats, front steering cabin and 16 tons total weight, tow hitch for a double axle trailer and a 149 kW engine in the underfloor. The engine was mounted under the bed between the front and the rear axles. This allowed a compact design and low centre of gravity in the middle of the vehicle.
In 1950, Mowag produced 214 local official cars for the Swiss Post, the chassis of this small compact vehicle had sliding doors on each side. The truck for Swiss Post (PTT) Mowag Einsatzfourgon of which 556 units were built from 1953 to 1988, had also an underfloor engine. The Furgeon were initially fitted with a V8 petrol engine, which was originally developed for a Mowag tank. Later, diesel engines were installed. The yellow and silver vans had a door in the front of the vehicle on the passenger side, which made it possible to exit from the front if the trucks were parked very close together. On the driver's side was a conventional door. It was possible to get from the cabin into the cargo hold. Taking advantage of this fact, some people rebuilt the decommissioned Furgeons into campers. The Furgeons were equipped with a trailer hitch for 4 wheel trailers. Mowag had developed a replacement vehicle for the Furgeon, but it remained only a pre-series of 22[3] Trucks, all used by the Swiss Post, as the Swiss Post bought foreign mass-produced series of vehicles.
Besides regular trucks, Mowag has built several generations of long iron transport trucks. A 8×4-driven four-axle truck with an M8TK diesel engine with eight cylinders, 10.8 litres and 373 kW and Allison automatic five-speed transmission, these are characterised by a very narrow central cab, with two seats. They were able to carry the load on the entire length of the vehicle using the space on the left and right side of the driver's cabin. The drivers compartment had a front entering door.
Between 1965 and 1975, Mowag built 170 electric trollies for the Swiss Post. In the 1980s, the products range had been increased by the development and construction of three-wheel and four-wheel electric vehicles. The hospitals, airports, municipalities, industrial companies and the post office came for a variety of their transportation tasks. Many more prototypes of electric cars were built, but none of these vehicles made it to market. For the
Lately,[when?] Mowag has been specializing in armoured vehicles for military use, because it is financially more attractive. The main product today is the Piranha. In addition, other armored vehicles are being produced based on the American HMMWV/Mowag Eagle, and the Duro. These vehicles comes from the acquired business of Bucher-Guyer. Also Mowag is responsible for spare parts for the Bucher FS 10 Flugzeugschlepper 78/aircraft tugs who are in use by the Swiss Air Force, Pilatus Aircraft and JuAir.[4]
21st Century
Since January 2004, Mowag has been a company within the General Dynamics European Land Systems group. In 2012, it employed 900 highly skilled personnel at the facility and announced to cut 270 jobs.[5] After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mowag was already in contact with Germany regarding orders in May 2022,[6] and in the summer of 2023 advertising job openings in administration, engineering and production. In print ads it used the motto: "swiss made- Kompetenz für Schutz und Sicherheit" [7]
At present[when?] it employs around 750 highly skilled personnel at the facility in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. Mowag continues to operate as a Swiss company, and is organised and incorporated under Swiss law. General Dynamics European Land Systems is part of General Dynamics Corporation (GD). Since 1 April 2010, the company is known as General Dynamics European Land Systems – Mowag GmbH.[1]
Current products
Mowag Piranha
Piranhas are available in 4×4, 6×6, 8×8, and 10×10 wheel versions. There are several variants within these versions, giving different degrees of armour protection and several kinds of turret, for use in a variety of roles. Piranha derivatives have been assigned roles as troop transports, command vehicles, fire support vehicles, tank trainers, and police vehicles.
Piranhas are used by the
Mowag Eagle
The
The newly developed Eagle IV, based on the DURO, is suitable for reconnaissance, communications and observation, as well as for
A new version of the Eagle was launched by General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH at EUROSATORY 2010 on 14 June 2010.[8]
Mowag DURO
The Mowag DURO is a highly mobile, off-road tactical transport vehicle based on the DURO family of vehicles. DURO stands for DUrable and RObust. Initially developed for Switzerland by Bucher-Guyer AG in Niederweningen, Switzerland, who started production of all-wheel-drive trucks in 1976.
An initial 3,000 vehicles order for the Swiss Armed Forces came through in 1994. Over 4,000 DURO 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles are now in service worldwide. The main customers are Switzerland, Germany,
- Rheinmetall YAK
The YAK is an armoured and mine-protected transport vehicle produced by the German company
Mowag MERLIN
A new airborne 4×4 light tactical military vehicle designed to compete against companies like Defenture. [9]
Former products
From the beginning Mowag produced both armoured and unarmoured vehicles, to include motorcycles and
- Mowag Ortsdienstwagen (Parcel delivery cars for the PTT/The Swiss Federal Postalservice, 214 build)
- Mowag 4x4 armoured reconnaissance vehicle (armoured dummy)
- Mowag Furgeon trucks, 556 build for the PTT/Swiss Federal Postalservice
- Mowag MR 8 – 4×4 wheeled armoured personnel carrier. About 600 built for German Bundesgrenzschutz from 1959.[10]
- Mowag Grenadier – 4×4 wheeled armoured personnel carrier. In production from 1967.[11]
- Mowag Roland – 4×4 small wheeled armoured personnel carrier. In production from 1964.[12]
- Mowag Puma 6x6 wheeled armoured weapons carrier
- Mowag Shark wheeled combat vehicle. 8×8 wheeled armoured weapons carrier designed to carry a number of gun or missile armaments.[13]
- Mowag Spy – 4×4 wheeled light reconnaissance vehicle. Ordered into production in 1982.[14]
- Mowag Tornado infantry fighting vehicle – Tracked Infantry fighting vehicle.[15]
- Mowag Trojan infantry fighting vehicle
- Mowag Mistral amphibious infantry fighting vehicle
- Mowag Pirat infantry fighting vehicle
- Mowag 3M1 Pirat infantry fighting vehicle
- Jagdpanzer Mowag Cheetah (Jagdpanzer = Tankhunter)
- Mowag 4×4 utility vehicle: At the beginning of the 1990s, a programme to select the successor of 4×4 utility vehicles like the Pinzgauer and Haflinger for the Swiss Army took place. This programme saw Bucher-Guyer AG offer the DURO, Mercedes offer the Unimog 140L, and Mowag had their own design. [16]
Gallery
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Mowag Puma
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Mowag Shark
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Mowag Police Roland
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Mowag Tornado
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Mowag Wotan
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Mowag-AEG Aircraft tug for Mirage IIIS & Mirage IIIRS
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Mowag Trojan
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Mowag Gepard
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Mowag Piranha 10×10
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Mowag Tornado 2
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Mowag Taifun
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Mowag Piranha 4×4
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Mowag Panzerattrappe
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Mowag Eagle IV
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Mowag Eagle V - Australian prototype
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Mowag utility 4×4 – competitor of the DURO
References
- ^ a b "GDELS Sites Heritage" Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine, "GENERAL DYNAMICS - European Land Systems", accessed September 1, 2011.
- ^ Armee Museum Full AG Switzerland.
- ^ Ruedi Baumann: „Alles“ was MOWAG schon bewegt hat – Auf Umwegen zum Welterfolg. SwissMoto. Bildpress Zuerich BPZ
- ^ Bauer 1996.
- ^ "GDELS-Mowag im thurgauischen Kreuzlingen baut 270 Stellen ab". Swiss Info (in German). 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ Kummer), (Übertragung aus dem Französischen: Christoph (2022-05-04). "Wie die Schweiz vom Krieg profitiert" (in German). Retrieved 2023-09-24.
- ^ "Jobangebote General Dynamics European Land System". General Dynamics European Land System.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "GDELS | News".
- ^ Foss 1987, p. 375.
- ^ Foss 1987, pp. 376–377.
- ^ Foss 1987, pp. 377–378.
- ^ Foss 1987, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Foss 1987, pp. 216–217.
- ^ Foss 1987, pp. 371–372.
- ^ "Année politique Suisse 1993 - Landesverteidigung". anneepolitique.swiss. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0-7106-0849-7.
- Bauer, Marcus (1996). Nutzfahrzeuge der MOWAG Motorwagenfabrik AG. Goldach: Fachpresse Goldach, Hudson & Company. ISBN 9783857380563.
- Military Museum Full
- Ruedi Baumann: „Alles“ was Mowag schon bewegt hat - Auf Umwegen zum Welterfolg. SwissMoto. Bildpress Zuerich BPZ