Mercedes-Benz L 1500

The Mercedes-Benz L 1500 was a light two-axle truck that Daimler-Benz built during the Second World War for the German Wehrmacht and, in large numbers, for fire brigades. About 9,000 were made from around 1941 to 1944 in two versions: the rear-drive L 1500 S and the all-wheel-drive L 1500 A. The L 1500 A was the more numerous, with about 4,900 built, mostly as troop carriers for the Wehrmacht, while about 3,600 of the 4,100 L 1500 S were fitted out as light fire-fighting group vehicles. The coachbuilder Erdmann and Rossi made two cabriolets on L 1500 chassis. The truck was built on a ladder frame and used the Mercedes-Benz M 159 inline six-cylinder carburettor petrol engine, which gave 60 horsepower from 2.6 litres, with a manual four-speed gearbox. The A version added a driven front axle, a transfer case with off-road reduction, more ground clearance, wider tyres and 180 kilograms more payload.