Photography Testing the lynx prototype

The arms policy of the 1970s was characterized by a paradigm shift: while the Bundeswehr needed to be rearmed as quickly and widely as possible, which was primarily achieved by importing foreign armaments, weapons systems developed in Germany were now to be widely introduced. The largely former Wehrmacht veterans used their experience from the Second World War as a reference for the question of which weapon systems and equipment should be developed. As early as 1961, the desire to develop a wheeled armored vehicle based on the Wehrmacht’s Sd.Kfz. 234 armored reconnaissance vehicle prevailed for the new armored reconnaissance vehicle. In 1964, several German companies, including MAN, joined forces to form a joint office for this major project. Daimler-Benz worked in cooperation with Porsche on a competing design. Both joint ventures were able to present prototypes as early as 1968, although they differed more in the details.

The photograph of the Lynx prototype in the snow flurries was taken by a member of the Bundeswehr’s troop testing command. Employees of the companies involved also took part in the tests. From 1969 onwards, they tested the versions of both competitors intensively and in different terrain and weather conditions.

The vehicle had to withstand heat and dust as well as extreme cold and wet conditions. From January to the end of March 1970, winter testing of the vehicle took place in Hjerkinn, Norway, during which this photo of the Daimler-Benz prototype “DB 3” was taken. The model was convincing and Daimler-Benz was awarded the contract to produce the Luchs.

The Royal Norwegian Army gave up the Hjerkinn military training area in 2005 and has been working on clearing and renaturalizing the site ever since. The history of the Lynx has also come to an end: it was decommissioned in 2009 after missions as part of IFOR, KFOR and SFOR in the Balkans. The Luchs proved its worth there in mountainous terrain, but as a Cold War system, it was no longer up to date for the new tasks. The increasingly “robust” missions of the Bundeswehr made it clear that a further upgrade of the Luchs was not sufficient. While most of the remaining vehicles were scrapped, the Fennek replaced the big cat as the new reconnaissance vehicle with improved armor.

Object of the month

(short) stories from the depot

Unfortunately, many objects cannot currently be shown in the exhibition for conservation reasons. Here you will find unusual objects and exciting stories of special pieces from the depot