Ford V3000 S/SSM Maultier, Sd.Kfz. 3b
The Ford V3000S/SSM Maultier was the Wehrmacht's answer to the bottomless mud of the Eastern Front. The standard Ford V3000S — a three-tonner with a 95 hp V8 engine, built at Ford's Cologne plant — had rear-wheel drive only and became hopelessly bogged down. The solution: replacing the rear wheels with a tracked drive assembly. This 'Maultier' (mule) thus combined a truck's manoeuvrability with a tracked vehicle's cross-country capability. Around 14,000 Ford Maultiers were built — the majority of all Maultier variants.
