The Puch Haflinger is one of the most famous army vehicles of all. Walter Blasi has now dedicated a book to the legendary off-road vehicle and provides 116 pages of detailed information about the vehicle’s development, export versions and its use in the red-white-red armed forces.
After the conclusion of the State Treaty in 1955, the formation of the Federal Army, which was created from the B-Gendarmerie, could begin. The four occupying powers supplied the new army with equipment and vehicles, with the USA alone providing Austria with equipment for around two divisions. To cover its future vehicle requirements, the army subsequently worked closely with the domestic vehicle industry – the first successful product of this cooperation was the 0.4 t (4×4) Haflinger truck from Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG.
The course for the development of the vehicle was set in 1956. At that time, a prototype of the Puch 500 with a Kübel body was shown to members of the Austrian army during a demonstration of Puch motorcycles. This vehicle (designated Puch 600 M) was originally intended as a rickshaw replacement for Asian countries, but also impressed the red-white-red military with its off-road capability and maneuverability. As there was a need for an all-wheel drive vehicle with a low payload at the time, a corresponding specification was drawn up and the demonstration model was developed over the years into a vehicle suitable for everyday use. The first prototypes were built in 1957. With a tare weight of 600 kilograms, the payload was 500 kilograms, the rear engine produced 24 hp at 4,500 rpm and the climbing ability with a full load was 50 to 65 percent! After extensive test drives and thorough testing in several military departments – including the test group of the Heereskraftfahrschule (HKS), the Jäger-Bataillon Nr. 30 from St. Johann/ Pongau and the Tel-Truppen-Schule – as well as the incorporation of numerous improvements, the off-road vehicle finally went into series production in 1959 under the name Haflinger Type 700 AP (AP stood for working platform). On March 25, 1960, the first 100 Haflingers were ceremoniously handed over by the then Minister of Defense, Ferdinand Graf. Just under two months later, the vehicle was presented to the public for the first time at a parade to mark the “Five Years of the State Treaty” celebrations in Vienna.
As a result of requests from many international customers, various other variants and prototypes were created, such as a Haflinger 6×6 with an air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine and Haflinger as a weapon carrier for recoilless anti-tank guns (rPAK) in caliber 7.5 cm and 10.6 cm. From 1967, the vehicle was offered as a reinforced and technically improved Series II, and 16,647 vehicles of both series rolled off the production line until production was discontinued in 1974. Between 1959 and 1964, a total of 2,918 Haflingers went to the army, where they were mainly used as observer, radio and telephone vehicles. It was not until 1996 that the last Haflinger was retired from active service. However, the “Kraxler” continues to enjoy great popularity, with more than 1,500 vehicles registered in Austria in 2011.
The largest of the 110 export customers included Indonesia, which ordered 1,000 Haflingers in the so-called tropical version with a cyclone air filter on the front, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland (where as many as 4,535 units were procured), Mexico, Australia, Italy, Sweden and the USA. For Sweden and Switzerland, the Haflinger was even configured for use as a guided missile carrier for Bantam missiles and Bofors guided missiles. Anti-tank guided missiles were also mounted on some Bundesheer vehicles – however, the Mosquitoes installed in the rear section could not be fired from the vehicle. Small numbers of the all-wheel drive vehicle with special equipment were even used by the Royal Navy to tow helicopters and aircraft on the deck of aircraft carriers.
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