Nicholas Straussler
| Nicholas Peter Sorrel Straussler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | Straussler Miklós |
| Born | 1891 Hungary |
| Died | 3 June 1966 (aged 74–75) London |
| Nationality | British |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Automotive engineering |
| Projects | DD tank |
| Significant advance | Floatation devices |
Nicholas Straussler (in Hungarian: Straussler Miklós) (1891–1966) was an engineer mainly remembered for devising the flotation system used by Allied amphibious DD tanks during World War II. Born in Hungary, he developed a reputation as an innovative automotive engineer before becoming a British citizen during the interwar period. His work was mainly to do with amphibious, off-road and military vehicles.
Between 1928 and 1933, Straussler ran Folding Boats and Structures Ltd and patented a number of flotation devices, including collapsible ones. In February 1933, he became a British citizen.
Throughout the 1930s, he worked with Alvis Cars, Vickers-Armstrong and Hungarian companies on a variety of projects. His work for Alvis involved designing armoured cars such as the Alvis Straussler AC2 and the Alvis Straussler AC3. The prototypes were built by his own company Straussler Mechanisation Ltd, and the production vehicles by a new joint company, Alvis-Straussler. that was formed in July, 1936. He later improved the AC2 design and it was built in Hungary by Manfred Weiss as the 39M Csaba. These saw service with the Royal Hungarian Army. As Hungary was allied to the Axis powers during much of World War 2, 39M Csabas were also used by the German Army. Another vehicle he was involved with that saw Axis use was the Garner-Straussler G.3, a four-wheel drive, off-road truck that was used in small numbers as an artillery tractor by the Germans. This truck had the unusual feature of being driven by two engines that were coupled together.
A tank, the amphibious Light Tank V4, was built in Hungary to his design in the 1930s, but it never got past the prototype stage as the Hungarian Army chose instead to equip with the Toldi tank. One of his designs that did see widespread use was the Alvis Straussler Bomb Trolley. Around 10,000 were made for the Royal Air Force to transport bombs, mainly within airfields. Each carried four 250 pound bombs, although large versions were later produced.
...
Wikipedia