Gruson’s Fahrpanzer – Historical insights thanks to non-destructive materials science

Abstract

Gruson’s Fahrpanzer is a remarkable example of the military-technological changes occurring in the 19th century. It is a small and movable armour carriage for guns, i. e., an artillery piece shielded by armor. It was invented by Hermann Gruson and Maximilian Schumann and exported around the world. Even though the technical data had been documented extensively at the time, knowledge about the materials used and their mechanical properties have not survived. For this paper, one of Gruson’s Fahrpanzers was analyzed for the first time through materials science. The hypothesis that Gruson used his famous chilled cast iron for the Fahrpanzer could thus be refuted.