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Weird and Wonderful - In an Emergency
Wheelspin is grateful to author
Simon Glen for permission to reproduce photographs taken
by him and used in his book Volkswagens of the World
Volkswagens have always been reliable workhorses,
but apart from their roles as daily drivers and commercial vans, VWs have
been put to some diverse uses.
The Beetle Ambulance
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| Wartime Kafer Ambulance © Simon Glen,
reproduced with grateful permission |
Not your first choice for an ambulance you might
think, but the first ones were on the roads during WWII.
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| © Simon Glen, reproduced with grateful
permission |
The firm of Karosserie Meisen had been building
ambulance carriages since the horse-drawn days, and during the war undertook
several Type 82E (Kafer body ; Kubelwagen chassis) Ambulance conversions.
Their work continued after the war with conversions of Kafer (Beetle)
bodied Kubelwagen, then standard Beetles.
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| © Simon Glen, reproduced with grateful
permission |
These conversions were adapted by making the
seats able to fold flat. A stretcher could then be placed over the front
passenger and half the back seat (the back seat was split in two). A nurse
could accompany the patient on the remaining half of the back seat ; behind
the driver. The passenger door was modified to swing out almost 180°-
to help get the stretcher in. These Beetles features extra internal storage,
rear curtains, and an extra roof storage box.
Despite the emergence of the Type 2 in 1951,
Beetle ambulances continued in production up until 1960. Meisen continued
to convert Type 2 and LT Volkswagens to Ambulances up until the 70s and
80s, despite competition from VW themselves, who after 1951 began their
own van based ambulance conversions.
Type 2 Ambulances
As mentioned. In 1951 ; VW began its own Ambulance
conversions, with a prototype and sales brochure to launch the new model,
based on the Kombi. It features a shortened engine lid (which became standard
on all Vans in 1955) ; this allowed a larger windowless tailgate, allowing
stretchers to be loaded from the rear.
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| Clinomobil Split Screen Ambulance |
Apart from Meisen, Westphalia and Clinomobil
also produced Type 2 ambulance conversions, based on "High Roof"
conversions allowing more room to work inside. Many of the split screen
conversions are still around today, some are even still in use.
When the bay arrived, VW did not stop producing ambulance conversions, and with the bays 1.8 to 2.0 litre engine ; it could get patients to hospital that bit quicker. Other firms, likewise continued production, as with the split screen conversions ; many were high roof models. The German Army, among others, also used Kombis as military ambulances.
Again with the arrival of the third generation
transporter, VW continued
producing ambulance models, they also used the
heavier LT models to build utility vehicles.
Second part of article - Firetrucks and Hearses click below
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