| “Führer und Reichskanzler (“Leader and Reich Chancellor”) Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) is shown sitting in his new Mercedes, a gift he received on his 50th birthday. SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Erich Kempka (September 16, 1910 – January 24, 1975) was a member of the SS in Nazi Germany who served as Adolf Hitler’s primary chauffeur from 1936 to April 1945, had succeeded SS-Brigadeführer Julius Schreck (July 13, 1898 – May 16, 1936) upon the latter’s death from meningitis, and had been named Chef des Kraftfahrwesens beim Führer und Reichskamzler (Chief of the Leader’s and Reich Chancellor’s Fleet of Cars). Reports that the Führer refused to have a fully armored car until 1939, and that he consented to using 1 only after Georg Elser’s (January 4, 1903 – April 9, 1945) unsuccessful assassination attempt. But the records of the Daimler-Benz Company show that orders for a more heavily armored car for Hitler’s use were placed beginning at least on July 22, 1938, and that a fully armored saloon car had been delivered, on April 15, 1939, in time for Hitler’s 50th birthday, and apparently on Kempka’s initiative. It was a large saloon known as Type 770KW150. It was delivered to the Presidential Chancellery of the Führer and Reich Chancellor. This new version of the “large Mercedes 7.7-liter, built from 1930 on, had a 227-horsepower eight-cylinder, 7.665-liter (470 cubic inches) supercharged engine; it reached speeds of up to 112 miles per hour (180 kilometers per hour).” It was fully armored all around with 18 millimeter (0.7 inch) steel plate, the windscreen and windows were made of 40 millimeter (1.5 inch) bullet-proof glass. The spare tires, mounted in the front wings at the sides of the hood, just in front of the running boards, were covered with steel armor-plate as additional shields. The car used 10 gallons of petrol and a quart of oil for every 66 miles, and it weighed 10,528 pounds (4,775 kilograms) empty. Hitler used the armored limousine only a few times. Photographs of public appearances usually show him in a touring car. Chief of Staff of the Deputy Führer Martin Bormann (June 17, 1900 – circa May 2, 1945) had a hand in all orders for Hitler’s cars. He informed the Daimler-Benz Company on June 4, 1936, by registered mail that SS-Sturmbannfuhrer Kempka had been put in charge of Hitler’s fleet of cars alter the death of Schreck, that all bills and correspondence were to go through Kemoka to Bormann, and that orders were void unless they came from Bormann in writing.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii1788.jpg |
| Image Size | 75.63 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 700 x 500 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | April 20, 1939 |
| Location | |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database