Manufacturer of trucks and various special equipment. Most of all he became famous as the creator of fire engines. Magirus (or Magirus-Deutz) has been part of the holding since 1974 IVECO and has been called ever since, respectively, IVECO Magirus.
A native of the German city of Ulm, in Baden-Württemberg, Conrad Dietrich Magirus knew firsthand about the work of firefighters - he himself was a professional firefighter. So, at the heart of the company created in 1864 Feuerwehr-Requisiten-Fabrik CD Magirus, lies the own experience of its creator. Initially, the company produced equipment for fire fighting equipment, becoming especially famous for various designs of fire escapes. Only in the 19th century many unique structures were created - the first folding ladder, the first turning ladder, the first car ladder. In the 20th century, this list will be supplemented by such developments as the first ladder with a hydraulic drive, the highest fire escape, the first ladder controlled by a computer, and much more.
Feuerwehr-Requisiten-Fabrik CD Magirus one of the first to adapt self-propelled vehicles for the needs of firefighters. So, in 1903, an attempt was made to create a steam-powered fire engine.
In 1911, the company becomes a joint-stock company and changes its name to CD Magirus AG. And six years later, mass production of trucks, including those adapted for firefighting, already begins. In 1919 Magirus starts producing buses.
The crisis that prevailed in Germany after the First World War crippled the company and it was taken over by the bank from which it took loans. And since 1935, she became part of the company Deutz AG (at that time called Gasmotoren-Fabrik Deutz AG, and somewhat later Klockner-Humboldt-Deutz AG), becoming a division called Magirus-Deutz. In this role, the company existed until the emergence of the holding IVECO. By the way, despite the fact that the merger took place in 1974, the first trucks under the brand IVECO Magirusappeared only in 1982.
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| 150D14FL (Saturn 150FHD-L) - 1960 |
Long time on trucks Magirus an air-cooled diesel engine was used. Because of this, a fan was installed in the place where the radiator is usually located. After merging with IVECO, this obsolete scheme was abandoned.
Perhaps the period from 1935 to 1974 was the most striking in the history of Magirus. During the Second World War, various armored vehicles were produced in its workshops. Several Pz.Kpfw tanks deserve special attention. IV Ausf. C, in which some semblance of fire escapes were installed in place of the towers. Such a miracle was called Sturmstegpanzer. They were planned to be used with the support of the infantry, so that the latter could overcome various obstacles and storm high buildings. It was in 1940.
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| Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. C, Sturmstegpanzer on the conveyor. |
In peacetime, the company continued to produce trucks and buses, without abandoning its main line of work - fire engines. During the construction of BAM, in the early 70s of the last century, more than a dozen trucks took part Magiruspurchased by the Soviet government specifically for this purpose. The drivers who drove these distinctive orange trucks were in fact a special caste. By the way, some of these machines are still in use today. And in the city of Tynda, in the Amur region, which has the unofficial status of the "capital of BAM", they even erected a monument to the "construction of the century" - a pedestal on which one of Magirusov.
