During World War II, Hitler's head of state train was as luxurious as the US president's "Air Force One".

In 1937, in order to demonstrate his power and to facilitate travel, Hitler decided to build an indestructible head train for himself. After two years of design and manufacturing, a 430-meter-long head train weighing 1,200 tons and 430 meters long - the Amerika (about the special train, its original name was controversial. Most of the post-war information claimed that its name was "Amerika", but in the wartime French railway documents and the German military stationed in the local area, it was called "Erika". In addition, Hitler's translator Paul Schmidt

Schmidt also confirmed the name of the "Erika" in an article to the Aurora in 1960. Later, on February 1, 1943, the head of state's special train was renamed "Brnadenburg") and started to be put into use. Hitler could live and hold meetings on the special train. It was very sturdy and was a mobile Nazi fortress and command center, which could be called the "Air Force One" on the railway.

In the distant 1930s, the train was designed to have a speed of up to 120 kilometers per hour, and was pulled by two locomotives so that when one locomotive fails, the train can be kept in motion. Hitler's head of state is located in the middle of the train to facilitate contact with each carriage. The carriage is decorated with marble and equipped with heating and air conditioning systems to facilitate temperature adjustment at any time. This was very rare at that time. From the front of the carriage, the third carriage is a reception room, which is guarded by two soldiers. A large table and several armchairs are placed in the middle of the living area. The walls are designed with mahogany. Next, Hitler's room is composed of a single bed bedroom, next to it with a bathroom, a bathtub and a gold-plated faucet. Next, there are a bathroom and three rooms. At the end of the carriage are also guarded by two soldiers.

The train itself is equipped with an anti-aircraft gun carriage, located at the ends of the train. Once an air or land attack occurs, soldiers can counterattack with a 20mm cannon, with a vertical range of 2.5 kilometers and a horizontal range of 4.7 kilometers. They can shoot in the air or at the ground on both sides of the train. 800 shells can be fired per minute. When each train travels, there is an aircraft along the way, and landing at the designated airport in advance to wait for the head of state. There is also his armored Mercedes-Benz car on board, which is convenient for quick movement.

After the outbreak of World War II, from the Battle of Poland in September 1939 to the Balkans in April 1941, this train was used as a mobile "Fuhrerhaupt quarterer (a synonym for Adolf Hitler's command post for commanding the German army in World War II, spread throughout Europe)." Hitler discussed front-line wars in this train, made strategic arrangements, and became Hitler's second home. The train was equipped with Hitler's secrets.

Books, chefs, personal bodyguards, personal servants, doctors, conductors, soldiers operating anti-aircraft guns. Because Hitler likes to take baths, the train also added a bathroom for a whole car, and was equipped with a barber. The bathroom car weighs 78 tons, is designed with asbestos insulation, is equipped with an oversized water tank with a capacity of 2,000 liters, and is also a small dressing room. The back is five bathrooms, two of which are made of marble and enamel stainless steel. Finally, there are three marble shower rooms and a toilet.

In order to ensure the confidentiality and safety of Hitler's travel, all food, drinking water and other supplies and staff on the train have been rigorously reviewed and must not be of Jewish destiny. The service notes used on the train must be destroyed before the end of the day. All vehicles along the way are notified a few hours in advance and stopped running. Even the station staff must be on standby in the office building, and all idle people must stay away from the platform. Thousands of people will be arranged to be on guard along the way. No one knows where the train will pass and where it will be headed. In addition, several other trains similar to the Amerika are driving front and back to confuse the public and obstruct potential attacks.

In the train, there is also a communication carriage equipped with the most advanced communication equipment to contact the army. The walls of this carriage are hung with the latest strategic maps, and people can sit around the table to discuss the situation. Next is the communication carriage. The equipment is a high-tech product from the 1940s, including telex printers and coders, which can encrypt and decipher telegrams, telephone switches, answer calls, and of course password machines. When the train is unable to make calls, huge 700-watt short-watt radio equipment can be used. When the train is not able to make calls, it can be used. When the car is stopped, it can be connected to the telephone line to make calls.

In 1941, in order to meet with Mussolini safely, Hitler ordered the construction of a huge tunnel to park the Amerika. The tunnel was 480 meters long, 8 meters wide, and 12 meters high. The walls were made of solid concrete more than 2 meters thick. Even if an enemy attacked, the German army could temporarily close both ends of the tunnel, fight against the enemy, and wait for other German troops to rescue him. Because Hitler stayed on this train for a long time, the British had sent agents to assassinate Hitler on the train many times. They tried every means to derail the train, but the train travel time was not easy to obtain, and the German army often searched the train thoroughly, which also made the train in the train.

It is unlikely to place explosives on it. So they studied another method, which was to start the water supply system on the train. Although the bottled water and food on the train would undergo strict inspection, drinking water was available. If poisoning was poisoned into the water tank, the poison would be mixed with water when the train was driving, and the poison was chronic and would not be discovered immediately at that time. In this way, even if a try-in person tried it first, he would not die on the spot. But in 1944, the United Kingdom decided not to assassinate Hitler again because he made many stupid decisions on the battlefield, which accelerated the defeat of the German army, so letting him live was the choice to end the war as soon as possible.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! In 1945, Hitler committed suicide. After Germany was defeated, in order not to make this train a spoil of the Allies, the German army blew up the head of state. Hitler's private carriage was blown up, but there were still several carriages that were divided by Britain and the United States. Until the 1950s, the special train was returned to West Germany. German Chancellor Conrad Adenauer assembled his own official train with the remaining carriage of the head of state special train and visited Moscow. After that, the special train was improved and renovated, and it was not used until the 1980s. Now the only few carriages are preserved in the museum, silently witnessing that history.

The configuration of the head of state train varies according to the needs and the number of passengers: a total of 10 to 16 cars, with a length of between 300 and 430 meters, and can accommodate up to 200 people. However, the layout of the carriages has never changed, including defense, communications carriages and Hitler's personal carriages.

The train configuration is roughly as follows.

The two locomotives equipped with special trains, when using steam engines, a new locomotive filled with coal must be replaced every 200 kilometers. The head train can be powered by several types of locomotives, including steam and electrical locomotives, such as the B52 KDL1 wartime steam locomotive (BR 52 KDL1 Kriegsdampflokomotive) that Germany first used in 1942. Under normal circumstances, the BR52 can tow trains weighing up to 1,200 tons at a speed of 65 kilometers per hour.

The Kriegslokomotive is a general term for the railway locomotives built on a large scale to meet the needs of war. The design is optimized based on metal shortages, military material transportation needs, easy maintenance, adapt to extreme weather, and adapt to rapid assembly and large-scale production. The disadvantages of high fuel consumption brought about by these needs are also taken into consideration in the design. Among them, the BR52 steam locomotive model is the most famous one, which was based on the B before the war.

The R50 locomotive was developed, but on the basis of the BR50, it saves manufacturing hours, reduces the requirements for workers' technical level and reduces the use of precious metals. In addition, the BR52 locomotive also allows locomotive members to more effectively resist the severe cold in Russia in winter. In order to complete the extremely large production plan during the war, German locomotive manufacturers were merged into one, managed by the Imperial Minister of Arms Sperer, and is called the Gemeinschaft Federation of Locomotive Manufacturers (Gemeinschaft).

Grossdeutscher Lokomotivhersteller, GGL for short). From 1942 to the end of the war in 1945, Germany built more than 6,300 BR52s. In addition, locomotives produced in the early post-war period, the total number was as high as 6,719, and a total of 17 factories participated in the manufacturing of the BR52. It is one of the highest-produced railway locomotives in the world. After the war, it lost many of its modified locomotives to other European countries.

A SdPI 4i-39 air defense car (Flakwagen) is an open anti-aircraft gun platform for ground fire suppression and air defense. It was originally equipped with a single-barrel 2 cm caliber Flak 30 anti-aircraft gun. In 1940, it was replaced with a 2 cm 4-barrel Flak 38 anti-aircraft gun. This anti-aircraft gun has a ground range of 4.7 kilometers, a firing height of 2.5 kilometers, and a firing rate of 800 rounds per minute.

A luggage compartment (Gepckwagen).

The Fuhrerwagen, Hitler's private sleeper car, from the front to the back, was: a vestibule with two guards, a living room with a large table and a few sofas, a Hitler's bedroom with a single bed, a marble bathroom, three rooms, a shower room, and the other vestibule with two bodyguards.

The command carriage (Befehlswagen) consists of a conference room and is equipped with all the most advanced communication equipment, a military and telecommunications room, equipped with teletypewriters and encryption equipment, telephone switches (internal and external lines), and a radio room with an Enigma cipher machine for encoding and decoding. These devices cannot be used during the journey and must be connected to different stations to work. However, when the train is running, a short-wave radio with a power of 700 watts on the train can communicate with anywhere.

The escort carriage (Begleitkommandowagen), which is the carriage of Hitler's private escort, the Reichssicherheitsdienst and the Fuhrerbegleitkommando, with a maximum of 26 people.

A dining car (Speisewagen).

Two passenger compartments (Gstewagen).

A Badewagen car for bathing and hairdressing services. This is a birthday gift from the Imperial Railway Company on April 20, 1939, Hitler's 50th birthday. The car weighs 78 tons because it has 5 bathrooms, 3 marble showers, 1 small shower, and also stores 11,000 liters of water.

Another dining car.

Two entourage sleeper carriages (Schlafwagen).

A press car (Pressewagen), used by news personnel from the publicity department.

Another luggage cart.

The second air-resistant car at the rear of the car is the same as the front of the car.

in short.
Chapter completed!