The IFA W 50 was the medium lorry of East Germany, built at Ludwigsfelde from 1965 until 1990. In twenty-five years about 572,000 left the plant in some sixty versions, and it outlived the model designed to replace it.
IFA W 50 at a glance
| Maker | VEB Industriewerke Ludwigsfelde (IWL) |
|---|---|
| Production | 1965–1990 |
| Payload | 5 tonnes, the reason for the name |
| Wheelbases | 3.2 m and 3.7 m |
| Engine, 1965–1967 | 4 KVD 14,5/12, 6.56 l swirl-chamber diesel, 110 PS |
| Engine, from 1967 | 4VD 14,5/12-1 SRW, direct injection, 125 PS at 2300 rpm |
| Engine, from 1973 | 4 VD 14,5/12-2, a better cold starter down to −40 °C |
| Gearbox | five-speed manual, synchromesh in gears 2–5 |
| Versions | about sixty, including right-hand-drive export models |
| Built | about 572,000 at Ludwigsfelde |
| End of production | 17 December 1990 |
based on one source (English Wikipedia). Production totals are given as 571,831 in one place and about 572,000 in another.
History of the IFA W 50
Work began in the late 1950s at the Kraftfahrzeugwerk «Ernst Grube» in Werdau on a lorry to replace the outmoded IFA W3 and S 4000-1. Progress was slow: resources were limited and the specification had to satisfy the Comecon in Moscow, the National People’s Army, the Berlin Planning Commission and Walter Ulbricht himself. The vehicle was to carry 4.5 tonnes, take a variety of bodies, offer all-wheel drive and three axles as options, be simple to build and use a standardised engine. It was first called the S4500, then the W 45 in 1959, with the W standing for Werdau.
The first prototype, the W 45LF, ran in June 1962, followed shortly by the four-wheel-drive W 45LAF. Production was expected in the last quarter of 1964, but the payload requirement rose to 5 tonnes and the design became the W 50. On 21 December 1962 the Ministerrat decided that the VEB Industriewerke Ludwigsfelde would build it instead of Werdau, partly because the cancellation of the Baade 152 airliner in February 1961 had ended jet-engine work at Ludwigsfelde.
Construction of the new truck factory began in April 1963 on a 170-hectare site, with a production hall of about 130,000 m² — the largest in the DDR — extending 400 m in each direction and 15.6 m high. The first W 50 was completed on 17 July 1965. Output rose from 5,775 in 1966, the first full year, to 16,973 in 1969, but serious quality problems forced IWL to suspend development work and fix them; in 1971 the priorities were a new cab, a 180 bhp engine and a better chassis. Production set records of 29,004 in 1982 and 32,516 in 1986.
Export mattered more than the home market: between 1978 and 1987 over 80 per cent of each year’s output was sold abroad. The Iran–Iraq war of 1980–88 led to two derivatives, the W 51 and W 52, begun in March 1982; the W 51 was partly realised, but in June 1983 the Politbüro ordered IWL to concentrate on the W 50 and prepare its successor, the L 60. The W 50 was meant to be replaced by the L 60, yet it outlived it by several months; IFA ended all truck production on 17 December 1990, after German reunification.
Design and features
- Standardised engine: one four-cylinder diesel for the whole range, built by VEB IFA Motorenwerk Nordhausen.
- Two wheelbases: 3.2 m and 3.7 m, with about sixty factory versions and more from specialist builders.
- All-wheel drive: available with a transfer case and a lockable differential.
- Export workhorse: more than 80 per cent of annual output sold abroad in the late 1970s and 1980s.
- Long service: the LF16 TS8 pumper was a common fire appliance, and many W 50s stayed in service after 1990.
IFA W 50 versions
- W 50 lorry: the standard cargo version on two wheelbases.
- W 50 LA: all-wheel-drive chassis for off-road and municipal work.
- W 50 L: the long-wheelbase variant.
- Fire appliances: the LF16 TS8 pumper and other bodies for fire services.
- W 51 and W 52 (from 1982): simplified derivatives for export, of which only the W 51 was partly realised.
The W 50 was meant to be replaced by the IFA L60, which arrived in 1987 but never took over. The earlier Werdau lorry was the IFA H6, and more vehicles are in the IFA collection.
Video: IFA W 50 start after two years
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- IFA W 50, English Wikipedia: development, production figures, engines, exports
