While on vacation in Poland, came across this is the Polish National Army Museum. This is KUBUS, an armored car which was secretly built in the University of Warsaw and used in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

Probably the miracle of this vehicle is that it survived at all. For those unaware of the story of the uprising, at the end of the month almost 250,000 Poles were dead and Warsaw was in complete ruins.

The ladder and the guy standing beside it also have a relaton to armor modelling. He was measuring out the vehicle for a forthcoming kit in 1/72nd scale - more of that later!...Jim

I think its an early stealth experiment :-) :-).
Very unusual vehicle though, thanks for posting the pic.

Interesting subject!

I also makes me remember those Spanish Civil War armored cars - also very strange looking

Thanks for sharing, Jim!!

Skipper

Something I have just noticed about the photo - on the front there is a German Notek light and the MG shield looks as if it came off a 251. I wonde if it was captured and put into German service?....Jim

The Poles captured lots of German equipment during the revolt. Wouldn't be surprised at all that there are lots of German equipment on the a/c.

Good point Jim. I doubt university students building this thing on the fly would have bothered putting width indicators on the fenders.

Shaun

It is possible that the students stole the stuff from the Germans too...

At any rate, Very interesting!

Rich

You're right, this is a very interesting vehicle. What I find hard to believe is that even operating on what must have been a shoe string, and in secret at that, they took the extra time and effort to not only camoflauge it, but also personalize it with that name, Kubus.

The whole story of the Warsaw uprising is one that more people should really know about.

So, any idea what's under the hood? Well, strip away all of that armor and you'll find a 1939 Chevy 3-ton model 157! Here's a pic of one...



Here is the page that pic is from. It has detailed information about the "Kubus" and the uprising....
http://www.warsawuprising.com/paper/kubus.htm

Here's the description of what was under the hood...

"The six-cylinder overhead-valve engine had an SAE 29.4 hp rating, or 78 brake hp at 3200 rpm. The rated torque capacity was 170-ft-lb at 1550 rpm. The motor had four main bearings and used drop-forged crankshaft and connecting rods, heat-treated, and a drop-forged camshaft, case-hardened. The crankshaft alone weighed 68lb. Lubrication was accomplished through direct pressure using a gear pump and splash system. Carburetor was from Carter and electrical system from Delco-Remy. A governor for heavy duty use was optional, limiting the top speed to 45 mph."

It was designed to carry a dozen people, but what I find amazing is that the only way in and out was the hatch on top and one underneath. Here's the description...

The hatch at the top of the Kubus created an extremely vulnerable situation, making an easy target of anyone who entered or exited the vehicle. Consequently they decided to put a door underneath where the crew and transported soldiers could enter and exit, which was feasible due to the Chevy's relatively high ground clearance, even with flat tires. Nevertheless, this was a severe limitation, but there was no time to develop a heavy hinged door. Small openings on the sides of the cab were primarily gun slots but also helped visibility; however, night driving was extremely difficult since it had only a narrow slit for a windshield."

Here's a page in Polish which has lots of pictures. It didn't look so tidy at one time...

http://wilk.wpk.p.lodz.pl/~whatfor/pojazdy_w_powstaniu_kubus.htm

Here's another great page about it...

http://members.tripod.com/George_Parada/kubus.htm

How about the interior? Here's a little glimpse...


http://www.legionstratega.org/Zbrojownia/pojopan/kubus.htm

Here's a clean view of it from the museum's site...


http://www.muzeumwp.pl/stale_pietro7.html

There's even a resin 1/35 model if anyone is so inclined. It's from Toro Models. Here it is at Jadar....


http://jadarhobby.home.pl/product_info.php?products_id=9941

Here's a slide show of the model...
http://www.jadar.com.pl/jadar-group/toro/35016/index.html

Interesting stuff. Thanks for the original post.

Colo_Artist, thank you very much for that reply - incredibly detailed and useful!!

One of the original problems I had was withthe languge. The bloke I was speaking with spoke only a little English, whereas I speak no Polish whatsoever, so when I picked up on the word 'University' I assumed (don't know why ) that it had been built in the Faculty of Engineering! Thanks again, most informative.. Jim

Is this the grandfather of the M113?