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Silberpfeil: The Silver Arrows

Adam Bagnall (11791167)

Introduction

Content Warning:

This presentation heavily references the Nazi regime and some of it's symbols. While I have removed as many overt symbols of Nazism as possible, the cars themselves are symbols and if you or your family has trauma surrounding this regime, act with discretion and seek support if needed.

Introduction

After the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany in 1933, Hitler sought to promote the Aryan ideal of sporting prowess throughout the world.

One sport encapsulated everything that Aryans symbolised: glamour, style, elitness, modern technology, superb engineering.

That sport was motorsport.

This is the story of the Nazi Silberpfeil: The Silver Arrows.

The Birth of the Legends

Birth of Legends

In January 1933, Hitler announced that the German Reich would fund its own national racing team, similar to France's Bugatti and Italy's Alfa Romeo.

Mercedes, Germany's biggest manufaturer, assumed that they would get the 800,000 Reichsmarks allocated for a team. But Auto Union, a young, upstart manufacurer, presented the idea of a second national racing team. The idea was looked upon favourably, and the funds were split: 500,000 marks for Mercedes, 300,000 marks for Auto Union.

The Mercedes board were furious, saying “We are the oldest car manufacturer in the world. It will therefore, in our view, violate the sense of justice of every German, if the funds which the Reich is willing to provide were to be allocated to a company that has not so far been engaged in building cars.”

So began the legendary animosity and rivalry.

Manufacturer Profile: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes

When Karl Benz patented his "Motorwagen" on January 29 1886, the world was introduced to the idea of the motor car.

The oldest car manufacturer in the world, Mercedes-Benz cars carried an image of prestige and power. This power would be shown in their racing team, arguably the "main" team of the German state. They would create some of the world's most famous racecars within this time period.

Manufacturer Profile: Auto Union

Auto Union

The predecessor to today's Audi, Auto Union was the upstart underdog to Mercedes' incumbency. Formed after a merger of four smaller manufacturers in 1932, the company found immediate success by producing a wide range of cars for all prices and performance capabilities. The Silver Arrows era would be their first foray into motor racing, just a year after their merger.

The Rivalry

The Racing Rivalry

The first cars produced for racing, and the basis for the entire Silver Arrows era of cars, were the two cars to the left: The Auto Union Type A and the Mercedes-Benz W25. Auto Union's revolutionary rear-engine design literally flipped the script on racecar design, starting the trend that would become commonplace today. The Mercedes had a more conventional front engine design, making it easier to drive but slightly slower than the Auto Union. Both would win races in 1934, taking out 11 of 13 races entered combined.

However, 1935 carried a new challenge: The European Championship, the precursor to modern F1. With the emergence of Bernd Rosemeyer and Rudolf Caracciola for Auto Union and Mercedes respectively, the two marques dominated the racing scene, battling each other every race for victory, and winning almost every major Grand Prix between 1935 and 1939. Consistency gave Mercedes and Caracciola three championships to Rosemeyer's one, but their back and forth duels became legendary, with moments such as the 1936 British Grand Prix, where they were so much quicker that the crowd booed them to try and convince them slow down. Nothing could stop the Silver Arrow juggernauts.

Bernd Rosemeyer

The Drivers: Rosemeyer

Bernd Rosemeyer (14.10.1909 - 27.1.1938) was the son of a mechanic, and grew up surrounded by cars and motorcycles. He started off racing motorcycles within Germany, where he caught the eye of Auto Union, who were looking for a driver to spearhead their racing program.

The rear-engined Auto Unions, devilish for most drivers, were easily tamed by Rosemeyer, who found them similar to riding motorcycles. Within his first year racing carsin 1935 he had won his first Grand Prix, the 1935 Czech Grand Prix. He would meet his future wife, aviatrix Elly Beinhorn, on the podium.

Throughout the next few years Rosemeyer was the golden child of the Nazi regime, and of motorsport more broadly. He won the 1936 European Championship in his Auto Union Type C, won the prestigious Vanderbilt Cup in 1937 (pictured, bottom), and held numerous land speed records as part of Auto Union's record program. These achievements, accompanied by his Aryan image and eventual marriage to Beinhorn made him one of the most popular drivers in history. He was made an honourary member of the SS (a title he disliked greatly) and used in numerous propaganda pieces.

Rosemeyer was killed when attempting to break another land speed record in January 1938, a moment that sent shockwaves through the motorsport world, comparable only to Ayrton Senna's death in 1994. Against the wishes of his wife, he was given a state funeral. Rosemeyer is remembered as one of the most talented drivers of all time, and a memorial plaque marks the place where he died.

Rudolf Caracciola

The Drivers: Caracciola

Rudolf Caracciola (30.1.1901 - 28.9.1959) was the most successful driver of the pre-war period, and became a powerhouse force with Mercedes.

He won the very first German Grand Prix in a pre-Silver Arrows Mercedes in 1926, his first circuit race after having competed in only hillclimbs previously. At the formation of the Mercedes Grand Prix team he was enlisted as their main driver, and would bring unprecedented success to the team. He would win the 1935, 1937 and 1938 European Championships, six German Grand Prix (the most ever), the Monaco Grand Prix, and many other high profile races.

As part of the Mercedes speed record operation, he would set a world record for highest speed on a public road of 431 kph, which would stand for over seventy years. The war curtailed his career and while he would return to racing after it, he had very little success, and a crash at the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix ended his career for good.

Caracciola died in 1959 of liver failure, having been a prodigous drinker throughout his life. he is remembered as arguably the greatest German driver of all time, alongside names such as Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

Race Footage

1938 German & Tripoli Grand Prix

1937 Monaco Grand Prix

Race Footage

Note: Sound is absent in this archive footage

Credit: Mercedes-Benz Archive

The Land Speed Records

The Record Runs

There was one other usage of the Silver Arrows: setting speed records. Using the newly-constructed Autobahn system, the two manufacturers could push the very limits of contemporary engineering and bring prestige to their brand by reaching absurd speeds on public roads.

The Reich Record Week was set up in 1937 to provide a formalised competition for the two manufacturers. Various records under different conditions were set, but the outright speed record was the most important competition, where that year's Grand Prix cars were run with no restrictions and innovatively extreme engines and bodywork. Mercedes and Caracciola went first, setting a mark of 378 kph, refusing to drive that car again. Rosemeyer got his Auto Union to 405 kph, almost blacking out because of it. Auto Union had secured the record though.

The 1938 Record Week would be the last one held. The conditions were less than ideal, with crosswinds making the cars unstable at the record-breaking speeds. Caracciola set a record that would stand for 79 years: 431 kph. Rosemeyer's run would end in tragedy. As he approached Caracciola's speed, the crosswinds of the day forced him off and into a tree. He died upon impact. The Record Week would not resume in 1939.

Footage

Auto Union

Mercedes

Footage of Record Runs

End of an Era

Following Rosemeyer's death, Mercedes cantered to the final European Championship run before World War Two. The 1939 season was curtailed by the war, with the final race in Switzerland being won by Hermann Lang in a Mercedes.

During the war, the engineers of the two teams were used to help create armoured vehicles and aircraft for the German military, using the technologies honed in racing to create weapons of mass destruction. While it does not diminish their achievements on the tarmac, theose achievements will be forever asterisked by the involvement of such a hated regime in their success.

Following the war, both manufacturers would not be allowed to produce race cars for years. They would later achieve success, especially Mercedes, but arguably the greatest period of success for both manufacturers would be the era of the Silberpfeil: The Nazi Silver Arrows.

End of an Era

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