Lt Hans Koeppen And The 1908 Great Race
Hans Friedrich Wilhelm Hugo Koeppen was born in Minden close to Hanover July 31, 1876. His father was an Oberst (Colonel) in the Old Prussian Army and young Hans followed in his footsteps by joining the household business enterprise. He entered the Imperial German Army of the Kaiser Wilhelm II as a Lieutenant in the 15th Infantry Regiment (2nd Westfälisches) March 1894. By 1903 the brilliant and upcoming officer was promoted to Oberleutnant and sent to the elite War Academy. Upon graduation he was attached to the Grand General Staff in 1907. When the stories of an American, French and Italian teams competing in a race from New York west to Paris across Germany reached Koeppen, a patriot, he was eager to see a German effort place forth. Choosing out that the Kaiser himself desired a German entry into the 22,000- mile (35,000-kilometer) race, the young Lieutenant immediately presented himself in hopes of a promotion.
The Protos Car in the Good 1908 Race
Initial factor the German team needed was a vehicle and they turned to the compact Berlin-based German enterprise of Protos just after Benz and Daimler politely bowed out. Designing a custom constructed vehicle in only 16 days, the Protos racing automobile was an impressive 16 feet lengthy, 6.5 feet wide, and when loaded with 3 males, an substantial spare components kit, food and 176 gallons of gas weighed some three tons. She was powered by a 40hp engine that could propel the beast at up to 70mph. There was no cab and the trip across the open skies of United States and Siberia would be beneath cover of absolutely nothing far more than canvas. The Protos was roughly the very same size as a modern Chevrolet Suburban built with steam-era technology.
The Make-up of the German Race Team
To aid subsidize the expenditures of the race Hans Koeppen agreed to file stories for the newspaper Zeitung am Mittag. Since Han Koeppen had never ever truly driven a auto before, 35-year old club-driver Hans Knappe was selected to be the main wheelman of the Protos. Knappe had also had been an officer in the Prussian Army, in the Field Engineers and had competed in a number of auto races currently. The third and last member of the team was the mechanic and chauffer Ernest Maas. It was this team that started off from New York toward Seattle. The 22,000 mile race was on and to this day remains the longest car race in the world.
Sources
Cohen Wealthy Becoming Adolf contemporary bathroom vanitiesporary bathroom vanities Fair, November 2007
Der PROTOS – Wagen der Motoren-Fabrik PROTOS, Berlin deutsches-museum.de web page.
Fenster, Julie M Race of the Century: The Heroic True Story of the 1908 New York to Paris Race Doubleday 2002
Fritzsche, Peter Studying Berlin 1900 2008
Germany Awaits Lieut. Hans Koeppen From Emperor to Subaltern His Running of the Protos Car Has Aroused Enthusiasm New York Occasions July 19, 1908
The Excellent Race retrieved December 12, 2009 www.thegreatrace.com
The Fantastic Automobile Race of 1908 retrieved December 12, 2009 www.thegreatautorace.com
Protos Vehicle Pushing Rival Thomas Hard Has Reached Kazan soon after Creating 744 Miles Seeing that Sunday More than Russian Roads on 156th Day of Race New York Times July 17, 1908
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