Tatra 81

The Tatra 81 was heavy-duty truck model made by Czech manufacturer Tatra between 1940 and 1942. The development was ordered by German government in the aftermath of the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and was complete the same year. It was mainly used in Germany by Ordnungspolizei, but few were utilized by Wehrmacht to ferry supplies. The vehicle had an 8-cylinder diesel engine with 12467 cc rated to 117.8 kW power. It had 4 gears and 1 reverse gear. The truck chassis, based on the Tatra backbone chassis conception, has 5700kg empty weight. The truck was rated for 6500 kg payload The Tatra 81 was capable of traveling at 65 km/h.

The civilian use Tatra 81H and Tatra 81HB were fitted with wood gas generator and a 14726 cc, 110.4 kW power engine working on wood gas. To avoid drastic reduction of the engine power, the pistons diameter was increased by 10mm.