The discovery of a motorbike wreck and the remains of two German soldiers is making headlines worldwide. Low Danube levels in Budapest exposed the Second World War machine, now cleaned and remarkably well preserved.
The photo of the Wehrmacht motorcycle recovered in Budapest is going around the world: from the "Times of India" and "Vietnam.VN" via British media such as the "Daily Mirror" to US platforms like Yahoo Autos, the spectacular find is making headlines.
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According to the Hungarian Institute and Museum of Military History, the recovered motorcycle is a DKW NZ 350-1.
The DKW NZ 250 and NZ 350 models were regarded by motorcyclists at the time as particularly robust and reliable. From 1944, a version developed specifically for wartime use was therefore introduced under the name NZ 350-1.
The Hungarian museum recovered the machine on 2 August at Batthyány Square, opposite parliament. The motorcycle is almost completely intact. Because it was saturated with water and mud when it was salvaged, it weighed more than 200 kilograms. The machine is currently being cleaned and conserved in the museum's hangar in Budapest.
The DKW NZ 350-1 was produced between 1944 and 1945, with just under 12,000 units built by the end of the war.
One particularly interesting feature is a small detail that is easy to overlook today: on the rear frame there was a kind of "fin" or mud and snow scraper. It was intended to prevent mud and snow from building up on the tyre and then getting into the chain drive. This modification apparently went back to experiences during the Russian winter.
The engine block, made of grey cast iron, a cast-iron alloy with a high graphite content, was also striking. One reason for this was the wartime shortage of aluminium. On the basis of the information published so far, however, it is not yet possible to date the specific find to a particular day or month of production.
DKW, the manufacturer of the NZ 350-1
The company DKW goes back to the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen. In 1907, he initially set up a mechanical engineering and steam technology business in Zschopau in Saxony. The brand name DKW was coined later and originally stood for "Dampfkraftwagen", or "steam-powered vehicle". In 1922, the first DKW two-stroke engine was produced in Zschopau. In the years that followed, the company grew into one of Germany's most important motorcycle manufacturers.
In 1932, DKW merged with Audi, Horch and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG. Within the new group, the DKW plant in Zschopau remained the centre of motorcycle and engine production.
In the 1930s, DKW became increasingly involved in German rearmament. The NZ 350 was also produced in large numbers for the Wehrmacht.
The importance of the Zschopau plant is evident from the production figures: as early as 1934, the 350,000th DKW motorcycle rolled off the production line, followed in 1939 by the 500,000th. With the start of the Second World War, civilian motorcycle production was increasingly scaled back and manufacturing shifted more and more towards military needs.
The DKW NZ 350-1, like the one now recovered from the Danube, dates from this late phase of the war.
After the end of the Second World War, the DKW plant in Zschopau was dismantled by the Soviet occupation authorities. Machinery and equipment were taken to the Soviet Union. DKW engineers from Zschopau were also sent to Izhevsk to help rebuild motorcycle production there. The story of the NZ 350 did not end there: from 1946, the IZh-350 was produced in the Soviet Union, based to a large extent on the DKW NZ 350. More than 127,000 units were built by 1951.
In recent days, further parts of the original equipment have been found in the dried-up riverbed of the Danube alongside the Wehrmacht motorcycle, including a petrol can, a Y-strap and a bayonet frog.
A Y-strap was a leather harness worn over the shoulders and joined at the front and back with additional straps. It was used to attach equipment to the body, such as bread bags, ammunition pouches or canteens. The name "Y" comes from the shape of the shoulder straps.
The term bayonet frog refers to the holder for a bayonet that is attached to the belt or other equipment. The bayonet is carried in it when it is not fixed to the rifle.
The mortal remains of two German soldiers were discovered beneath the motorcycle. Their fully preserved identity discs could, for the first time in more than 80 years, provide information about who they were and what happened to them. A so-called "Kuban" sleeve shield was also found.
This badge may indicate that its wearer had previously served at the Kuban bridgehead in the Caucasus.
It is currently assumed that the remains of the two men are those of the motorcycle's rider and passenger. However, there is a possible alternative explanation: the Hungarian Institute of Military History (source in German) (source in Hungarian) believes that the site may have been used as a wartime rubble or refuse pit created after the end of the siege. It appears that ammunition and equipment were among the items disposed of there.
The finds alone therefore do not yet allow any definitive conclusion to be drawn as to whether the two men were on the DKW at the time of their deaths.
