The World's First Ever Diesel Trucks Came From Benz And Daimler In 1923

In 1923, Benz presented the first diesel truck to the public and Daimler unveiled a truck powered by an air-injection diesel engine.

Being the first on anything is something to be proud of. This is exactly why people celebrate the first time humankind went to the moon or send a rover to Mars. The automotive world has its many firsts too, and these milestones are worth celebrating both as history and culture.

In modern times, the auto world saw many firsts. For instance, in 2019, a modified Bugatti Chiron became the first production car to reach 300 mph. For the first time since the advent of cars, electric vehicles are becoming a common sight on the streets, with carmakers even vowing to produce only zero-emission models as early as the next decade.

Around a century and three decades ago, Carl Benz invented the first automobile. But the company he founded along with Max Rose and Friedrich Wilhelm Esslinger – Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik (a.k.a. Benz & Cie.) didn't stop at building just cars. In 1923, Benz & Cie. presented the first diesel truck to the public. In the same year, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft unveiled a truck powered by an air-injection diesel engine.

In 1922, Benz installed a diesel engine in a tractor made by Sendling. A prototype was displayed in an agricultural exhibition in Königsberg. Benz and Sendling found buyers for the two-cylinder diesel engine-powered prototype and two more preproduction series units. In the same year, Benz commenced work on a new diesel engine for a truck.

In September 1922, Benz already had the first truck diesel engine – dubbed as OB 2 -- undergo a test bench in Gaggenau. Delivering an output of 45 hp at 1,000 rpm, the OB 2 engine posted favorable results. The engine was noted to consume 25% less fuel (brown coal tar oil) than a similarly powered petrol engine. Benz initially built 10 OB 2 engines and installed them in the Benz 5 K 3 truck with a payload of five tons.

Soon, test drives were commenced, and the OB 2's good performance on the tests led to series production by April 1923. Benz & Cie. then revealed the world's first series-built diesel truck at a commercial vehicle show in Amsterdam in February 1924. At the time, the prechamber OB 2 diesel engine could deliver 50 hp of max output at 1,000 rpm.

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While Benz & Cie. were working on the diesel truck, Berlin-Marienfelde Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) was developing an air injection diesel for trucks. It should be noted that as early as 1911, DMG was already developing compact diesel engines for commercial and agricultural purposes.

Building on knowledge gained from building air-injection diesel engines for submarines, DMG developed a four-cylinder unit delivering 40 hp at 1,000 rpm. This engine proved to be practical and suitable on the road during test runs. In fact, a Daimler diesel truck was able to travel from DMG's Berlin plant to its other Stuttgart site and back in September 1923. The feat was huge publicity for DMG, and the company presented its Daimler 5C commercial diesel vehicles (a truck, a three-sided tipper, and a bus) in October 1923 at the Berlin automobile exhibition.

Benz & Cie. and DMG merged in June 1926 as Daimler-Benz, thereby baptizing all of its vehicles as Mercedes-Benz. The name "Mercedes" can be traced back to Mercédès Jellinek, daughter of Emil Jellinek who set the specs of the 1902 Mercedes 35 hp. Emil, however, had long left DMG's board when the merger took place.

Between the two diesel engines, Benz's pre-chamber diesel mill was picked as more suitable than DMG's air-injection diesel engine. The companies' (Benz and DMG) first jointly developed pre-chamber diesel engine was the 1927 8.6-liter six-cylinder OM 5 engine delivering 75 hp of output. Interestingly, OM stands for "oil engine," and is a designation still being employed today by Mercedes-Benz.

In 1927, Daimler-Benz presented a number of commercial vehicles under the Mercedes-Benz brand. One of these is the L 5 truck, which was available in two engines: the OM 5 diesel engine rated at 70 hp at 1,300 rpm and the type M 36 petrol mill rated at 100 hp at 2,000 rpm. Series production of the OM 5 diesel engine commenced in 1928, as fitted with the new Bosch injection pump. This injection technology contributed to the eventual acceptance of the diesel engine.

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Nonetheless, Daimler-Benz found it hard to sell the Mercedes-Benz L 5 diesel truck in the first year. The diesel truck had its own opponents who criticized the engine's loud and harsh operation. In June 1928, British Mercedes-Benz Ltd. received a 5-ton diesel truck, which was then reviewed by the "Commercial Motors." The specialist magazine praised the L 5 diesel truck in five issues.

The L 5 diesel truck found another admirer with the Royal English Automobile Club, which in autumn 1928 awarded Daimler-Benz AG the Dewar Trophy.

But Daimler-Benz still needed the L 5 diesel truck to be known in more parts of Germany. So, the company arranged a long drive from Leipzig in the summer of 1929, cruising through all of the country regions. The company also discussed the advantages of the diesel truck salespeople in dealerships and agencies while loaning them to waggoners. Moreover, the L 5 received ample attention from the local press.

Source: Daimler

Julybien Atadero writes from the island of Cebu covering various automotive topics including new sports cars, classic muscles, pickup trucks and SUVs. While I like peace and quiet, I love playing with my kid. When I have nothing else to do, I watch documentaries and animations.