View source for Goliath tracked mine

{{Short description|German WWII remote-controlled demolition vehicle}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More footnotes needed|date=August 2010}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2020}}
}}

{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Goliath ''Sd.kfz'' 302
| image              = Sdkfz302elektr.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| alt                =
| caption            = A ''SdKfz.'' 302, displayed at the [[Deutsches Panzermuseum]], Munster (2005)
| type               = [[Demolition vehicle]]
| origin             = [[Nazi Germany]]
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_explosive       = yes
| is_vehicle         = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1942–1945
| used_by            = [[Nazi Germany]]<br />[[Romania]]
| wars               = [[World War II]]
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = 
| design_date        = 1942
| manufacturer       = [[Borgward]] and [[Zündapp]]
| unit_cost          = 3,000 [[Reichsmark|ℛℳ]] (1942) {{small|(€{{Inflation|DE|3000|1942|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|DE}})}}
| production_date    = 1942–1944
| number             = 7,564
| variants           =
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         = 
| mass               = {{convert|370|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
| length             = {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| part_length        = 
| width              = {{convert|0.85|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| height             = {{convert|0.56|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| diameter           = 
| crew               = One remote operator
| passengers         =
<!-- Explosive specifications --> 
| filling            = 
| filling_weight     = 
| detonation         = 
| yield              = 
<!-- Vehicle/missile specifications -->
| armour             = {{convert|5|mm|abbr=on}}
| primary_armament   = {{convert|60|kg|lb|abbr=on}} explosive charge
| secondary_armament = 
| engine             = Two Electric Motors
| engine_power       = 2 x {{convert|2.5|hp|abbr=on}}
| pw_ratio           = 
| payload_capacity   = 
| drive              =
| transmission       = 
| suspension         = 
| clearance          = {{convert|11.4|cm|abbr=on}}
| fuel_capacity      = 
| vehicle_range      = {{convert|1.5|km|abbr=on}} on-road;<br>{{convert|0.75|km|abbr=on}} off-road.
| speed              = {{convert|6|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}
| guidance           = 
| steering           = 
<!-- For all -->
| ref                = <small></small>
}}

The '''Goliath tracked mine''' (German: '''''Leichter Ladungsträger Goliath''''', "Goliath Light Charge Carrier") was a series of two [[unmanned ground vehicle]]s used by the [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] as disposable demolition vehicles during [[World War II]]. These were the electrically powered ''Sd.Kfz. 302'' and the petrol-engine powered ''Sd.Kfz. 303a'' and ''303b''. They were known as "beetle tanks" by the Allies.<ref>{{YouTube | zhK8L0PgPdA | Goliath Demolition Tank }}</ref>

They carried {{convert|60|or|100|kg|abbr=on}} of [[high explosive]]s, depending on the model, and were intended to be used for multiple purposes, such as destroying tanks, disrupting dense infantry formations, and the demolition of buildings or bridges.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Lauterborn |first=David |date=2011-05-05 |title=Goliath Tracked Mine: The Beetle That Started the ROV Craze |url=https://www.historynet.com/goliath-tracked-mine-the-beetle-that-started-the-rov-craze/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=HistoryNet |language=en-US}}</ref> Goliaths were single-use vehicles that were destroyed by the detonation of their warhead.

==Development==
During and after [[World War I]], a number of inventors devised small, remote-controlled, tracked vehicles intended to carry an explosive charge. During the war, the French developed two vehicles. The ''Crocodile Schneider Torpille Terrestre''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://weaponews.com/weapons/13708-land-torpedo-crocodile-schneider-france.html|title=Land torpedo Crocodile Schneider (France)|website=weaponews.com}}</ref> ({{Translation|'Land Torpedo Crocodile Schneider'}}) carried a {{convert|40|kg|lb|abbr=on}} explosive charge and saw limited combat use in June 1916. However, it performed poorly and was eclipsed by the first tanks, then being introduced.<ref name="EverettToscano412">Everett and Toscano (2015) p.412</ref> The ''Aubriot-Gabet Torpille Électrique'' ({{Translation|'Aubriot-Gabet Electric Torpedo'}}) was driven by a single electric motor powered by a trailing cable. This vehicle may have been steered by clutch control on its tracks, although early versions may have lacked steering.<ref name="EverettToscano412" /> This may not have mattered as its task was simply to cross [[no man's land]] to attack the long trenches of the enemy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mechanixillustrated.technicacuriosa.com/2017/02/19/a-brief-early-history-of-unmanned-systems/ |title=A Brief Early History of Unmanned Systems |last=Everett |first=Bart |date=February 19, 2017 |website=Mechanix Illisttated}}</ref> The ''Wickersham Land Torpedo'' was patented by American inventor Elmer Wickersham in 1918<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=1407969 |status=patent}}</ref> and in the 1930s, a similar vehicle was developed by the French vehicle designer [[Adolphe Kégresse]].

In late 1940, Kégresse's prototype was recovered by the Germans near the [[Seine]]; the Wehrmacht's ordnance office directed the Carl F.W. [[Borgward]] automotive company of [[Bremen]], Germany to develop a similar vehicle for the purpose of carrying a minimum of {{convert|50|kg|lb|abbr=on}} of explosives.<ref name=":0" /> The result was the SdKfz. 302 (''Sonderkraftfahrzeug'', {{Translation|'special-purpose vehicle'}}), called the ''Leichter Ladungsträger'' ({{Translation|'light charge carrier'}}), or Goliath, which carried {{convert|60|kg|lb|abbr=on}} of explosives. The vehicle was steered remotely via a joystick control box.<ref name=":0" /> The control box was connected to the Goliath by a {{convert|650|m|ft|adj=on}}, triple-strand cable. The cable was stored on a cable drum in the rear compartment of the Goliath. The cable was used for steering the vehicle left/right, forwards and reverse (reverse on the electric driven 302 version only) and to ignite the explosive charge. Each Goliath was disposable, being intended to be blown up with its target. Early model Goliaths used two electric motors but, as these were costly to make (3,000 ''Reichsmarks'') and difficult to maintain and recharge in a combat environment, later models (known as the SdKfz. 303) used a cheaper two-stroke petrol engine.<ref>{{cite book |publisher=OKH |title=Army manual D 654/10, Leichter Ladungsträger, Gerätebeschreibung und Bedienungsanweisung |date=1 April 1943}}</ref>

==Service==
{{Infobox weapon
|is_vehicle=yes
|name=Goliath ''Sd.kfz'' 303
| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1980-053-53, Sprengpanzer "Goliath".jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=An ''SdKfz.'' 303, the petrol powered version of the ''Goliath''
|origin=[[Nazi Germany|Germany]]
|type= [[Demolition vehicle]]
<!-- Service history -->
|service=1943–1945
|used_by= [[Nazi Germany]]
<!-- Production history -->
|design_date= 1942
|manufacturer=[[Zündapp]] and Zachertz
|production_date= 1943–1945
|number=4,929, both the model a and model b
<!-- General specifications -->
|weight= {{convert|430|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|length= {{convert|1.69|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|width= {{convert|0.91|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|height= {{convert|0.62|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|crew= One controller with remote.
<!-- Vehicle/missile specifications -->
|armour= {{convert|10|mm|abbr=on}}
|primary_armament= {{convert|100|kg|lb|abbr=on}} explosive charge
|engine= Zündapp SZ7 / 2-cylinder
|engine_power= {{convert|12.5|hp|abbr=on}}
|vehicle_range= {{convert|12|km|abbr=on}} on-road;<br>{{convert|7|km|abbr=on}} off-road.
}}

Goliaths were used on all fronts where the Wehrmacht fought, beginning in early 1942. They were used principally by specialized [[Panzer]] and [[combat engineer]] units. Goliaths were used in Italy [[Battle of Anzio|at Anzio in April 1944]], and against the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]] during the [[Warsaw Uprising]] in 1944.<ref name=":0" /> A few Goliaths were also seen [[Normandy landings|on the beaches of Normandy during D-Day]], though most were rendered inoperative after artillery blasts severed their command cables. Allied troops encountered a small number of Goliaths in the [[Maritime Alps]] following the [[Operation Dragoon|landings in southern France]] in August 1944, with at least one being used successfully against a vehicle of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

Although a total of 7,564 Goliaths were produced, the single-use weapon was not considered a success due to high unit cost, low speed (just above {{convert|6|km/h|mph}}), poor ground clearance (just {{convert|11.4|cm|abbr=on}}), the vulnerable control cable, and thin armour which could not protect the vehicle from small-arms fire. The Goliath was also too big and heavy to be easily man-portable.<ref name="EverettToscano489" /> They mostly failed to reach their targets, although the effect was considerable when they did.<ref name="EverettToscano489">Everett and Toscano (2015) p.489</ref>

Large numbers of Goliaths were captured by the Allies. Although they were examined with interest by Allied intelligence, they were seen as having little military value. Some were used by the United States Army Air Force as aircraft tugs, although they quickly broke down as the disposable vehicles were not designed for sustained use.<ref name="EverettToscano489" />

==Romanian version==
In the years leading up to the Second World War, Romania designed and built its own model of remote-controlled tracked mine, commonly known as "Romanian Goliath", but officially designated "Torpila terestră dirijată Eremia" ("[https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Eremia Eremia] guided land torpedo").<ref>https://www.ziuaconstanta.ro/diverse/sapte-zile/generalul-eremia-inventatorul-torpilei-terestre-dirijate-erou-uitat-de-istorie-46974.html</ref> It was markedly different from its later German counterpart. The few surviving [[Romanian armored fighting vehicle production during World War II#/media/File:Romanian_Goliath_tracked_mine.jpg|photos]] show that the vehicle, unlike the German Goliath, had no armour at all, and it is not known if that was ever changed. The Romanian-designed chassis allowed it to cross trenches and craters much better than its German counterpart. Little more is known about the vehicle, other than that it never went beyond the prototype stage and that it weighed about two tonnes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aviarmor.net/tww2/tanks/romania/goliath.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528183457/http://www.aviarmor.net/TWW2/Tanks/Romania/Goliath.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 28, 2009|title="Goliath" — Дистанционно управляемая машина|date=October 5, 2018}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

==Surviving examples==
[[File:Sonderkraftfahrzeug 303 Goliath in the Tank Museum 2.JPG|thumb|A Goliath 303 displayed at the [[Bovington Tank Museum]]]]
Surviving Goliaths are preserved at:
* The [[Museum of World War II]], Massachusetts, USA
* The {{ill|Museum Stammheim|de}}, Germany
* the [[Deutsches Panzermuseum]], Germany
* the [[Bundeswehr Military History Museum]], Dresden, Germany
* The [[Technik Museum Sinsheim]], Germany
* The [[Tøjhus Museum]], Copenhagen, Denmark
* [[Heeresgeschichtliches Museum]], Vienna, Austria
* the Musée du Débarquement Utah Beach, Normandy, France
* [[Musée des Blindés]], Saumur, France
* Musee No. 4 Commando, Ouistreham, Normandy, France
* the [[Canadian War Museum]], Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
* Fort Garry Horse Museum, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
* [[United States Army Ordnance Museum]]
* Karl Smith collection, USA
* the [[Imperial War Museum]], Duxford, UK
* [[The Tank Museum]], Bovington Camp, UK
* [[REME Museum|The REME Museum]], UK
* Dutch Cavalry Museum, Netherlands
* War Museum Overloon, Netherlands
* Het Nederlands kustverdedigingsmuseum: {{ill|Fort aan den Hoek van Holland|de}}
* Het Memory Oorlogs- en Vredesmuseum Nijverdal, Netherlands
* [[Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History]], Belgium
* December 44 Museum, La Gleize, Belgium
* the [[Kubinka Tank Museum]], Russia
* Arsenał in [[Wrocław]], Poland
* [[Polish Army Museum]], Poland
* [[Warsaw Uprising Museum]], Poland
* Muzeum dopravy (transportation museum), Bratislava, Slovakia.
* [[Swedish Army Museum]], Stockholm, Sweden
* Friends' Association of the Scientific Collection of Defence Engineering Specimens Koblenz (VFF WTS), [[Koblenz]], Germany<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vffwts.de/en/|title = Friends' Association of the Scientific Collection of Defence Engineering Specimens Koblenz &#124; Home}}</ref>
* The [[Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum]], Everett, Washington, USA
* [[Australian Armour and Artillery Museum]], Smithfield, Queensland, Australia

==See also==
*[[Borgward IV]]
*[[Mobile Land Mine]], equivalent British World War 2 vehicle; fifty built.
*[[Springer (tank)]]
*[[Teletank]], a series of Soviet remote controlled tanks
*[[Unmanned ground vehicle]]

==References==
;Citations
{{Reflist}}

;Bibliography
* Chamberlain, Peter, and Hilary Doyle (1999). ''Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two'',  2nd ed. London: Arms & Armour. {{ISBN|1-85409-214-6}}.
*{{cite book|author1=H. R. Everett|author2=Michael Toscano|title=Unmanned Systems of World Wars I and II|date=6 November 2015|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-02922-3}}
* Gassend Jean-Loup (2014). ''Autopsy of a Battle, the Allied Liberation of the French Riviera, August September 1944''. Atglen PA: Schiffer Publications.
* Jaugitz, Markus (2001). ''Funklenkpanzer: A History of German Army Remote-and Radio-Controlled Armor Units'', trans. David Johnston. Winnipeg, Manitoba: [[J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing]], Inc. {{ISBN|0-921991-58-4}}.
* Jentz, Thomas L. Panzer Tracts, No. 14: ''Gepanzerte Pionier-Fahrzeuge'' (Armored Combat Engineer Vehicles, Goliath to Raeumer).  S. Darlington,  Maryland: Darlington Productions. {{ISBN|1-892848-00-7}}
*{{cite book
 | last = Morison
 | first = Samuel Eliot
 | author-link = Samuel Eliot Morison
 | year = 1957
 | title = [[History of United States Naval Operations in World War II|History of United States Naval Operations in World War II vol. 11]]
 | publisher = Atlantic Monthly Press
 | location = Boston, Mass.
}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.cavaleriemuseum.nl Dutch Cavalry Museum] has a Goliath-tank in its collection.
* [http://www.tankmuseum.ru/goliath_tracked_mine/ Goliath in Kubinka tank museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180302082450/http://www.achtungpanzer.com/leichte-ladungstrager-goliath-sdkfz302-e-motor.htm Leichte Ladungsträger Goliath Sd.Kfz.302 (E-Motor)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180303224938/http://www.achtungpanzer.com/leichte-ladungstrager-goliath-sdkfz303a-sdkfz303b-v-motor.htm Leichte Ladungsträger Goliath Sd.Kfz.303a / Sd.Kfz.303b (V-Motor)]

{{WWIIGermanAFVs}}
{{WWIIRomanianAFVs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goliath Tracked Mine}}
[[Category:World War II infantry weapons of Germany]]
[[Category:Military robots]]
[[Category:Robots of Germany]]
[[Category:1940s robots]]
[[Category:Tracked robots]]
[[Category:Explosive weapons]]
[[Category:Unmanned ground combat vehicles]]
[[Category:Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944]]