The name 'Magirus' is still well known in connection with air-cooled trucks (pictures) who`s sound reminds of that made by a circular saw. The company`s founder, Conrad Dietrich Magirus has nothing to do with it. He was born way too early in 1824 as to seriously get in touch with internal combustion engines.

After some journeys abroad he returns to his hometown Ulm and deals quite early with fire fighting technology. At the age of 40 years he founds his own company and launches an advertising campaign for his products. A stand-alone, lightweight rotary leader is of special interest and is rewarded a gold medal at the world exhibition 1873 in Vienna.

Quite early Magirus includes his three sons in company affairs and in 1911 Heinrich becomes chairman of the newly founded joint-stock company. Now however only one half of the company is owned by the Magirus family. It is involved in the intensive German rearmament.

Since quite a while they produce bigger and bigger ladders which can be erected on their chassis by internal combustion (Otto-) engines. What is more likely as to build a complete 3 tons-truck and offer it to the military in 1917, near the end of World War 1.

A tractor and a bus follow. All of them have four cylinders and of course petrol engines. Post-war times become difficult, particularly when approaching inflation in 1923. Another crisis arises in 1929 which, for Magirus, results in a merger with the famous Cologne Humboldt-Deutz Engine Company and additionally in 1938 with the Klöckner company.

In the end the air-cooled diesel engine was first built by Deutz after the Second World War. The models are named after stars like Jupiter and Uranus and have big V engines with enough space for the gigantic blower between both cylinder benches. 12/09