Gunther Burstyn (6 July 1879 in Bad Aussee, Steiermark - 15 April 1945 in Korneuburg, Lower Austria) was a technician and officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army.
In 1911, he designed the first cross-country tank with swiveling turret, based on American agricultural tractors, which he called the Motorgeschütz (literally motor-gun). The draft design, which was more modern than other tank designs of the First World War, was rejected both by Austria-Hungary and by the German Empire. He later sought to patent his design, but was told that it might infringe existing patents, so he dropped all plans. In 1941 Günther Burstyn was awarded with the War Merit Cross.
At the end of the war he committed suicide because he feared Soviet captivity, as endured by other German inventors like Ferdinand Porsche.
External links
- Austro-Hungarian Burstyn Tank - pre WW1 Tank Project at www.landships.freeservers.com
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