German busses, 1930s

Very streamlined.

R they on the new Autobahn built in Germany before WW2?

Manuel in Oz

So far all I've been able to find out is that the registration numbers on the buses indicate these were likely registered in Dusseldorf (if indeed these are German registrations). From 1928-1945 the prefix IY indicated a Dusseldorf registration, prior to World War 1 the IY prefix was used for the Posen province (which became much of Poland).

They also appear to be very early numbers, perhaps issued initially as early as 1928. That may indicate that these vehicles were still registered to the manufacturer. (There appears to have been a system where an owner could re-use a # on several vehicles.) The name on the front appears to have only 5 letters. This leads me to believe that these are Deutz vehicles, but that's just an educated guess.

I think that the bodies are made by Kässbohrer, famous for their sightseeing buses.

100 years of bus manufacturing in Ulm: Karl Kässbohrer - a head for business and a talent for invention | Daimler Global Media Site > Daimler Buses > Setra > TopClass

I remember that in a 1980 issue of the German magazine AUTOMOBIL CHRONIK there was a picture of these same buses.

Notice that the front is resembles "baby" Steyr Typ 50 and 55!

Front looks like an Adler type 10 too

They are wonderfully streamlined but not fast enough to escape a P-51

Of course. Because the Baby Steyr and Adler "Autobahn" were designed by the same man, Karl Jenschke.

I yesterday dig up the September 1980 issue of Automobil + Motorrad Chronik and the article about Opel buses. Presented at Berlin Auto salon in 1937, and yes, they were built for he new Autobahn. The "Strassenzeppelin" in the German magazine was however registered in Essen and owned by a company called Ludwig.

Here is a bus from London on a tour through eorope in the midst of some split window bugs and a Buick. Posted on Hamb by dog 427435