This unusual military vehicle was conceived in the early 1960s by Zweirad Union, a conglomerate of German motorcycle manufacturers, which at that time was a subsidiary of Faun, the well known manufacturer of commercial vehicles and large off-road dump trucks.

Introduced in 1962, the Kraka was intended for use in the agricultural and forestry industries but met with a lukewarm reception, prompting its maker to explore the vehicle's potential for military purposes.

In its new role the Kraka would be deployed as lightweight off-road transport to be dropped by parachute in support of the West German Bundeswehr's airborne forces, the lack of such a capability having limited the effectiveness of such units in WW2.

In 1965 fifty were supplied to the Bundeswehr for evaluation, which led to significant alterations to the design, the load capacity of the folding chassis being increased (to 750kg) and the 400cc Goggomobil two-stroke engine replaced with a 697cc twin-cylinder four-stroke BMW 'b...