Mercedes-Benz Bus History - Daimler

heating and ventilation of the O 4500 and O 5000. A ventilation switch
in the standard-fit fresh-air heater, for example, was one of the many
small details which distinguished the O 4500 and its big brother, the
O 5000. In addition, there was a special duct which sent warm air
across the windshield and prevented it from becoming fogged or iced
up.
Air conditioning for the warm time of the year was still out of the
question in the late 1940s, instead this postwar model series featured
an ingenious ventilation system. “Sensibly arranged flaps and ducts
conduct fresh air, draft-free, into the interior of the vehicle,” a
contemporary description praised the mode of operation of the
system, which continuously circulated the air inside the bus. Two large
air scoops on the roof permitted air to “wash around the inner ceiling
without creating a draft.” These devices were supplemented by more
rustic and certainly not entirely draft-free ventilating means such as a
crank-operated window on the driver’s side plus three sliding windows
and a ventilator window at the rear of the bus.
As touring coaches, the two variants were designed for 39 to 47
passengers. The urban bus variant could carry a maximum of 60
passengers.
A proven foundation for frame and floor
For the chassis of models O 4500 and O 5000, on the other hand,
Daimler-Benz relied on proven components of many years standing.
The Gaggenau factory supplied the chassis-cum-cowl, which was
closely related to the low-frame truck chassis, much in the tradition of
prewar buses. The engines of these first postwar buses also were the
equivalents of the engines in the corresponding truck models, L 4500
Daimler Communications, 70546 Stuttgart/Germany
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