They were nicknamed “doodlebugs” by the Allies. Officially, they were designated SdKfz 302 Sonderkraftfahrzeug, “Special-purpose Vehicle,” but they were mostly referred to as the Goliath Tracked Mine. They began to see action about 1942, and were used in all fronts. Basically a remote-controlled demolition device; a remote-controlled car with a bomb strapped to it. They were rather small and carried 165 lbs of high explosives at a top speed of about 6 miles per hour; not bad considering the load they carried. Their weakness was that they were controlled by a joystick control, connected by 2000 feet of triple-strand cable. The Allies quickly realized all they had to do to neutralize these things was to cut the wire. This rendered the Goliath useless.

Prior to that Allied revelation, the Germans utilized the Goliath to attack tanks, infantry formations, bridges, buildings, and encampments. Over 4,600 of these were produced, including a slightly larger model that carried a 200 lb explosive charge. Though way ahead of its time, they were too slow and too hard to control to be an effective weapon for the Germans. Many examples of these demolition vehicles survived the war and today can be found in museum exhibits throughout Europe, Scandinavia, as well as the United States.