Sylt is a 38 km long island in the Frisian archipelago in the North Sea, belonging to Germany. It was here that a vehicle that was commissioned by the Heereswaffenamt (German Army Weapons Agency) to do river crossing was demonstrated to General Franz Halder in August 1940.

Called Land Wasser Schlepper (LWS), the vehicle was also intended to be used as a lightweight river tug with minimum capability to operate on land. This was necessary since during low tides, barges were not able to sail across rivers, but the LWS could. With twin propellers and twin rudders, this vehicle would move on land on its steel tracks moving supplies.

Though the development took 5 years, it took another two years before they could be put in to service in North Africa. Few were produced.