Chain tensioning device

A device for tensioning a chain of a crawler chassis of a tracked vehicle, comprising:

• a guide wheel;
• a piston rod;
• a first cylinder arranged in an area of the chassis for the tracked vehicle and operatively connected by the piston rod to the guide wheel to apply tension to the chain;
• a second cylinder, constituting a spring cylinder, operatively connected to the first cylinder and concentrically enclosing the first cylinder to form a double cylinder, wherein the first and second cylinders have separate hydraulic connections to connect to separate lines, the separate hydraulic connections each being admitted with a specifiable pre-tensioning pressure at startup of the tracked vehicle so that the first cylinder concentrically surrounded by the second cylinder is moved with maximum spring deflection to an end stop presented by the second cylinder because of a larger cross-sectional surface of the first cylinder relative to the surface of the piston rod, and the first cylinder pre-tensions the chain with a force that corresponds to the pre-tensioning pressure.