Heavy four-armored reconnaissance (special car 234 / 4)
GERMAN HEAVY ARMORED RECONNAISSANCE VEHICLES
The term Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (Heavy armored reconnaissance vehicle), covers the 6 and 8 wheeled armoured cars Germany used during the Second World War.
In the German Army, armoured cars were intended for the traditional cavalry missions of reconnaissance and screening. They scouted ahead of mechanized units to assess enemy strength and location. Their primary role was to observe rather than fight enemy units, although they were expected to fight enemy reconnaissance elements when required.
The heavy Panzerspähwagen was a large and ungainly but very fast addition to the German mobile arsenal of the early war years. The original 6-rad (6 wheeled) versions were based on a 6x4 truck with armoured body, but by 1937 they were being replaced by the 8-rad versions. During the replacement, the Sd.Kfz numbers were carried directly over; differentiation is made by the addition of 6-Rad or 8-Rad (Ger: "6 wheel" or "8 wheel") in the vehicle name.
These vehicles first saw combat with the campaign against Poland and in the Battle of France. The radio communication cars proved their ability in infantry support, especially during street fighting. Later they saw use in both the USSR and North Africa. Extreme climatic conditions in both these areas proved too severe for the vehicle. In the USSR, adverse ground conditions immobilized 150 Sd.Kfz 232s during the first wet season of the campaign.In the desert, heat and sand created some maintenance problems. Still, the eight-wheeled cars turned out to be the best vehicles that Rommel had for long range reconnaissance across the wide desert territory.
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In the German Army, armoured cars were intended for the traditional cavalry missions of reconnaissance and screening. They scouted ahead of mechanized units to assess enemy strength and location. Their primary role was to observe rather than fight enemy units, although they were expected to fight enemy reconnaissance elements when required.
The heavy Panzerspähwagen was a large and ungainly but very fast addition to the German mobile arsenal of the early war years. The original 6-rad (6 wheeled) versions were based on a 6x4 truck with armoured body, but by 1937 they were being replaced by the 8-rad versions. During the replacement, the Sd.Kfz numbers were carried directly over; differentiation is made by the addition of 6-Rad or 8-Rad (Ger: "6 wheel" or "8 wheel") in the vehicle name.
These vehicles first saw combat with the campaign against Poland and in the Battle of France. The radio communication cars proved their ability in infantry support, especially during street fighting. Later they saw use in both the USSR and North Africa. Extreme climatic conditions in both these areas proved too severe for the vehicle. In the USSR, adverse ground conditions immobilized 150 Sd.Kfz 232s during the first wet season of the campaign.In the desert, heat and sand created some maintenance problems. Still, the eight-wheeled cars turned out to be the best vehicles that Rommel had for long range reconnaissance across the wide desert territory.
Read More at Wikipedia
Austrian ADGZ in use by the 7-SS division
What was ADGZ?
The Austrian army was using the ADGZ armored car at the time of Anschluss. 12 were used by the army and 15 were used by the police. The Germans used them for police work and some were taken on by the SS and used on the Eastern front and in the Balkans.
The SS ordered an additional 25 ADGZ which were delivered in 1942. An interesting feature of this vehicle was that there was no "rear:" either end was capable of driving the unit.
SS Heimwehr Danzig used ADGZ armored cars during the defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig on September 1, 1939.
After the invasion of the USSR a few ADGZ armored cars were rearmed with turrets from the Soviet T-26 model 1933 light tank.
The SS ordered an additional 25 ADGZ which were delivered in 1942. An interesting feature of this vehicle was that there was no "rear:" either end was capable of driving the unit.
SS Heimwehr Danzig used ADGZ armored cars during the defense of the Polish Post Office in Danzig on September 1, 1939.
After the invasion of the USSR a few ADGZ armored cars were rearmed with turrets from the Soviet T-26 model 1933 light tank.
Land and water amphibious vehicle top speed on land 40 km / h in water 12.5 km / h.
These direction finders were used to search for covert transmitters in the field.
Radar FuSE62. Summer 1944. In USSR
Light armored reconnaissance (special machine 221)
The 7.5 cm PaK 40 (7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40) was a German 7.5 centimetre anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall and used during the Second World War. PaK 40 formed the backbone of german anti-tank guns for the latter part of World War II.
Romanian soldiers with 7.92-mm easel pulimetom ZB-53
Heavy four-armored reconnaissance (special machine 231)
A SdKfz 223
The Leichter Panzerspähwagen (German: roughly "Light Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle") were a series of light four-wheel drive armoured cars produced by Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1944.
They were developed by Eisenwerk Weserhütte of Bad Oeynhausen. Chassis were built by Auto Union in Zwickau and assembled by F. Schichau of Elbing and Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen in Hanover-Linden.
It used the standard sPkw I Horch 801 (heavy car) chassis with an angled armoured body and turret.
The rear mounted engine was a 67 kW (90 hp) Horch 3.5 petrol engine, giving it a road speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) and a cross-country speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). It had a maximum range of 300 km (186 mi).
Used by the reconnaissance battalions (Aufklärungs-Abteilung) of the Panzer divisions, the type performed well enough in countries with good road networks, like those in Western Europe. However, on the Eastern Front and North Africa, this class of vehicle was hampered by its relatively poor off-road performance. In those theaters, it gradually found itself replaced in the reconnaissance role by the Sdkfz 250 half-track. The Sdkfz 250/9 was the Sdkfz 250 with the same turret as the Sdfkz 222.
The Sdkfz 222 was examined by Soviet designers before they created the similar BA-64 light armoured car.
Front and sides were made of 8 mm (0.3 in) steel; thinner 5 mm (0.2 in) plates protected the top, rear, and bottom. Cast vision ports later replaced ports cut into the armour. The open topped turret was fitted with wire mesh anti-grenade screens.
SdKfz. 221
Base model and first production series of light armoured car built on a standardized chassis for military use. The Sdkfz. 221 was armed with a single 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 (MG34) machine gun, manned by a two man crew, and had 4-wheel drive. Armour protection was originally 8 mm thick, but increased to 14.5 mm later in production.
SdKfz 221 mit 2.8cm
A 28 mm sPzB41 in a modified turret.
SdKfz. 222
This version of the vehicle was armed with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon and a 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun. The third crew member was the gunner, relieving the commander of that task. Some versions included a 28 mm armored piercing cannon. A prototype version included a 50 mm cannon. Two armored prototype versions were completed.
SdKfz. 223
Deutscher Panzerspähwagen
A radio car version, armed like the 221 with a 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun. Included additional radio equipment, and had a large "bed-frame" antenna over the vehicle. Over 500 of the SdKfz 223 were produced.
Kleine Panzerfunkwagen SdKfz 260
Kleine Panzerfunkwagen SdKfz 261
Another view of SdKfz 223
SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte
Notes:
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) was Adolf Hitler's personal Bodyguard Regiment ("Leibstandarte" being a somewhat archaic German expression for the personal bodyguard of a military leader). The LSSAH independently participated in combat during the Invasion of Poland. The LSSAH was amalgamated into the Waffen-SS together with the SS-VT and the combat units of the SS-TV prior to Operation Barbarossa in 1941. By the end of World War II it had been increased in size from a regiment to a Panzer division. The elite division was a component of the Waffen-SS which was found guilty of war crimes in the Nuremberg Trials.
Sturmtiger armament 380 mm mortar RW61. Sturmtiger is the common name of a World War II German assault gun built on the Panzer VI Tiger I chassis and armed with a large naval rocket launcher, the 38 cm Raketen-Werfer RW61 L/5.4. Its primary task was to provide heavy fire support for infantry units fighting in urban areas. The few vehicles produced fought in the Warsaw Uprising, the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Reichswald. The vehicle is also known under the names Tiger-Mörser, Sturmmörser Tiger and Sturmpanzer VI.
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Smart pose by these Wehrmacht men. They could have been used in recruitment posters!
