| Sd.Kfz.234 | |
|---|---|
| Sd.Kfz.234 / 1 | |
| Classification | heavy armored car |
| Combat weight, t | 11.5 |
| Layout scheme | aft and engine compartment, a fighting compartment and a frontal control compartment |
| Crew , pers. | four |
| Story | |
| Manufacturer |  Germany Büssing-NAG |
| Years of production | 1944 - 1945 |
| Years of operation | 1944 - 1945 |
| Number issued, pcs. | 200 (478 all modifications from Sd.Kfz.234 / 1 to Sd.Kfz.234 / 4) |
| Key operators | Germany |
| Dimensions | |
| Case length, mm | 5860 |
| Width, mm | 2330 |
| Height mm | 2100, on the roof of the tower |
| Base, mm | 4,000 |
| Track, mm | 1950 |
| Clearance , mm | 350 |
| Booking | |
| Armor type | rolled steel, surface hardened |
| The forehead of the body (top), mm / deg. | 30/40 ° |
| The forehead of the body (middle), mm / deg. | 15/70 ° |
| The forehead of the body (bottom), mm / deg. | 30 / 35—55 ° |
| Board of the case (top), mm / hail. | 8/35 ° |
| Board of the case (bottom), mm / hail. | 8/35 ° |
| Body feed (top), mm / deg. | 10/38 ° |
| Body feed (bottom), mm / deg. | 10 / 31—46 ° |
| Bottom, mm | five |
| Roof of the case, mm | 6 |
| Front of the tower, mm / deg. | 30/40 ° |
| Mask guns , mm / hail. | 10/40 ° |
| Board turret, mm / deg. | 10/40 ° |
| Feed tower, mm / deg. | 8/38 ° |
| The roof of the tower, mm | open |
| Armament | |
| Caliber and brand gun | 20mm KwK.38 |
| Gun type | threaded automatic |
| Barrel length, calibers | 55 |
| Ammunition gun | 480 |
| HV angles, deg. | −4… + 70 ° |
| Angles GN, hail. | 360 ° |
| Sights | telescopic TZF3a |
| Machine guns | 1 7.92 mm MG-42 |
| Mobility | |
| Engine type | V-shaped 12- cylinder diesel air cooled |
| Engine power, l. with. | 210 |
| Speed on the highway, km / h | 80 |
| Cruising on the highway , km | 1000 |
| Cruising over rough terrain, km | 600 |
| Specific power, l. s./t | 17.9 |
| Wheel formula | 8 × 8 |
| Suspension type | semi-independent, on leaf springs |
| Overcoming rise, hail. | thirty |
| Breakable wall, m | 0.50 |
| Overcoming ditch, m | 2.00 |
| Overcoming ford , m | 1.20 |
Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (2 cm) - German heavy armored car of the Second World War . According to the German departmental system of designations of military equipment wore Sd.Kfz.234 index [1] .
Content
History
It was created in 1940 - 1943 to replace the Sd.Kfz.231 (8-Rad) armored vehicle, and was designed primarily for the conditions of the North African theater of operations and the Soviet-German front . The frontal armor was strengthened to 30 mm, instead of a frame body, a carrying gasoline engine was replaced with a more powerful air-cooled diesel from the Tatra-111 truck.
Sd.Kfz.234 was one of the most technically advanced armored cars of the Second World War, but its creation, above all the refinement which was an innovation in the German tank building of a diesel engine , dragged on for three years. As a result, the armored car, the production of the basic version of which began only in 1944 and continued until the end of the war, was released by a relatively small series of 478 units. [one]
Development
It cannot be said that on the eve and during the Second World War many samples of armored vehicles were created in Germany . Britain, for example, has succeeded in this matter much more. In Germany, after the outbreak of the war, only one armored car was developed, but what kind!
The order to create a new armored car, designed to replace the cars on the basis of the GS chassis, was received from the Ministry of Arms on August 5, 1941. Tactical and technical requirements provided for the ability of the machine to operate in the extreme conditions of the Sahara: it was for the North African theater that the new armored car was created first. To increase the power reserve, the car was planned to be equipped with an air-cooled diesel engine with a capacity of more than 200 hp. Particular attention was paid to the ventilation of the crew compartment.
Creation of a new armored car was entrusted to Bussing-NAG. The tower for the armored car was created by two companies at once: Daimler-Benz AG and Friend-rich Schichau. The Czech company Tatra received an order to design a 12-cylinder diesel engine with a volume of 14,800 cm³ and a power of 210 hp. at 2200 rpm The engine weight should not exceed 700kg. The first two prototypes were presented to the Ministry of Armaments at the end of 1941. At Bussing-NAG, the prototype was given a factory designation-ARK (Achtradkraftwagen - an eight-wheeled vehicle). After a short test, the representatives of the army demanded that the Tatra 103 diesel be modified. The military’s remarks related primarily to the engine cooling and power system. In addition, in the opinion of the military, diesel produced too much noise during operation, which quickly tired the crew. To reduce the noise level, it was necessary to radically rework the exhaust system. [2]
Organizational structure
Sd.Kfz.234 were used by German troops, mainly in reconnaissance battalions of tank and motorized divisions from June 1944 and up to the end of the war - by states 1162d from 1.3.1944 (company from 19,234/1) and 11162 (fG) from 1.4. 1945 (company with 9,234/1 and 8,234/4) in a company of armored vehicles of the reconnaissance battalion from 19 to 17 armored vehicles, including the last staff of 8 armored vehicles of fire support 234/4 with 75-mm cannons [3] .
Combat use
Armored cars fought on the Soviet-German and Western fronts - out of 39 tank and motorized divisions and brigades that received Sd.Kfz.234 armored cars of various modifications in 1944 - 45 , many fought on the eastern, but many on the western fronts.
For example, Pz.Ler.Divizion (training tank division) on June 6 - August 17, 1944 in Normandy, from November 1944 to April 1945 in Adennakh, the Netherlands and Roure [4] . 1.Ss LAH (1st Panzer Division Adolph Hitler Leibstandart) June 6 - August 22, 1944 in Normandy, December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945 in Adennakh, March 6 - 16, in the offensive in Hungary [5] . 2.Pz.Div. (2nd Panzer Division) June 6, 1944 - May 7, 1945 in Normandy, the Ardennes, and West Germany [6] . 20.Pz.Div. (20th Panzer Division) in March - June 1944 in the battles of Nevel, Bobruisk and Hill. In June 1944, the division was surrounded as a result of the Soviet offensive, and it had to push through despite crushing losses. After being transferred to Army Group South Ukraine (on a plot considered calm), the 20th Panzer Division again suffered huge losses as a result of the Soviet offensive and the fact that Romania had gone over to the enemy and the front line collapsed. In November 1944, the remnants of the division in East Prussia, and in December it was sent to Hungary. After departing for Austria, the division was sent to Silesia, where it participated in the battles of Breslau, Schweidnitz and Neuss. In April 1945, the division was defeated by the Red Army under the Gerlitz and rejected in Bohemia, where it ended the war in the cauldron east of Prague in May 1945 [7] . 7.Pz.Div. (7th Panzer Division) in the area of Tarnopol ( Ternopil ) until March 1944, when it was defeated and with the 1st Panzer Army was surrounded. The remnants of the division escaped, but none of its "tigers" survived it. On April 21, 1944, the once-powerful 7th TD, there were 1,872 combat-ready soldiers and officers, 9 guns, 11 anti-tank guns and 9 tanks (of which 1 trophy T-34). [8] 150. SS-Panzer-Brigade ( SS SS 150th Brigade) December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945 in the Adennas offensive using 3 Sd.Kfz.234 / 2 Puma , 3,234 / 3 and a significant amount of trophy equipment and forms [9] [10] .
That is, out of six divisions and brigades, three fought only in the west, two in the east only, and one in both.
Modifications
- Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (2 cm) , Sd.Kfz.234 / 1 - the basic version, with a 20-mm cannon KwK 30 in the open at the top of the tower. Issued 200 units from June 1944 to January 1945
- Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (5 cm) , Sd.Kfz.234 / 2 - version with a 50mm KwK 39 cannon in a closed turret. It was put into production first, in connection with the demands of the army for reinforcement of reconnaissance armored vehicles, but in 1943 it was decided to reduce its output in favor of the production of the base case. Issued 101 units from September 1943 to September 1944
- Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (7.5 cm) , Sd.Kfz.234 / 3 is a fire support variant, with a 75-mm K51 short-barreled cannon in a fixed open top cabin. 88 units produced from June to December 1944
- Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (7.5 cm) , Sd.Kfz.234 / 4 is an anti-tank variant, with a 75-mm PaK.40 anti-tank cannon , located in the combat compartment open at the top and protected only by a front shield. Issued 89 units from December 1944 to March 1945.
All by [1]
A miniature model of Sd.Kfz.234 / 2 Puma in the tank museum in Munster
Sd.Kfz.234 / 3 in the tank museum in Bovington
Sd.Kfz.234 / 4 in the tank museum in Munster
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Sd.Kfz.234 Heavy armored vehicle
- ↑ Development (rus.) // World of Models LLC: Journal. - p . 2 .
- ↑ Panzereinheiten - states of tank, reconnaissance, motorized infantry and motorcycle divisions of tank, motorized infantry, motorcycle, reconnaissance and light formations and units
- ↑ English-speaking Wikipedia Panzer Lehr Division - tank training division
- ↑ English SS Wikipedia 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler - 1st Panzer Division SS SS Leibstandart Adolf Hitler
- ↑ English Wikipedia 2nd Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) - 2nd Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
- ↑ 20th Panzer Division (Germany)
- ↑ 7th Panzer Division (Germany)
- ↑ 150. Ranzerbrigade - 150th Tank Brigade (inaccessible link) . The date of circulation is December 25, 2017. Archived December 1, 2017.
- ↑ 150. Ranzerbrigade - 150th Tank Brigade and Operation Grief
Literature
- Baryatinsky M. v. Wehrmacht Armored Vehicles. - M .: Model Designer, 2007. - 32 p. - (Armored collection number 1 (70) / 2007). - 2500 copies
- P. Chamberlain, HL Doyle. Encyclopedia of the German Tanks of World War Two. A complete illustrated history of German war tanks, armored cars, self-propelled guns and semi-tracked vehicles, 1933-1945 / TL Jentz. - London: Arms and Armor Press, 1978. - 272 p. - ISBN 0-85368-202-X .
- TL Jentz. Panzerspähwagen. Armored Cars. Sd.Kfz.3 to Sd.Kfz.263. - Boyds, MD: Panzer Tracts, 2001. - 60 p. - (Panzer Tracts number 13). - ISBN 0-97084-074-8 .
- M. Baryatinsky World of Tanks magazine