Leichter Panzerspähwagen
Encyclopedia
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
from 1935 to 1944.
They were developed by Eisenwerk Weserhütte of Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...
. Chassis were built by Auto Union
Auto Union
Auto Union was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony, during the Great Depression. The company has evolved into present day Audi, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group....
in Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
and assembled by F. Schichau of Elbing
Elbing
Elbing is the German name of Elbląg, a city in northern Poland which until 1945 was a German city in the province of East Prussia.Elbing may also refer to:- Ships :* SMS Elbing, light cruiser of the Imperial Germany Navy...
and Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
-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
Horch
Horch was a car brand manufactured in Germany by August Horch & Cie, at the beginning of the 20th century.-History at a Glance:The company was established first by August Horch and his first business partner Salli Herz on November 14, 1899 at Ehrenfeld, Cologne. August Horch was a former production...
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 division
Panzer Division
A panzer division was an armored division in the army and air force branches of the Wehrmacht as well as the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II....
s, the type performed well enough in countries with good road networks, like those in Western Europe. However, on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
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
SdKfz 250
The Sd.Kfz. 250 was a light armoured halftrack, very similar in appearance to the larger Hanomag-designed Sd.Kfz. 251, and built by the DEMAG firm, for use by Nazi Germany in World War II....
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
BA-64
The BA-64 was a 4×4 light armoured car, employed by the Soviet Army from 1942 into the early 1960s for reconnaissance and liaison tasks.The BA-64B was nicknamed 'Bobik' by its crews. The total recorded number of BA-64s produced differs even in Russian sources...
light armoured car.
Front and sides were made of 8 mm (0.31496062992126 in) steel
Rolled homogeneous armour
Rolled homogeneous armour is a type of steel which is used to armour vehicles.-Composition:Armoured steel must be hard yet impervious to shock in order to resist high velocity metal projectiles. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and...
; thinner 5 mm (0.196850393700787 in) plates protected the top, rear, and bottom. Cast vision ports later replaced ports cut into the armour. The open topped turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
was fitted with wire mesh anti-grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
screens.
Variants
SdKfz. 221Base 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
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
, 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
2.8 cm sPzB 41
2.8 cm schwere Panzerbüchse 41 or "Panzerbüchse 41" was a German anti-tank weapon working on the squeeze bore principle. Officially classified as heavy anti-tank rifle , it would be better described, and is widely referred to, as a light anti-tank gun.-Description:Although the sPzB 41 was...
in a modified turret.
SdKfz. 222
This version of the vehicle was armed with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55
2 cm KwK 30
The 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 was a German 2 cm cannon used primarily as the chief weapon of the German SdKfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II light tank...
autocannon
Autocannon
An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...
and a 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
.
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
Panzerfunkwagen
A radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
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.
Kleiner Panzerfunkwagen SdKfz 260
Kleiner Panzerfunkwagen SdKfz 261
An unarmed radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
car version. Included additional radio equipment, and had a large "bed-frame" antenna over the vehicle. Generally used for signals use, three were used as armoured cars in Finland.