The Sd.Kfz. 234 (''

Sonderkraftfahrzeug ''Sonderkraftfahrzeug'' (abbreviated ''Sd.Kfz.'', German language, German for "special purpose vehicle") was the Military logistics, ordnance inventory designation used by Nazi Germany before and during World War II for military vehicles; for examp ...

234'', Special Purpose Vehicle 234), was a family of

armoured cars Armored (or armoured) car may refer to: Wheeled armored vehicles * Armored car (military), a wheeled armoured fighting vehicle * Armored car (valuables), an armored van or truck used to transport valuables * Armored car (VIP), a civilian vehic ...

designed and built in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The vehicles were lightly armoured, armed with a 20, 50 or 75 mm main gun, and powered by a Tatra V12 diesel engine.Fletcher, David. ''Hup, Two - Three - Four''. Classic Military Vehicle, 2001, Volume 1 Issue 4 p. 48-51. The Sd.Kfz. 234 broadly resembles the appearance of ''Sd.Kfz.'' 231 (8 ''rad'').

Development

Armoured wheeled vehicles were developed early in Germany after the end of World War I, since they were not subject to the restrictions of the

Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...

. The Sd.Kfz. 234 belonged to the ARK series (type designation of the chassis) and was the successor to the earlier Sd.Kfz. 231/232/233 (8-Rad), which belonged to the GS series. The combat experience of fast-moving, hard-hitting wheeled

reconnaissance vehicle A reconnaissance vehicle, also known as a scout vehicle, is a military vehicle used for forward reconnaissance. Both tracked and wheeled reconnaissance vehicles are in service. In some nations, light tanks such as the M551 Sheridan and AMX-13 h ...

s during the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

's early invasions of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

impressed German military officials, but indicated some deficiencies in existing designs. A new armoured car project was thus undertaken in August 1940, incorporating several lessons from the Wehrmacht's own external operations.Green, Michael. Anderson, Thomas. Schulz, Frank. ''German Tanks of World War II''. Zenith Imprint, 2000. The latest

Büssing Büssing AG was a German bus and truck manufacturer, established in 1903 by Heinrich Büssing (1843–1929) in Braunschweig. It quickly evolved to one of the largest European producers, whose utility vehicles with the Brunswick Lion emblem were w ...

- NAG Sd.Kfz. 232 variant, the Sd.Kfz. 234 was designed later that year.Hogg and Weeks, p.185, "Sd.Kfz. 232, 233, and 234 (8 rad) Armoured Cars". It was to have a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

chassis with eight wheels, and an air-cooled engine for use in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. Chassis were built by Büssing-NAG in Leipzig-Wahren, while armoured bodies were provided by

Deutsche Edelstahlwerke Deutsch ( , ) or Deutsche ( , ) may refer to: * or : the German language or in particular Standard German, spoken in central European countries and other places *Old High German language refers to Deutsch as a way to define the primary characteris ...

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

and turrets by

Daimler Benz Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacturers. Daimler-B ...

in Berlin-

Marienfelde Marienfelde () is a locality in southwest Berlin, Germany, part of the Tempelhof-Schöneberg borough. The former village, incorporated according to the Greater Berlin Act of 1920, today is a mixed industrial and residential area. Geography The ...

and Schichau of Elbing, with engines from Ringhoffer-Tatra-Werke AG of Nesselsdorf. The first trials with the prototype started around July, 1942. Due to problems with the excessive noise of the first engine, a second model was developed, the Tatra 103. The vehicle had eight-wheel steering and was able to quickly change direction thanks to a second, rear-facing, driver's seat; the transmission had six forward and reverse gears, with traction over the eight wheels. Power was provided by an air-cooled Tatra 103

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

. The Sd.Kfz. 234 was the first and only German armoured vehicle to use an air cooled diesel engine. This was originally intended as a temporary solution until the engine could be redesigned to function better in harsher tropical climates, however, this never happened and thus the Tatra 103 was used until the end of production. The first and possibly best known version was the Sd.Kfz. 234/2; it had a turret armed with a 5 cm L/60 gun, which was originally intended for the VK 1602 ''Leopard'' light tank. It was produced from late 1943 to mid 1944. This variant was replaced in production by the second version, the Sd.Kfz. 234/1, which had a simpler open turret (''Hängelafette 38'') armed with a 2 cm KwK 38 gun; it was manufactured from mid 1944 to early 1945. 5-cm-KwK 39 L-60 Munster

The Sd.Kfz. 234/3, produced simultaneously with the 234/1, served as a support vehicle for the reconnaissance vehicles. It had an open-topped superstructure, in which a short-barreled 7.5 cm K51 L/24 gun was installed. This gun was intended for use against "soft" targets; however, when using a hollow charge shell, the penetration power exceeded that of the 5 cm L/60 gun. This variant was produced from mid 1944 to the end of 1944, before switching production to the 234/4. The final variant produced was the Sd.Kfz. 234/4, which replaced the L/24 gun with the 7.5 cm L/46 PaK 40. This was yet another attempt to increase the mobility of this anti-tank gun; however, the 234 chassis was stretched to its limits. This variant was manufactured from the end of 1944 to the end of hostilities in 1945.

Service history

Protracted engine development meant that the desert campaign was over before the 234 arrived, but it nevertheless proved useful on the Eastern and Western Fronts. It was quite formidable, but not many were built before it was replaced by the simpler 234/1, with a 20mm gun, in 1944. The Sd.Kfz. 234 was commonly used in pairs, one equipped with a long-range radio communications kit while the other possessed only a short-range radio. The long-range unit was identifiable by the large "star" antenna on the left side of the vehicle. Some sources suggest that the Sd.Kfz. 234/2 was used by the following combat units: *

Panzer Lehr Division The Panzer-Lehr-Division (tank teaching division) was an elite German armoured division during World War II. It was formed in 1943 onwards from training and demonstration troops (''Lehr'' = "teach") stationed in Germany, to provide additional a ...

- 25 vehicles *

2nd Panzer Division The 2nd Panzer Division (English: 2nd Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II. Created as one of the original three German tank divisions in 1935, it was stationed in Austria after the Anschluss ...

- 25 vehicles *

1st SS Panzer Division The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH (), began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding the Führer's person, offices, and residences. Initially th ...

- 16 vehicles * 20th Panzer Division - 16 vehicles * 7th Panzer Division - unconfirmed * 13th Panzer Division - unconfirmed * Brandenburg Panzer Grenadier Division - 2 issued January 1945

Variants

There were four main variants: * Sd.Kfz. 234/1 – 1 x 2 cm KwK 38

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...

with the longer L/65 Flakbarrel, 1 x 7.92mm

MG 42 The MG 42 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr 42'', or "machine gun 42") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Enter ...

machine gun. This design featured an open-topped turret and a gun mount capable of +70 degrees elevation for air defence. Around 200 produced. * Sd.Kfz. 234/2 – 1 x 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 gun, 1 x MG 42. Employed a fully enclosed turret originally designed for the VK 1602 ''Leopard'' light tank. The turret front was protected by armor at an angle of 20° from the vertical. The sides and rear had 10 mm armor set at 25°, and the top plate was armor. The gun mantlet was rounded and was thick. 101 built between September 1943 and September 1944. * Sd.Kfz. 234/3 – 1 x 7.5 cm K51 L/24 gun in open-topped superstructure replacing the turret. 88 built between June and December 1944. * Sd.Kfz. 234/4 – 1 x 7.5 cm PaK 40 L/46 gun in open-topped superstructure replacing the turret. 89 built between December 1944 and March 1945.

References

Sources

* Hogg, Ian V. ''Greenhill Armoured Fighting Vehicles Data Book'', p. 221, "Sd.Kfz. 234/1", "Sd.Kfz. 234/2", "Sd.Kfz. 234/3", & "Sd.Kfz. 234/4". London: Greenhill Books, 2000. . * Hogg, Ian V., and Weeks, John. ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of Military Vehicles'', p. 185, "Sd.Kfz. 232, 233, and 234 (8 rad) Armoured Cars". London: Hamlyn, 1980. . *
s. Pz. Sp. Wg. (5 cm) Sd. Kfz. 234/2: German 8-Wheeled Armored Car
", Catalog of Enemy Ordnance, U.S. Office of Chief of Ordnance, 1945.

Development

Service history

Variants

References

Sources

Further reading