SDKFZ 234 /2 Puma and series information sought

They all started as a truck chassis with more or less plate on top. Go back to WW1 and look up a bit.

If you want to see the best errofts in these see the improvised vehicles in the Spanish Civil War, but for me the very best is this:



:icon-mrgreenbandit:

Venezuela -
A small number of armored recce vehicles were fabricated at the Puert Cabello Naval Arsenal. These were rather similar to a turtle in appearance and thus were dubbed "Tortuga" ( Turtle) The "Tortuga" was designed by an engineer called Tomás Pacanins,. The chassis was a Ford 6x4 commercial vehicle, a rotating turret, and armed according to with a Vickers Mk, 4b 7 mm machine gun (the ones shown on the photo above show a Hotchkiss Mod. 1931 13.2 mm according to Dr. Georg von Rauch). It is believed that 12 units were built but only five were displayed. In the event the vehicles were poorly designed, offered poor visibility and no ventilation. The extreme overhang on their bodies rendered them clumsy at hard to maneuver.

from TANKS!

 

I still don't understand vP's digressions, mainly what are those modern APCs doing in the firt page. As for the Panhard EBR-75, it had a long and honourable career in the Portuguese army including a (more or less) shooting war, no reason to disparage it.

As for the best performing alt-terrain heavy ACs in WW2, I don't know, but remember that by concept these cars are made to be used mainly on the road, to go off-road you would use specialist vehicles, like half- or full-tracks. These German 8-wheelers had a good off-road reputation.

My firm has a lot of 4x4 vehicles. They do fine on the road, but problem was when my boss believed what the salesmen said and gave them intense off-road use. Complete disaster, availability rates of 75% and less due to transmission breakages, collapsed suspensions, whatnot! And these are peacetime vehicles, all brand new.

 

Quick pic of the ADGZ; 8x8, not clear on the steering arrangement but 4 wheel steer looks likely?? dunno.:

Cheers,
Adam.

Some lovely pictures of it at:

Panzerwagen ADGZ

 

i dont see how anyone can take that thing seriously

 

OK, not an armoured car but still strange:



ALKETT VsKfz 617 MINENRÄUMER<o></o> (1942-1945)

By Rob Arndt<o></o>
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Early manufacture of the Alkett VsKfz 617 hull




The completed Minesweeper, painted and mounting the Pzkpfw I Ausf B turret<o></o>
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This bizarre armored tractor was jointly designed by Alkett, Krupp and Mercedes-Benz with a silhouette truly worthy of a machine of science fiction.
<o></o>
The hull of the vehicle was covered in variable shielding between 10-40 mm, with a floor shielding of 40 mm designed to resist the explosion of multiple mines. The floor itself was reinforced by an additional shielding of 20 mm inside the machine for added protection. <o></o>
<o></o>
The first prototype VsKfz was completed in 1942. The presence of manufacturing plates in the vehicle makes it possible to establish the following conclusions: The manufacturer was Alkett of Berlin and on a plate Nmr VsKfz 617 and Nmr 9537 is engraved. VsKfz 617 refers to a Pzkfw 1 tank and 9537 is the chassis number. That would imply that the turret is of an Ausf. A type but this one has the specific characteristics of an Ausf. B; in particular, the hooks of turret (Traghaken) are located on the top and not the side walls of an Ausf. A. The superstructure possesses a turret of the Pz.Kpfw I tank which is equipped with two 7.92mm MG-34 machine guns ensuring the close defense of the machine. <o></o>
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During these ground displacements, the changes of direction were accomplished by orientation of an aft wheel controlled by a system of chains actuated by a wheel. The mobility of the machine was ensured by two enormous discs on which heavy mobile shoes were fixed which were theoretically resistant to the explosions of all mines. These shoes have a form resembling those which equipped the wheels of heavy pieces of German PAK artillery. The principal role of the vehicle was the detonation of mines to obtain a cleared access path for German infantry and AFVs. This was to be achieved by the exercise of a very strong ground pressure using the nine shoes with permanent ground contact.<o></o>
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During the trial tests, it proved that this vehicle was unsuited to the operations of modern mechanized warfare. Its ponderous weight, slow speed, and its awkward size made the Minenräumer (minesweeper) a large target for opposing artillery and the project was thus abandoned. <o></o>
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In April 1945, during their advance, Soviet troops captured this vehicle in the center of the testing grounds of Kummersdorf. Stored a few times in <st1:city><st1>Dresden</st1></st1:city>, it was then dispatched to the <st1:country-region><st1>USSR</st1></st1:country-region>. In 1947, it underwent several evaluation tests. Unfortunately, the bad conditions of storage and the carriage had caused irrevocable damage with the mine clearance system so the tests were limited to a short evaluation of movements instead. <o></o>
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The Alkett VsKfz now resides in the<st1><st1> Kubinka</st1><st1> Museum</st1></st1> outside <st1:city><st1>lMoscow</st1></st1:city>
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Technical Data:<o></o>
<o></o>
LENGTH 6.28 METERS (20.724 ft)<o></o>
WIDTH 3.22 METERS (10.626 ft)<o></o>
HEIGHT 2.90 METERS (9.57 ft)<o></o>
WEIGHT 50 TONS (100,000 lbs)<o></o>
SHIELDING BETWEEN 10-40 mm (up to 1.6 in)<o></o>
ARMAMENT 2x 7.92mm MG34<o></o>
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Color photo from the <st1><st1>Russian</st1><st1> Kubinka</st1><st1> Museum</st1></st1> revealing the size of the beast
and twin MG armament courtesy of A. Beck DR

 

?? now that really is a digression Kyt, or 'completely unrelated' ??
(nice side view of it though, hadn't seen those before),



:sign_blah: Boo sucks to you ..........................



....................... shan't play anymore :tongue:

 

Here's the civilian version:

 

Not sure the Staghound is inthe same class as the Puma, I guess its a heavy armoured car.

One of the things that I find quite interesting is the body. Like the kfz251 there isnt a horizontal plate on the whole thing. The lower parts are angled as well as the top. I guess the suspension and transmission shafts are quite exposed to damage and no attempt is made to armour them (though I wonder if its still goes with a wheel missing??I betcha it does) but the angles of the lower body is design to deflect blast (mines?) and shot. Really clever, but i guess more expensive and dififcult to make and cutting down on interior space.

Gotta remeber this thing is nearly as fast a scorpion tank and certinally quick enough to overtake a modern truck on the motorway. Western desert they must have been in their element. imagine trying to hit it with limited traverse Lee main gun as the bloody thing does 60 round your arse.

Kev

 

Here's one painting guide.
ARMOR CAMOUFLAGE & MARKINGS By: G. BRADFORD


Thanks mate, thats really good.

c U in ET.

Kev

 

From D-Day to Berlin by Terence Wise. Arms & Armour Press.page 76.
Very similar scheme to other post, Kev.



Thats it really, thats the one.

Kev