Sour RR-7
The Saurer RR-7 was an artillery tug of the Austrian Armed Forces and later a reconnaissance tank of the German Wehrmacht .
history
In 1936 the Österreichische Saurerwerke received an order to develop an artillery tug for the armed forces to replace older tugs and tractors. Construction began in 1936 and was completed in 1937. A construction contract for 15 vehicles was again placed in 1938, but only 12 of them had been completed by the time Austria was annexed .
In May 1938, the Army Weapons Office awarded Saurerwerke in Vienna an order to develop a wheeled caterpillar vehicle. Saurer decided to use a new version of their RR-7. They presented a first sample of the further development in 1942, which (apparently) was rejected again. Instead, the old RR-7 continued to be produced. This was followed by an order for 140 vehicles, of which only 128 were accepted. The RR-7 was now called Sd.Kfz. 254 and used as a reconnaissance vehicle (official name: "armored observation vehicle").
Technical specifications
The RR-7 was a so-called wheeled caterpillar vehicle, which means that it had both normal wheels like a car and a chain drive like a tank . The crew could switch between the two types of propulsion as required. The model presented by Saurer in 1942 was to receive a rotating turret in which the two weapons were to be installed.
The two RR-7 versions only differed in a few points. Except for the tower, the vehicles were almost identical. Data that deviate from the version produced are given in brackets in the following table.
| Manufacturer / developer | More sour |
| Weight | 6.4 t (6.5 t) |
| length | 4.5 m |
| width | 2.4 m |
| height | 2 m on chains; 2.2 m on wheels |
| Chain width | 240 mm |
| Armament | 1 MG 34 (1 MG 34, 1 anti-tank rifle in the turret) |
| Armor | 6–15 mm (front armor 14.5 mm) |
| crew | 4 men (3 men) |
| engine | Four-cylinder - diesel engine ; 5.3 l displacement; 70 HP (100 HP diesel engine) |
| speed | 60 km / h (bike 80 km / h; chain 30 km / h) |
| Range | 72 l fuel supply Off- road 90 km road on wheels 425 km |
