Sd.Kfz. 7th

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Use in the Africa Corps with 8.8 cm flak
Sd.Kfz. 7 with a light anti-aircraft gun in a snowy Russian landscape, photo of a propaganda company from March 1944

The Sd.Kfz. 7 ( S on d er K raft f ahr z eug 7 - Mitteler Zugkraftwagen 8 t ) was a half-track vehicle of the German Wehrmacht . It was used on all fronts as an artillery tractor for the heavier German guns such as the 8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37 and the 15 cm field howitzer 18 during the Second World War .

history

The Sd.Kfz. 7 was developed by the Krauss-Maffei company between 1934 and 1938; construction took place from 1938 at Krauss-Maffei in Munich, at Borgward in Bremen and at the Saurer works in Vienna. The production price of the tractor was 36,000 RM .

The engine from Maybach Motorenbau had an output of 85 kW in the first version, but was eventually replaced by a larger engine with 103 kW. The tractor offered space for twelve men with equipment and could even then carry additional ammunition and equipment.

Production in the German Reich was stopped in 1944, and vehicles confiscated by the Allies after the war were used by their own troops.

variants

  • Sd.Kfz. 7 / 0- Medium towing vehicle 8 t
  • Sd.Kfz. 7/1 - Self-propelled gun 2 cm Flakvierling 38 on chassis 8 t towing vehicle
  • Sd.Kfz. 7/2 - Self-propelled gun 3.7 cm Flak 36 on chassis 8 t towing vehicle
  • Sd.Kfz. 7/3 - Armored fire control vehicle for missiles A4 (launch control vehicle )
  • Sd.Kfz. 7/6 - anti-aircraft test vehicles / anti-aircraft measuring troop vehicles
Sd.Kfz. 7/1 in the Defense Technology Study Collection Koblenz

Technical specifications

Technical data Sd.Kfz. 7th
Length:
Width
Height: 		6,850 mm
2,350 mm
2,620 mm
Engine: In-line six-cylinder gasoline engine
Maybach HL 62 (6191 cm³)
Power: 103 kW (140 PS)
Top speed: 50 km / h
Weight: 9,700 kg empty, max. 11,550 kg
Landing gear: front rigid axle with transverse leaf springs, rear two caterpillar tracks with torsion bar suspension
Range: Road 250 km,
terrain 120 km

References

See also

literature

  • Wolfgang Fleischer / Richard Eiermann: The motorized artillery and tank artillery of the German army 1935-1945. Podzun-Pallas Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-7909-0721-9 .
  • OKW: Regulation D 607/5, medium towing vehicle 8t (Sd. Kfz. 7), spare parts list for the chassis and body. 1939.
  • OKW: Regulation D 607/8, medium towing vehicle 8t (Sd. Kfz. 7), type KMm 9, 10 and HLm10, spare parts list for the chassis. 1938.

Web links

Commons : Sd.Kfz. 7  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Fleischer / Richard Eiermann: The motorized artillery and tank artillery of the German army 1935-1945 , p. 32
  2. ↑ Vehicles of the Wehrmacht - "Maybach Motors"