More Schwerer Panzerspahwagen (Fu) (Sd Kfz 232) 8-Rad

This was the Funkwagen version of the eight-wheeled armoured car-identical to the Sd.Kfz.231 (8-Rad) as regards its armament and traversing turret. The medium-range wireless equipment, however, was provided with a large frame-aerial mounted horizontally above the turret, extending approximately the whole length of the vehicle and curved down at each end. It was mounted on a pivot above the turret at the front and on two stays at the rear of the vehicle. The pivot mounting at the front allowed the turret to traverse; but when traversed to the rear, there was a danger of shooting away the supporting stays at low elevation and the rear of the aerial at high elevation. Like the Sd.Kfz.231 (8-Rad), this vehicle had a crew of four. 

In later models, the horizontal frame-aerial was replaced by a rod-aerial on the turret roof and a star aerial on the centre of the rear deck. The radio equipment in this vehicle was expensive and very complicated, and it therefore proved difficult to maintain.

Characteristics (differing from those of the Sd. Kfz.231 (8-Rad)

Weight, unladen: 7700kg (7.70 tons).

Weight, fully laden: 8800kg (8.80 tons) .

Axle loadings (all axles): 2275kg (2.3 tons).

Height, overall: 2900mm (9.50ft).

Armament: As for Sd.Kfz.231 but with the omission of the 7.62mm coaxial machine-gun.

Communication: R/T and WIT (medium-range) transmitter and receiver.

Autoblinda Lince

The Autoblinda Lince was an Italian armoured car used by the Italians during WWII. The Lince was almost an exact copy of the British Dingo MK 1 and was used primarily for reconnaissance purposes. The Autoblinda Lince was 90% a copy of the Daimler Dingo Mk 1A, though the rear motor deck and the interior fittings (for instance the MG, which was a Breda in a ball mounted support) were different, the roadwheels had a different pattern too. The Germans also used this vehicle which they designated as Panzerspähwagen Lince 202(i).

RSI used only one Lince, in "Leonessa " Armoured Gruop of GNR (National Republican Guard). There are nor documents nor photos about its use by other RSI's units.

Lince was used mainly by the German in Italy, especially in the eastern board against Communist partisans.

After the war the ones that were left  over from the war were used by Italian Police. Two Lince still remain, two at Cecchignola Museum (in working condition) and another one in a military site in Lecce.

Specifications

Place of Origin: Italy
Type: Armored Car
Crew: 2
Numbers Produced: 250
Armament: 1 x 8mm Breda M38
Armor (max.): 14mm
Speed (max.): 86 km/hr
Engine: 1 x SPA Abm 1
Length: 3.20 m
Width: 1.60 m
Height: 1.76 m
Weight: 3,110 kg 

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234 Series

The heavy Panzerspähwagen were a large and ungainly but a very fast addition to the German mobile arsenal of the early war years. The original 6-rad (6 wheels) versions were based on a 6x4 truck with armoured body, but by 1937 they were being replaced by the 8-rad versions. During the replacement, the Sd.Kfz numbers were carried directly over; differentiation is made by the addition of 6-Rad or 8-Rad (Ger: "6 wheel" or "8 wheel") in the vehicle name.

These vehicles first saw combat with the campaign against Poland and in the Battle of France. The radio communication cars proved their ability in infantry support, especially during street fighting. Later they saw use in both Russia and North Africa. Extreme climatic conditions in both these areas proved too severe for the vehicle. In Russia, adverse ground conditions immobilized 150 Sd.Kfz 232s during the first wet season of the campaign. In the desert, heat and sand created some maintenance problems. Still, the eight-wheeled cars turned out to be the best vehicles that Rommel had for long raids in across the wide desert territory.

The Sd.Kfz. 234 series were completely new designs, of a similar size and appearance to the Sd.Kfz. 232/3 series which they replaced. They were powered by a Tatra diesel. The most obvious external difference is the single-piece mudguards compared to the two-piece mudguards on the 232 series.

There were four main variants.

    234/1 - 1 x 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon, 1 x MG34 Machinegun. This design featured an open-topped turret. Around 200 were produced.

    234/2 "Puma" - 1 x 5 cm KwK 39 L/60, 1 x MG34. Employed a fully enclosed turret originally designed for the VK1602 Leopard light tank. The turret front was protected by 30 mm armor set at an angle of 20° from the vertical. The sides and rear had 10 mm armor set at 25°, and the top plate was 10 mm armor. The gun mantlet was rounded and was 40 to 100 mm thick. 101 were produced between September 1943 and September 1944.

    234/3 - 1 x 7.5 cm K51 L/24 in open-topped superstructure replacing the turret. 88 built between June and December, 1944.

    234/4 "Pakwagen" - 1 x 7.5 cm PaK 40 L/48 in open-topped superstructure replacing the turret. 89 built between December 1944 and March 1945.

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