This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Sd.Kfz. 4" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Sd.Kfz. 4 | |
---|---|
![]()
15 cmPanzerwerfer auf Sf (Sd.Kfz. 4/1) at the Saumur Tank Museum
| |
Type | Half-track/Multiple rocket launcher |
Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
Service history | |
Used by | Nazi Germany |
Wars | World War II |
Specifications | |
Mass | 7.1 tonnes |
Length | 6 m |
Width | 2.2 m |
Height | 2.5 m |
Crew | 4 |
Armor | 8 mm |
Main | 7.92 mmMG34orMG42 2,000 rounds |
Engine | 6-cylinder Opel 3.6-litre engine. |
Operational | 130 km |
Maximum speed | 40 km/h |
The Sd.Kfz. 4 was a 4.5-tonne military truck of Maultier ("mule") half-track family developed during World War IIbyGermany. Its manufacturer designation was Mercedes-Benz L4500R.
The Sd.Kfz. 4 was developed after the 1941 invasion of the USSR to deal with the ice and mud, which bogged down the wheels-only road-bound commercial vehicles that were used to supply German forces. It was a modified Standard Mercedes-Benz L4500S (4x2) with Horstmann suspension instead of a rear axle. Another manufacturer of 4.5-t truck, Büssing planned a similar conversion of its Büssing-NAG L4500S but did not proceed.
A total of 22,500 Maultier halftracks were produced by 1944, among which 1480 were 4.5-t. Sd.Kfz. 4, others 2-t. Sd.Kfz. 3. In 1943 Opel was directed to build armored vehicles outfitted with 15 cm Panzerwerfer42 rocket launchers.[1] These vehicles were designated Sd.Kfz. 4/1, with around 300 produced. Given the extra weight of the Panzerwerfer, the top speed was only 24 mph (40 km/h). Another multiple rocket launching system, the 8 cm Raketen-Vielfachwerfer, was also fitted to the Sd.Kfz. 4 chassis.
The vast majority of Maultiers operated using British-pattern Carden-Loyd running gear, with the exception of the Type L4500R, which used PzKpfw. II running gear. The 6-cylinder engines were mated to a transmission with five forward gears plus reverse and could attain a maximum forward speed of 40 km/h. Each halftrack was equipped with the FuG Spr G f radio.
Aside from the Sd.Kfz. 4/1, the Sd.Kfz. 4 was armed only with a light 7.92 mmMG 34orMG 42 machine gun with a traverse of 270° and elevation limits of -12° to +80°.
| ||
---|---|---|
Tanks |
| |
Self-propelled artillery |
| |
Assault guns |
| |
Tank destroyers (Panzerjäger, Jagdpanzer) |
| |
Half-tracks |
| |
Armored cars |
| |
Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns |
| |
Demolition vehicles |
| |
Experimental vehicles, prototypes |
| |
Proposed designs |
| |
Designations |
| |
German armored fighting vehicle production during World War II |