Sd.Kfz. 247

Sd.Kfz. 247
Type Armored car
Place of origin Nazi Germany
Service history
In service 1937–45
Used by Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Krupp (Ausf. A), Daimler-Benz (Ausf. B)
Manufacturer Krupp (Ausf. A), Daimler-Benz (Ausf. B)
Produced 1937 (Ausf. A), 1941–43 (Ausf. B)
Number built 10 (Ausf. A), 58 (Ausf. B)
Variants Ausf. A
Specifications (Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf. B)
Weight 4.46 tonnes (4.39 long tons; 4.92 short tons)
Length 5 metres (16 ft)
Width 2 metres (6.6 ft)
Height 1.8 metres (5.9 ft)
Crew 6
Armor 6–8 millimetres (0.24–0.31 in)
Engine Horch 8-cylinder, water-cooled 3.8 petrol
81 metric horsepower (80 hp)
Power/weight 18.1 HP/t
Transmission 5 x 1
Suspension coil spring
Ground clearance 23 centimetres (9.1 in)
Fuel capacity 160 litres (42 US gal)
Operational
range
 400 km (250 mi) (road)
270 km (170 mi) (cross-country)
Speed 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph)

The Sd.Kfz. 247 was an armored command car used by the German Armed Forces during World War II. Before the war, ten six-wheeled models (Ausf. A) were built; this was followed during the war by 58 four-wheeled models (Ausf. B). The proper name was schwerer geländegängiger gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen ("Heavy All-Terrain Armoured Motor Vehicle").

Description

The Sd.Kfz. 247 had an open-topped, thinly armored body placed on a wheeled chassis. It was unarmed as its six-man crew was not intended to fight; rather, it was intended for use by the commanders of motorcycle and motorized reconnaissance battalions, although neither version was fitted with any radios.[1] Its armor was intended to stop 7.92-millimetre (0.312 in) armor-piercing bullets at ranges over 30 metres (33 yd). Photographic evidence shows some Ausf. B vehicles were retro-fitted with a star-shaped radio antenna mounted inside the crew compartment, and an additional armor plate bolted to the lower glacis of the hull.[2]

Ausf. A

Krupp built ten Ausf. A models on the chassis of its L 2 H 143 6 × 4 truck (Krupp Protze) in 1937. Its 4-cylinder air-cooled gasoline flat engine 3.5-litre (210 cu in) Krupp M 305 65 horsepower (66 PS), gave it a top speed of 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) and a range of 350 kilometres (220 mi).[1] Like all of the other vehicles that used this chassis, the Ausf. A had very limited cross-country mobility, drivers being advised to stay on roads and trails. It weighed 5.2 tonnes (5.1 long tons; 5.7 short tons), was 5.2 metres (17 ft) long, 1.96 metres (6.4 ft) wide and 1.7 metres (5.6 ft) tall.[3]

Ausf. B

Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf. B .

Daimler-Benz built 58 of these in 1941—42 on a 4 × 4 heavy car chassis (s.Pkw. Typ 1c). The front-mounted engine was an 8-cylinder, 3.823-litre (233.3 cu in) Horch 3.5 petrol engine, giving it a road speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). It had a maximum range of 400 kilometres (250 mi).[1]

Armour

Thickness/slope from the vertical Front Side Rear Top/Bottom
Superstructure 8 mm (0.31 in)/38° 8 mm (0.31 in)/35° 8 mm (0.31 in)/30° open
Hull 8 mm (0.31 in)/35° 8 mm (0.31 in)/35° 8 mm (0.31 in)/36° 6 mm (0.24 in)

Specifications

Specifications differ between sources, but Jentz, as the most recent source, has generally been followed.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Chamberlain and Ellis, p. 205
  2. ↑ Jentz, pp. 50-53
  3. ↑ Jentz, pp. 49-50

References

External links

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