Leichter Panzerspähwagen

Leichter Panzerspähwagen
British soldiers inspect a captured SdKfz 222, North Africa, 1941
Type	Armored car
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
Used by	Nazi Germany, China
Wars	World War II, Second Sino-Japanese War
Production history
Designer	Eisenwerk Weserhütte
Manufacturer	Auto Union, F. Schichau
Produced	1935 - 1944
Specifications
Weight	4,000 kg
Length	4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
Width	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Height	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Crew	3
Armor	5 - 14.5 mm
Main armament	1 × Maschinengewehr 34 (for Sd.Kfz 221) 1 × 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 (for Sd.Kfz 222)
Secondary armament	1 × Maschinengewehr 34 (for Sd.Kfz 222)
Engine	Horch 3.8 V8 petrol 90 PS (66 kW; 89 hp)
Suspension	4x4
Operational range	300 km (186 mi)
Speed	road: 80 km (50 mi) cross-country: 40 km (25 mi)

The Leichter Panzerspähwagen (German: roughly "light armoured reconnaissance vehicle") was a series of light four-wheel drive armoured cars produced by Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1944.

Designed to meet operational requirements including reliability, run on a variety of grades of fuel, simple construction and good off-road performance the first such vehicle was the Sd Kfz 221 but this proved too small and too lightly armed, so in 1936-37 a heavier version was planned, using one of two standard chassis for four-wheel armoured cars, one with a front-mounted engine, the other rear-mounted version, was used in the Sd Kfz 222, which became the standard light armoured car in German army service until the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The vehicles were developed by Eisenwerk Weserhütte of Bad Oeynhausen by using the chassis of the type Horch 108 standard heavy off-road car with an angled armoured body and turret.

Chassis were built by Horch (Auto Union) in Zwickau and assembled by F. Schichau of Elbing and Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen in Hanover-Linden.

The rear-mounted petrol engine was originally a 3.5 Litre Horch V8 with 75 PS (55 kW; 74 hp) (Ausf. A chassis); from 1942, this was replaced by a 3.8 Litre with 90 PS (66 kW; 89 hp) (Ausf. B chassis), giving it a road speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) and a cross-country speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). It had a maximum range of 300 km (186 mi).

Used by the reconnaissance battalions (Aufklärungs-Abteilung) of the Panzer divisions, the type performed well enough in countries with good road networks, like those in Western Europe. However, on the Eastern Front and North Africa, this class of vehicle was hampered by its relatively poor off-road performance.

The Sd Kfz 222 was fitted with heavier armament and larger turret than the Sd Kfz 221 but it was still comparatively cramped and lacked top protection other than a wire screen designed to allow grenades to roll off, but this made using the main armament problematic. Co-axially mounted with the machine gun both weapons were pintle-mounted, and fitted with an elevation and traverse mechanism and floor-mounted firing mechanisms. The turret was rotated by the traversing weapons rather than the weapons being fixed to a traversing turret. There was thus no bearing-ring and no turret basket, only a fighting compartment largely obstructed by the breaches of the weapons.