The SdKfz 6 was a half-track that was utilized by the German Wehrmacht during World War II.
Description[]
The weight was about 8,700 kg (19,180 lb) and the length was 5.99 meters (19' 8"). The SdKfz also had a 115 hp, Maybach HL 54TUKRM engine capable of moving it at speeds of up to 50 km/h (31 mph).
The SdKfz 6 could carry fifteen including the driver and it the only armament it had were the weapons carried by passengers. It also had a torsion bar suspension system and a 4x2 speed forward, 1x2 speed backwards transmission.[1] There was no armor protection on the SdKfz 6 and the range of the SdKfz 6 was about 300 km. The cross country performance was fair as was reliability, but like so many other designs, it suffered in the harsh conditions of the battlefield.
Variants[]
The SdKfz 6/2 was an artillery version of the SdKfz 6 like the other variant. It fielded a 37 mm FlaK 36 main gun and it had a crew of seven. The weight was 10,400 kg and the length was about 6.5 meters. Like the SdKfz 6, the SdKfz 6/2 had a top speed of about 50 km/h and it could carry around 190 liters of gasoline. The SdKfz 6/3 nicknamed "Diana" had a captured Soviet M1936 Field Gun. [2]
The gun was redesignated the FK 36(r) or the PaK 36(r). The weight of the SdKfz 6/3 varied slightly depending on the time of production, but early models were about 10,500 kg. The length of the SdKfz 6/3 was about 6.1 meters and the armor was about 5 mm for early models. The crew was about five to six men and the carrying capacity was about one hundred 76.2 mm rounds.
History[]
The SdKfz 6 was first produced in 1935 and they were still in use by 1945. The main manufacturers were Daimler Benz, BMM, and Büssing-NAG. The SdKfz 6 was used to carry troops, carry cargo, and tow guns. The main problem with the SdKfz 6 was that it was expensive to produce and that it is why other half-tracks were used more often. Even so, the SdKfz 6 and its variants were used in many places by German forces and by the end of WWII, around 2,200 were made. The SdKfz 6/2 was produced up to 1943 when it was replaced by the SdKfz 7/2. The SdKfz 6/2s that were produced went to luftwaffe units. The SdKfz 6/3 units all went to serve in North Africa, but only 9 vehicles were actually converted.
References[]
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