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SdKfz 7 and column of trucks Russia
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Armored SdKfz 7/2 37mm Flak
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schwerere Zugkraftwagen 12t (SdKfz 8) type DB s7 in 1938
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SdKfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 2
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2 cm Flak SdKfz 7/1 with Sd. Ah. 56 trailer
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SdKfz 7 towing a sFH 18
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Armored SdKfz 7/2 of the Luftwaffe
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SdKfz 7/2 self propelled AA gun
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German troops use Sd Kfz 7 to tow Flak 18 gun up a hill
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Gepanzerter SdKfz 7 of the Waffen SS
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Armored SdKfz 7 towing a sFH 18
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SdKfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38
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SdKfz 7 Russia – Eastern Front
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Destroyed German Wehrmacht SdKfz 7
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SdKfz 7/1 2cm Flak mit Anhanger Eastern Front Crimea
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SdKfz 7 and Flak 18 used by an unknown unit of the Luftwaffe
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German quad 20mm anti aircraft gun on SdKfz 7 Halftrack Eastern Front
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SdKfz 7 towing 15 cm sFH 18 France, 4. Panzer-Division
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The charred remnants of a german SdKfz 7/2 FlaK 36
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Sd.Kfz. 8 type DB s7
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SdKfz 7 and sFH 18 1939 Poland
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Gepanzerter SdKfz 7 France 1944
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SdKfz 7 prime mover
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SdKfz 7 Bunkerknacker and 88 mm Flak France 1940
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SdKfz 7 used by an unknown unit of the Wehrmacht
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SdKfz 7 with 15cm sFH 18
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SdKfz 7 in action July 1941
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8 ton medium towing tractor SdKfz 7
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SdKfz 7 (KM m 9/10) with Haubitze 15cm 1937
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U.S. troops atop SdKfz 7/1 of the 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich in Normandy
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8 to Zugkraftwagen SdKfz 7 of the Luftwaffe unit
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SdKfz 7 Bunkerknacker with Flak 18
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SdKfz 7 towing a trailer
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SdKfz 7/1 with Vierlingsflak
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SdKfz 7 with armored cab of the Waffen SS
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SdKfz 7 Bunkerknacker Armored Halftrack + 8.8cm Flak
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SdKfz 7 and Flak 88 Bunkerknacker Micki Maus
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Afrika Korps SdKfz 7 Libya 1942 DAK
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SdKfz 7 ww2 german halftrack
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SdKfz 7/1 with Flak 38
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SdKfz 7 rear
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Wehrmacht soldiers next to a SdKfz 7
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Wehrmacht soldiers next to a SdKfz 7 halftrack
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SdKfz 7 Armored 8ton Halftrack and 88cm Flak18 Auf Sd.Ah .201 Bunkerknacker
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SdKfz 7 halftrack towing Flak 88
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Early SdKfz 7 on bridge
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SdKfz 7 ww2 halftrack 3
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SdKfz 7 ww2 halftrack 2
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8 ton Zugkraftwagen SdKfz 7
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Flak halftrack SdKfz 7/1 with Sd. Ah. 56
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SdKfz 7 during the Russian “Rasputitsa” muddy season
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SdKfz 7 Eastern Front 1941
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Afrika Korps halftrack SdKfz 7 DAK
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SdKfz 7 towing 10,5 cm schwere Kanone 18
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SdKfz 7/1 with Flak 38 in combat
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Armored 8ton Halftrack SdKfz 7 And 8,8cm Flak18 Auf Sd.Ah.201 Bunkerknacker
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SdKfz 7 ww2 halftrack
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German Soldiers in Krause Maffei KMM 8 Halftrack SdKfz 7
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SdKfz 7 towing a 10.5 cm schwere Kanone 18
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SdKfz 7/1 with 2 cm Vierlingsflak
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Wehrmacht Afrika Korps Soldier SdKfz 7
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SdKfz 7 and Flak 88 eastern front
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Sd.Kfz. 7 – front axle
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German SdKfz 7 Zugkraftwagen Armored Halftrack Bunkerknacker
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Sd Kfz 7 Greece 1943
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Sd.Kfz. 7 half track 7
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Sd Kfz 7/1 2cm Flakvierling 38 auf Selbstfahrlafette
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Sd Kfz 7 half tracks
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Zugkraftwagen 8to Sd Kfz 7 with schweren geschutz near Dinant 1940
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Sd Kfz 7 with 88 mm Flak 1940
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Sd Kfz 7 towing 88 mm flak gun
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Sd Kfz 7 eastern front Nikopol 1941
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Sd.Kfz. 7 half track 1
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Zugkraftwagen 8to Sd Kfz 7 and Henschel 33 Russia
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Sd.Kfz. 7 half track 3
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Sd Kfz 7 half track
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Sd.Kfz. 7 half track Eastern Front
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Gepanzerter 8t Zugkraftwagen & Sfl.Flak (Sd.Kfz.7) Bunkerknacker
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Sd Kfz 7 half track, rail transport 5
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Sd Kfz 7 towing gun
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Sd Kfz 7 winter
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Afrika korps sd kfz 7/1 AA gun DAK
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halftrack sdkfz 7 8
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Sdkfz 7 halftrack of the Luftwaffe
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sdkfz 7 and flak 88 camo
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Sdkfz 7 Serbia
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Sd.Kfz. 7/1 armed with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 flak
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Gepanzerter 8t Zugkraftwagen & Sfl.Flak (Sd.Kfz.7) 2
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SdKfz 7 towing a 8,8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone Flak 18 gun
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SdKfz 7 towing a 88 mm Panzerabwehrkanone Flak 18
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SdKfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 L/65 and Sd. Ah. 56 trailer
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Wehrmacht soldiers posing beside a SdKfz 7 halftrack
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halftrack Sd.Kfz. 7 14
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halftrack sdkfz 7
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SdKfz 7 Halftracks towing a 21 cm Mörser 18
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Armored late halftrack SdKfz 7 5
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SdKfz7 and German soldiers
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sdkfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 L/65 photo
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SdKfz 7 Luftwaffe halftrack with a 2cm Flak 30
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Halftrack SdKfz 7 during a field exercises
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halftrack sdkfz 7
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halftrack sdkfz 7 with gun
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Sd.Kfz. 7 towing Flak 88 gun
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SdKfz 7/1 Flakvierling Russia
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SdKfz 7/1 with flakvierling
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Bunkerknacker SdKfz 7 towing an 88 mm Flak 18
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halftrack sdkfz 7 10
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halftrack sdkfz 7
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German Sdkfz 7 half track
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German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Sd.Kfz. 7/1 armed with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38
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sdkfz 7 winter camo
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sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker.
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German Army SdKfz 7 halftrack vehicle
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German self-propelled 37 mm anti-aircraft gun Sd.Kfz 7/2 in winter
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SdKfz 7/2 3,7cm Flak
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halftrack sdkfz 7
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Halftrack SdKfz 6 during military parade
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sdkfz 7 wrecked
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halftracks sdkfz 7
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Halftrack SdKfz 7 during parade
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mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t Sdkfz 7 half track
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Sd.Kfz 7/1 armed with a 20 mm flak quad mount
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sdkfz 7 halftracks camouflage
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SdKfz 7/2 37mm AA gun
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SdKfz 7 towing schwere Feldhaubitze 18 near Orlean June 1940
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halftrack SdKfz 7 4
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SdKfz7 Halftrack Towing 15cm Artillery Gun
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SdKfz 7 towing a 8,8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone Flak 18 photo
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sdkfz 7 towing flak 88 mm gun
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SdKfz 6 with 10,5 cm leichter Feldhaubitze 18
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sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker destroyed
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sdkfz 7 destroyed
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Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t SdKfz 7 with gun in river
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Sdkfz 7 half track
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sdkfz 7/2 armed with a 3.7 cm FlaK 36 L 57 anti aircraft gun
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german halftracks sdkfz 7
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sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker
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SdKfz 7 towing a 8,8 cm Flak 18 Bunkerflak
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german halftrack sdkfz 7
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sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker photo
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Sdkfz 7 half track
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SdKfz 7 Halftrack and 15cm artillery
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Halftrack SdKfz 7 Italy 1943/1944
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Sdkfz 7 half-tracked prime mover
Sd.Kfz. 7 (mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t, Krauss Maffei Typ KM m 11, HLm 11, Saurer 11 ) was a halftrack military vehicle used by the German Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS during the Second World War.
The origins of the SdKfz 7 vehicle are associated with the Krauss-Maffei company project labelled MS(m5) which had been prepared in 1928. Serious work on the vehicle construction started in 1933, after the Wehrmacht High Command had placed an order for the 8-ton half-track tractor. Many experimental series were produced in the years 1934 to 1937 but the final version of the KM m11, labelled Sd.Kfz.7, was approved only in 1937. Sd.Kfz 7 was the primary tractor of the well-known 8.8 cm Flak 18, 36 and 37 guns. It was also used as a tractor for many other guns, e.g., the 15 cm sFH and the 10.5 cm K. The SdKfz 7 tractor could carry 12 men along with with equipment and ammunition. The artillery crew was seated on the benches behind the driver. The canvas roof was used for protection from heat and rain. The vehicle could tow guns and vehicles weighing up to 8,000 kg. Most vehicles were fitted with a winch that could pull up to 3450 kg. Some of the latter had protective armour plating. Part of the final production batches of the tractor version had austere bodywork with a wooden body.
The SdKfz 7 seemed to be the most useful vehicle of this kind and was very well popular. The Italians manufactured almost the same vehicle under the name Breda 61. The Germans were intensively expanding production. At the end of 1942 there were 3,262 SdKfz7 vehicles in service. Not all of them were tractors because the payload capacity made them perfect artillery truck. The production of the SdKfz 7 vehicles was terminated in 1944. By this time they were manufactured at Krauss-Maffei factories in Munich, Sauer-werke in Vienna and Borgward in Bremen. After the war, a lot of those vehicles were taken into service by the Allies, also the Czechoslovak Army used them for many years.
Specifications
crew |
driver + 10 soldiers |
weight |
11 550 kg |
trailer weight |
8000 kg |
wimch capaacity |
3500 kg |
load limit |
1800 kg |
lenght |
6900 mm |
width |
2350 mm (2400 mm Flak variants) |
height |
2620 mm |
max speed |
50,5 km/h |
range |
250 km (135 km off-road) |
fording |
650 mm |
climbing ability |
24° |
circulation |
8 m |
ground clearance |
410 mm |
engine |
Maybach HL 62 TUK, 6191 cm3 , 6 cylinder inline liquid cooled petrol engine producing up to 138 hp (103 kW) at 2600 rpm (since 1943: Maybach HL 62 TR ) |
transmission, suspension |
4 forward, 2 reverse, dry 2-plate clutch. Controlled-differential, actuated by steering wheel. Air brakes on drive sprockets. Transversal leaf spring at front, torsion bar suspension at rear. |
battery |
12V 105Ah |
fuel consumption |
81 l (167 l off-road) |
fuel capacity |
213 or 203 l |
tracks |
Zgw.50/360/180 |
track lenght |
2235 mm |
number of links per track |
54 |
tires x thread |
9,75 x 20” x 2000 |
wheel base |
3470 mm |
production |
12189 (KM m11 variant) |
Variants
Sd.Kfz. 7
Sd.Kfz. 7/1 – AA Sd.Kfz. 7 armed with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 L/65 (traverse: 360°, elevation: -10° +100°) quadruple anti-aircraft gun mounting, appearing with both open and armored cab. Driver cab armor: 8 mm. Ammo was carried in a special single axle trailer. Production: 319.
Sd.Kfz. 7/2 – AA Sd.Kfz. 7 armed with a 3.7 cm FlaK 36/37/43 anti-aircraft gun (traverse: 360°, elevation: -8° +85°). Open and armored cab variants existed. Production: 123.
Sd.Kfz. 7/3 – 2,5 ton crane
Sd.Kfz. 7/6 – Flakmesstruppenwagen (used for setting up AA gun positions)
Sd.Kfz. 7/7 – prototype armed with a 5cm FlaK 41 gun
Sd.Kfz. 7/9 – Feuerleitpanzer für V2 Raketen auf Zugkraftwagen 8t. Observation and command post for the V-2 ballistic missile.
Bibliography and sources
- German Half-Tracks of World War Two – Frank V. De Sisto, Concord Armor At War 7054
- Die mittleren Zugkraftwagen der Wehrmacht 1934-1945 – Reinhard Frank, Waffen-Arsenal 134, Podzun-Pallas-Verlag 1992
- Sd.Kfz.7 Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8 t – History File 004 (Italian/English)
- Flak Auf Sd.Kfz.7 Part I – Kagero Photosniper 9, 2001
- Halbkettenfahrzeuge: German Half-track Vehicles 1939-1945 – J. Williamson, Almark Publishing, Wehrmacht illustrated No.4
- German Half-Tracked Vehicles of World War 2: Unarmoured Support Vehicles of the German Army 1933-45 – John Milsom, Arms & Armour Press 1975
- Die Halbkettenfahrzeuge des Deutschen Heeres 1909 – 1945 – Walter J. Spielberger, Motorbuch Verlag 1993
- Halbketten-Fahrzeuge – Uwe Feist , Das Waffen-Arsenal Band 8 (german)