SdKfz 7

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2 cm Flak SdKfz 7/1 with Sd. Ah. 56 trailer

8 to Zugkraftwagen SdKfz 7 of the Luftwaffe unit

8 ton medium towing tractor SdKfz 7

8 ton Zugkraftwagen SdKfz 7

Afrika Korps halftrack SdKfz 7 DAK

Afrika korps sd kfz 7/1 AA gun DAK

Afrika Korps SdKfz 7 Libya 1942 DAK

Armored 8ton Halftrack SdKfz 7 And 8,8cm Flak18 Auf Sd.Ah.201 Bunkerknacker

Armored late halftrack SdKfz 7 5

Armored SdKfz 7 towing a sFH 18

Armored SdKfz 7/2 37mm Flak

Armored SdKfz 7/2 of the Luftwaffe

Bunkerknacker SdKfz 7 towing an 88 mm Flak 18

Destroyed German Wehrmacht SdKfz 7

Early SdKfz 7 on bridge

Flak halftrack SdKfz 7/1 with Sd. Ah. 56

Gepanzerter 8t Zugkraftwagen & Sfl.Flak (Sd.Kfz.7) 2

Gepanzerter 8t Zugkraftwagen & Sfl.Flak (Sd.Kfz.7) Bunkerknacker

Gepanzerter SdKfz 7 France 1944

Gepanzerter SdKfz 7 of the Waffen SS

German Army SdKfz 7 halftrack vehicle

german halftrack sdkfz 7

german halftracks sdkfz 7

German quad 20mm anti aircraft gun on SdKfz 7 Halftrack Eastern Front

German Sdkfz 7 half track

German SdKfz 7 Zugkraftwagen Armored Halftrack Bunkerknacker

German self-propelled 37 mm anti-aircraft gun Sd.Kfz 7/2 in winter

German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Sd.Kfz. 7/1 armed with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38

German Soldiers in Krause Maffei KMM 8 Halftrack SdKfz 7

German troops use Sd Kfz 7 to tow Flak 18 gun up a hill

halftrack Sd.Kfz. 7 14

Halftrack SdKfz 6 during military parade

halftrack sdkfz 7

halftrack sdkfz 7 10

halftrack SdKfz 7 4

halftrack sdkfz 7 8

Halftrack SdKfz 7 during a field exercises

Halftrack SdKfz 7 during parade

Halftrack SdKfz 7 Italy 1943/1944

halftrack sdkfz 7 with gun

halftracks sdkfz 7

mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t Sdkfz 7 half track

Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen 8t SdKfz 7 with gun in river

Early SdKfz 8 (type DB s7) 1938 troops training

schwerere Zugkraftwagen 12t (SdKfz 8) type DB s7 in 1938

Sd Kfz 7 eastern front Nikopol 1941

Sd Kfz 7 Greece 1943

Sd Kfz 7 half track

Sd Kfz 7 half track, rail transport 5

Sd Kfz 7 half tracks

Sd Kfz 7 towing 88 mm flak gun

Sd Kfz 7 towing gun

Sd Kfz 7 winter

Sd Kfz 7 with 88 mm Flak 1940

Sd Kfz 7/1 2cm Flakvierling 38 auf Selbstfahrlafette

SdKfz 7/1 armed with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38

Sd.Kfz 7/1 armed with a 20 mm flak quad mount

Sd.Kfz. 7 - front axle

Sd.Kfz. 7 half track 1

Sd.Kfz. 7 half track 3

Sd.Kfz. 7 half track 7

Sd.Kfz. 7 half track Eastern Front

Sd.Kfz. 7 towing Flak 88 gun

Sd.Kfz. 7/1 armed with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 flak

Sd.Kfz. 8 type DB s7

SdKfz 6 with 10,5 cm leichter Feldhaubitze 18

SdKfz 7 (KM m 9/10) with Haubitze 15cm 1937

SdKfz 7 and column of German trucks Russia

SdKfz 7 and column of trucks Russia

SdKfz 7 and Flak 18 used by an unknown unit of the Luftwaffe

SdKfz 7 and Flak 88 Bunkerknacker Micki Maus

sdkfz 7 and flak 88 camo

SdKfz 7 and Flak 88 eastern front

SdKfz 7 and sFH 18 1939 Poland

SdKfz 7 Armored 8ton Halftrack and 88cm Flak18 Auf Sd.Ah .201 Bunkerknacker

sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker

SdKfz 7 Bunkerknacker and 88 mm Flak France 1940

SdKfz 7 Bunkerknacker Armored Halftrack + 8.8cm Flak

sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker destroyed

sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker photo

SdKfz 7 Bunkerknacker with Flak 18

sdkfz 7 Bunkerknacker.

sdkfz 7 destroyed

SdKfz 7 during the Russian "Rasputitsa" muddy season

SdKfz 7 Eastern Front 1941

Sdkfz 7 half track

Sdkfz 7 half-tracked prime mover

SdKfz 7 Halftrack and 15cm artillery

Sdkfz 7 halftrack of the Luftwaffe

SdKfz 7 halftrack towing Flak 88

sdkfz 7 halftracks camouflage

SdKfz 7 Halftracks towing a 21 cm Mörser 18

SdKfz 7 in action July 1941

SdKfz 7 Luftwaffe halftrack with a 2cm Flak 30

SdKfz 7 prime mover

SdKfz 7 rear

SdKfz 7 Russia - Eastern Front

Sdkfz 7 Serbia

SdKfz 7 towing 10,5 cm schwere Kanone 18

SdKfz 7 towing 15 cm sFH 18 France, 4. Panzer-Division

SdKfz 7 towing a 10.5 cm schwere Kanone 18

SdKfz 7 towing a 8,8 cm Flak 18 Bunkerflak

SdKfz 7 towing a 8,8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone Flak 18 gun

SdKfz 7 towing a 8,8 cm Panzerabwehrkanone Flak 18 photo

SdKfz 7 towing a 88 mm Panzerabwehrkanone Flak 18

SdKfz 7 towing a sFH 18

SdKfz 7 towing a trailer

sdkfz 7 towing flak 88 mm gun

SdKfz 7 towing schwere Feldhaubitze 18 near Orlean June 1940

SdKfz 7 used by an unknown unit of the Wehrmacht

sdkfz 7 winter camo

SdKfz 7 with 15cm sFH 18

SdKfz 7 with armored cab of the Waffen SS

sdkfz 7 wrecked

SdKfz 7 ww2 german halftrack

SdKfz 7 ww2 halftrack

SdKfz 7 ww2 halftrack 2

SdKfz 7 ww2 halftrack 3

SdKfz 7/1 2cm Flak mit Anhanger Eastern Front Krim

SdKfz 7/1 2cm Flak mit Anhanger Eastern Front Crimea

SdKfz 7/1 Flakvierling Russia

SdKfz 7/1 with 2 cm Vierlingsflak

SdKfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38

SdKfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 2

SdKfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 L/65 and Sd. Ah. 56 trailer

sdkfz 7/1 with a 2 cm Flakvierling 38 L/65 photo

SdKfz 7/1 with Flak 38

SdKfz 7/1 with Flak 38 in combat

SdKfz 7/1 with flakvierling

SdKfz 7/1 with Vierlingsflak

SdKfz 7/2 3,7cm Flak

SdKfz 7/2 37mm AA gun

sdkfz 7/2 armed with a 3.7 cm FlaK 36 L 57 anti aircraft gun

SdKfz 7/2 self propelled AA gun

SdKfz7 and German soldiers

SdKfz7 Halftrack Towing 15cm Artillery Gun

The charred remnants of a german SdKfz 7/2 FlaK 36

U.S. troops atop SdKfz 7/1 of the 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich in Normandy

Wehrmacht Afrika Korps Soldier SdKfz 7

Wehrmacht soldiers next to a SdKfz 7

Wehrmacht soldiers next to a SdKfz 7 halftrack

Wehrmacht soldiers posing beside a SdKfz 7 halftrack

Zugkraftwagen 8to Sd Kfz 7 and Henschel 33 Russia

Zugkraftwagen 8to Sd Kfz 7 with schweren geschutz Dinant 1940

Zugkraftwagen 8to Sd Kfz 7 with schweren geschutz near Dinant 1940

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)