This is the medium 5-ton semitrack prime mover. It is designed as an artillery tractor to tow the piece and carry the gun crew of fourteen men. It is similar in design to all of the standard line of semitrack prime movers for artillery. It can tow a trailer load of 11,000 pounds when loaded to a combat weight of 19,360 pounds. The weight distribution on the front axle is 2,860 pounds, and on the track 16,500 pounds.

The suspension is made up of six dual-rim, rubber-tired bogie wheels, three of which are alternately straddle-mounted to torsion bars, followed by the idler which just clears the ground. The sprocket is fitted with contact rollers and rigidly mounted to the frame.

The vehicle is powered by a Maybach NL 38 TRKM 95 horsepower engine fitted with standard 12-volt Bosch magneto ignition and No. 40 JFF 2 Solex Carburetor.

The transmission combines the final drive which includes an epicyclic reduction gear for each sprocket. Steering is effected from the steering wheel in the usual manner up to 15°, after which the epicyclic steering brakes cause a reduction in the speed of the track on the inside of the turn, while through the differential a relative compensating action takes place.

This vehicle has a fuel tank capacity of 47 gallons; its highway fuel consumption is 1 gallon in 4 miles. The lifting winch which is fitted to the rear has a lifting power of 2.7 tons.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 53

The following variations of the 3-ton light semitrack prime mover are known: (1) medium armored personnel carrier (Sd. Kfz. 251); (2) smoke vehicle (Sd. Kfz. 11/1) when it is apparently fitted with racks to carry generators; (3) medium decontamination vehicle (Sd. Kfz. 11/2); (4) medium bulk contamination vehicle (Sd. Kfz. 11/3); (5) ambulance. The vehicle is also used for mounting antiaircraft weapons.

The body and frame are constructed of electrically welded steel.

The suspension is the normal type as used for semitrack vehicles. Six pressed-steel, double-rim bogie wheels are straddle mounted on torsion bars which are housed in cross tubes, each containing two torsion bars. The track consists of rubber-pad track blocks which contain needle-bearings.

A normal type forged front axle is used to carry two pressed-steel wheels with 7.5 x 18 tires. No front brakes are provided. Triangular radius rods similar to conventional Ford system are attached from axle to cross members at rear of engine.

The power plant consists of a 6-cylinder, in-line, valve-in-head, liquid-cooled engine Maybach engine, type NL 42 TUKRR, rated 100 horsepower.

The vehicle has a radius of action of 168 miles on roads and 84 miles cross-country. It has a seating capacity for eight men, including the driver.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 52

The medium semitracked prime mover, like all German semitracks, is highly maneuverable. Its maneuverability is due to an epicyclic-controlled differential drive for the track with a brake linkage connected to the front-wheel steering system. These brakes are applied to the epicyclic on the side to which the turn is being made when the front wheels are turned. This results in easy steering.

This vehicle has a seating capacity for 12 (with driver), a trailer load capacity of 8.5 tons and a maximum highway range of 155 miles on a fuel capacity of 50 gallons. Its combat weight is 12.7 tons.

Body cross members are made up of flat steel welded to form an I-beam construction. All brackets, supports, etc., are welded and a minimum of rivets and bolts are used. Rather than cut holes in the frame to attach the body, a C-clamp is used.

Both spring and torsion bars were utilized in its suspension. A transverse spring, concave downward, is used as the suspension for the front end. The track portion of this vehicle has a total of four springs, two on each side, that make up the spring suspension for the rear. In addition, the trailing idler of each track is mounted eccentrically on a torsion bar which allows the tracks to be readily adjusted.

The power plant is a Maybach, valve-in-head, 6-cylinder gasoline engine, rated 140 hp. at 2,600 r.p.m. The power train includes a feature well worth reviewing. Incorporated in the clutch assembly is a brake that is located to the rear of the clutch disks. When the clutch is disengaged, the brake functions and retards the speed of the drive shaft to the transmission. This results in very easy gear-shifting.

This semitrack is equipped with inertia starter in addition to the electric starter, and a cable winch, capable of lifting 3.8 tons, is fitted in the rear.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 54

This vehicle is used as a troop carrier and for towing light artillery and supply trailers. Accommodation for a crew of seven, including driver, is provided in the well of the body, the sides of which are sufficiently deep to obscure personnel to shoulder height when seated. With all inspection hatches of the hull closed the main body of the vehicle is practically watertight in traversing deep water.

The chassis of this vehicle is used for several specialized mountings: (1) for the 2 cm Flak 30 gun; (2) for gas-detector truck (Sd. Kfz. 10/1); (3) for light decontamination vehicle (Sd. Kfz. 10/2) carrying a hopper for spreading bleaching powder; (4) for light bulk contamination vehicle (Sd. Kfz. 10/3) fitted with a tank for blister gas and spraying device.

The power plant of the later models consists of a Maybach H.L. 42 T.R.K.M. straight-six, water-cooled engine rated at 100 horsepower. The Maybach N.L. 38 T.R.K.M. rated at 95 horsepower was formerly used. The power train is comprised of the twin-plate clutch, the preselective type transmission with four forward and one reverse speeds with high and low range, and the differential unit of spur-gear and pinion type. Steering is effected by normal steering wheel for turns under 15°; turns over 15° are negotiated by the combined action of turning the front wheels and braking the appropriate epicyclic-drive sprocket by means of the steering brakes mounted on the driving shaft.

The pneumatic-tired front wheels are of the disk type and are fitted on a normal type axle suspended by a single transverse semi-elliptic spring. Two hydraulic shock absorbers are fitted. Each of the flexible rear tracks is borne by a driving sprocket at the front end and an idler wheel at the rear, while between these are five pairs of pressed-steel, rubber-tired bogie wheels.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 51

This 18-ton vehicle is the heaviest of the German semitrack prime movers. It is often used by the Germans in the evacuation of their damaged tanks. It has a net weight of 16.8 tons and a combat weight of 19.8 tons. Its personnel capacity is 8, including driver and helper, and it can tow a trailer load of 20 tons. The maximum highway range of action is 160 miles on a fuel tank capacity of 72 gallons. Its weight distribution is as follows: front wheels, 5,289 pounds; track, 34,320 pounds.

The front suspension is comprised of a tubular floating axle mounting two pneumatic-tired, heavy duty wheels with transverse leaf springing. The track suspension is the standard semitrack system consisting of straddle-mounted rubber-tired bogie wheels sprung on torsion bars housed in cross tubes; front sprocket, rear idler, and needle-bearing track.

The power plant is the V-12 cylinder, Maybach gasoline engine rated at 230 horsepower. The transmission provides four speeds forward and one reverse with high and low range. Steering is effected by normal steering wheel and an epicyclic-controlled differential drive for the track with a brake linkage connected to the front-wheel steering system.

In addition to the electric starter, this vehicle is also equipped with a Bosch airplane-type inertia starter located on the right side of the engine.

A power winch is located at the rear, with facilities for passing the cable beneath the vehicle and out the front end. The winch-driving mechanism and the drum are located near the center of the chassis. The drum is horizontal and is driven by a propeller shaft from the rear of the transmission. The hub of the winch-driving mechanism is fitted with a slide gear which enables the operator to engage and disengage the winch from the rear of the vehicle. The winch-lifting capacity is 7.7 tons.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 56

The 12-ton heavy prime mover is highly mobile despite its bulky appearance. It can handle a trailer load of 13 tons and carry a crew of 11, including the driver. It has a weight distribution as follows: front wheels, 5,200 pounds; track, 21,300 pounds. Its combat weight is 16 tons.

The front suspension consists of a tubular axle of the oscillating, floating type carried by two pressed steel wheels, size 11.25 x 20, mounting extra heavy-duty tires. A traverse leaf spring is on a pivot in the center of the frame. One end of the spring is mounted to the axle through a shackle while the other end is free to slide. The rear, or track suspension, is made up of six twin rubber-tired bogie wheels mounted on torsion arms, attached to torsion bars and housed in cross tubes. The front drive sprocket and rear idler complete the assembly. The track is of the needle-bearing type with removable rubber pads.

Steering is by conventional steering wheel and through epicyclic-controlled differential to the track sprockets, being actuated by hydraulic brake bands.

Power is furnished by a Maybach V-12 over-head valve, liquid-cooled, HL 85 TUKRM gasoline engine, rated at 185 horsepower. Ignition is the conventional 12-volt Bosch magneto located behind the carburetors. All ignition wires are carried in a flexible aluminum conduit to the side of the engine.

The transmission provides four speeds forward, one reverse, with high and low range.

This vehicle is equipped with an inertia starter and a cable winch with a lifting power of 5.5 tons.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 55

English designation: Heavy full-tracked prime mover.

German: p. 74.59

The chassis is of rectangular form and welded construction and supports a forward-mounted, pressed-steel driving cab behind which is mounted a wooden truck body. A spring-loaded pintle is fitted at the rear and towing hooks in front.

The V-8 air-cooled gasoline engine made by Steyr develops about 70 hp. at 2,500 r.p.m. and is mounted in the floor of the driving cab. The drive is taken through a single plate clutch built on the flywheel to the transmission which has four silent forward gears and one reverse. There is a differential with a lock incorporated at the rear, and a reduction gear to the rear sprockets.

The suspension consists of four large pressed-steel disk wheels on each side which return the track. They are mounted in pairs and attached to a common even lever at each side and joined in the center by a cross member. A quarter elliptic spring anchored at each corner of the chassis is attached one to each end of the two common even levers. Steering is accomplished through upright steering levers to four hydraulic brakes on the sprockets and idlers.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 57

This is an armored, self-propelled crane designed to retrieve damaged A.F.V.’s up to a weight of about 12 tons. The manufacturing date of one recovered specimen is given as 1941. The crane is mounted towards the rear of the chassis on a platform traversing through 360° on an electrically powered turntable. The crane is prowered by the main engine through a drive shaft from the transmission to a gear box and thence through another box to the cable drums. The crane is controlled by three hand levers and three foot control clutches. When not in use, the boom which has a total length of 18 ft., 2 ins., rests on the top of the drive compartment and is held in place by two screw clamps. The conventional Japanese type of suspension is used. Four bell cranks are resisted by four armored compression springs per side. Eight-and-one-half-inch dual steel bogie wheels per side are mounted four inches apart and paired to each bogie. An 18 13/16-inch diameter double-tooth front drive sprocket, a rear idler, two 10 3/4-inch diameter rubber-covered return rollers, and the center guide steel track complete the suspension.

The driver’s compartment measures 45 1/2 x 59 inches, and is fitted with a door on the right side. The 6-cylinder, in-line, air-cooled, Ikegai gasoline engine delivers 60 horsepower. The steering system is of the clutch brake principle, a separate spring-loaded clutch being fitted to each track. Two pressed steel fuel tanks are located at the right rear of the hull; an additional one is utilized as the driver’s seat. They have a combined estimated capacity of 40 gallons.

SPECIFICATIONS

Japanese: p. 18.5 (August 1, 1945)

This vehicle, in addition to its function as a prime mover and wrecker, may have been used as a tank recovery vehicle. It has a total seating capacity of thirteen men. Two front booms are provided, and a removable boom at the rear. The latter can be attached in such a manner as to act as a brace for the vehicle. The front booms, which are traversed by gears, are moved and operated independently by two different operators. There is a large towing winch behind the driver’s seat, and two smaller winches near the front end.

The prime mover/wrecker has been derived in part from components of the Japanese Medium Tank. There are five bogies on each side, four of which are mounted in pairs. Each pair connects to a coil spring, and the front bogie wheel is independently sprung by a separate coil spring. The drive sprocket is smaller than that employed in the Medium Tank.

The vehicle is powered by a 6-cylinder, valve-in-head, air-cooled Diesel engine located in the rear. The engine head is made of aluminum. There are two fuel tanks which have a capacity of thirty gallons each. The clutch, a single plate type, is housed in an aluminum clutch housing. The transmission provides four speeds forward and one in reverse. The power takeoff of the winches is from the transmission. The final drive system is quite unusual in that there are two separate drive shafts, and each track is driven by an independent final drive mechanism. Removable track grousers are supplied for use in difficult terrain.

SPECIFICATIONS

Japanese: p. 18.2 (April 1, 1945)