The chassis of this vehicle is divided into the driving compartment at the front, the engine compartment in the center and an open-welled tray at the rear. The driving and engine compartments are armored on the sides and top; the rear compartment is armored on the sides only. The superstructure plates over the driving and engine compartments are bolted, whereas the sides of the rear superstructure are of riveted construction. With the exception of the cast nose plate and pressed steel cover, all the plates are flat and are riveted or bolted together over angle sections. There are no formed plates or welded joints. The armor thickness of the original carrier is as follows: Nose of hull 12 mm; front sloping plate 9.5 mm; sides 9 mm; back 9 mm.

The chassis is suspended from three semi-elliptical leaf springs on each side. The load is transmitted from the central point of each spring through supporting members to each of three pairs of bogies on each side. The bogie wheels are of the single, rubber-tired type 17.5 inches in diameter. Adjustment of the outside center guide track is provided by a movable rear idler. The driving sprocket is at the front and the track is returned on four return rollers positioned at the extremities of the semi-elliptical springs.

The power unit is the Delahaye, straight 6-cylinder, water-cooled, gasoline engine rated at 80 h.p. It has a bore of 84 mm and a stroke of 107 mm. The transmission is mounted centrally to the right of the driver. It provides five forward speeds and one reverse, the fifth speed being direct. The steering unit is housed in a large steel casting which forms the front plate of the vehicle. The brakes of external contracting type are mounted on the differential unit and therefore operate in oil.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 17

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

The invasion of Crete (1941) revealed for the first time the use by the Germans of the motorcycle tractor. This vehicle, which retains the standard front wheel and handle bars of a normal motorcycle with the rear wheel replaced by two caterpillar tracks, is used primarily for towing light guns and supply, trailers, and for carrying dispatches in localities where difficult terrain precludes the use of wheeled vehicles. The mobility of this vehicle is as good as most tanks and its ability as a light prime mover, because of its wide gear selection, is excellent. Without load attached it has a maximum speed of 45 m.p.h. on level ground, and is capable of climbing 60 per cent grade.

The chassis is a boxlike structure of pressed steel in two sections, welded together in a horizontal plane below the track guards. It contains the driving compartment, engine, and a transverse seat accommodating two men facing the rear. A hand rail is provided on each side of the back. The driver is seated on a saddle seat directly above the transmission and clutch housing. Gasoline tanks are mounted on each side and, together with the battery and tool compartments, make up the side walls of the vehicle.

Power is furnished by the centrally mounted Opel Olympia 4-cylinder, water-cooled gasoline engine developing 37 gross B.H.P. in a displacement of 91.5 cu. in. Cooling is accomplished by a radiator, with a shaft-driven fan coupled to the crankshaft, at the rear. Six forward and two reverse speeds are available.

The suspension consists of four straddle-mounted, rubber-tired bogie wheels on torsion bars, a front driving sprocket, and a rear idler. The inner bogie wheels are of the hollow-spoke type while the outer wheels are of the removable disk type. The track, made up of 40 links per strand, is equipped with needle bearings and replaceable rubber pads.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 50

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

The German wheeled/tracked reconnaissance vehicle is particularly effective in steep and hilly terrain, and in swamps and marshy lowlands where high traction and light weight are desirable. The personnel-carrying capacity is six, and it is capable of towing a trailer load of 2,640 pounds. The Motor-Karrete is capable of operating as a wheeled vehicle and will turn on a radius of 27 feet. It can also operate as a half track vehicle with a turning radius of 8 feet, 2 inches. As a full track vehicle its turning radius is 6 feet, 8 inches.

The three adaptations are accomplished by raising or lowering the front wheels which appear to be mounted on a bell-crank, torsion-type front axle, while the rear wheels (when dismounted from the rear suspension) are mounted on a false axle supported above the rear of the vehicle. The dry-pin steel track is guided from the outside center over a single-tooth front sprocket and a single-flange rear idler. Four small bogie wheels articulate in pairs on a common structure attached to the rear axle. The suspension includes semi-elliptic spring over the rear axle, while rotation of the vehicle is stabilized by a quarter elliptic spring from the front sprocket axle.

The 20 hp. engine is mounted in the rear. The fuel tank capacity is 10 gallons and fuel consumption on highways is 14 m.p.g.—on average terrain 6.8 m.p.g.

The net weight of the vehicle is 3,806 pounds; combat weight, 5,060 pounds. The weight distribution is: front axle 990 pounds; rear axle 4,070 pounds.

SPECIFICATIONS

German: p. 49

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

English designation: Light tractor (stan­dard commercial vehicle).

German: p. 74.57

English designation: Heavy tractor (stan­dard commercial vehicle).

German: p. 74.57