SDKFZ.234 ARMOURED CAR

The Sd.Kfz 234 Puma was a German heavy armored car from the Second World War. The first prototypes of the vehicle were built in 1943, and serial production continued in the period 1943-1945, ending with the production of about 510 cars. The Sd.Kfz 234 was powered by a Tatra 103 engine with 220 hp. The armament was, depending on the version, a 20 mm cannon, a 50 or 75 mm cannon and a single 7.92 mm MG42 machine gun. The Sd.Kfz 234 was developed as the new basic Wehrmacht reconnaissance vehicle. It was largely based on the Sd.Kfz 231 (8-Rad) chassis, with a completely new - more powerful - engine and, in later versions, reinforced main armament. The new car had very good off-road characteristics and a much higher top speed compared to the Sd.Kfz 231 (8-Rad). Several versions of this car were created in the course of serial production. Chronologically, the first version was the Sd.Kfz 234/1 with only the 20mm KwK 38 cannon as the main armament. In September 1943, production of the Sd.Kfz 234/2 version was launched, which was armed with a 50mm KwK 39 L / 60 cannon in a fully armored and rotating turret. Later, a version of the Sd.Kfz 234/3 was developed, armed with the 75mm KwK 37 L / 24 gun, which served as an infantry support vehicle. The last version was the Sd.Kfz 234/4, armed with a cannon PaK 40 L / 46, caliber 75 mm. Cars Sd.Kfz 234 of all versions served primarily in Wehrmacht armored divisions on the Eastern and Western Front until the end of World War II.