Soldaten!!
The subject of this case report is a German armored car 4x4 that was not built in large numbers, but was reliable and robust, being widely used as a light command car and as a radio car. Today we are going to talk about Sd.Kfz 247 Ausf B. Come with us ...
 |
| SdKfz 247 Ausf B - WH-651559 Eastern Front -1942. Undoubtedly, this photo was the inspiration for the drawing above (except for the pin up, of course ...). |
History:
The Sd.Kfz. 247 (4 Rad) Schwerer Geländegängiger Gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen - s. gl. gp. Pkw (4x4 heavy all-terrain armoured motor vehicle) was an armored car used by the German armed forces during World War II. The Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B (4 rad) vehicle role was originally fulfilled by an earlier model, designated Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.A (6 Rad) , based on the chassis of the Krupp L2H 43 and L2H 143 six-wheeled lorries.
The more robust version Ausf.B (4 Rad) was based on the Einheitsfahrgestell II für s. Pkw. Horch Typ 1 c chassis. This chassis, which had a front engine but no supporting wheels and no all-wheel steering, was exclusively used for the production of the Sd. Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad). Before the war, 10 six-wheeled models (Ausf. A) were built; this was followed during the war by 58 four-wheeled models (Ausf. B). These machines were used in the early stages of WWII.
Due to the small number that were built, their photographic records are few. Notice In this segment of an Italian Propaganda newsreel a Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B camouflaged with mud, leading a Stug III assault gun on a dirty road near Stalingrad:
 |
| A soldier extending the protective tarp over the crew compartment of a Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B |
 |
| Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf. B - 1st Recce Battalion- 3rd Panzer Division Stalingrad - Summer 1942. |
 |
| Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B Command car Afrika Korps - 1942 |
 |
| An almost spotless Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B waiting in a road. Notice the Command pennant in the left-rear corner. Unit and localization unknow |
 |
| Soldiers posing in Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf. B Notice the wide spaces of the Russian Front |
 |
| A Sd.Kfz.257 Ausf.B with cammo. Notice the MG 34 in the vehicle. |
 |
| A Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B command car Notice the pennant the 3 horns in the front left fender. The driver should love to honk at the intersections ... |
Description:
The Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 rad) had an open-topped, thinly armored body mounted on a 4x4 wheeled chassis. It was unarmed as its six-man crew was not intended to fight; rather, it was intended for use by the commanders of motorcycle and motorized reconnaissance battalions, although neither version was fitted with any radios. Its armor was intended to stop 7.92mm armor-piercing bullets at ranges over 30 metres. Photographic evidence shows some Ausf. B vehicles were retro-fitted with a star-shaped radio antenna mounted inside the crew compartment, and an additional armor plate bolted to the lower glacis of the hull.
 |
| A Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (WH-651557) radio car Grossdeutschland Division - Russian front - 1942. While no radio was originally installed in these vehicles, Sd.Kfz. 247 were used as armored radio stations during the war. Notice the antenna in the crew compartment |
Versions:
- Ausf. A:
- Krupp built 10 Ausf. A models on the chassis of its six-wheel Krupp Protze truck in 1937. Its 3.5-litre 4-cylinder air-cooled gasoline flat engine (Krupp M 305) of 65 hp, gave it a top speed of 70 km/h and a range of 350 km. Like all of the other vehicles that used this chassis, the Ausf. A had very limited cross-country mobility, drivers being advised to stay on roads and trails. It weighed 5.2 t, was 5.2 m long, 1.96 m wide and 1.7 m tall.
 |
| Krupp Protze |
 |
Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf. A Compare with the photo above: the similarity and origin with Protz is evident ... |
- Ausf. B:
- Daimler-Benz built 58 of these in 1941-1942 on a four-wheel drive heavy car chassis (Einheitsfahrgestell II für s. Pkw. Horch Typ 1c - s.Pkw. Typ 1c). This chassis was a simplified version of the same chassis used in the Einheits Horch Type 1a heavy car, with the front-mounted engine was an 8-cylinder, 3.823-litre Horch 3.5 petrol engine, giving it a road speed of 80 km/h. It had a maximum range of 400 km. This chassis was exclusively used for the production of the Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad).
 |
| Horch 1a with 20mm Flak 38 - Afrikakorps 1941 |
 |
| SdKfz 247 HQ staff of 4th SS Police Regiment Recce unit - 3rd Oct1943 - Marseille - France |
Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.B Armour:
| Front | Side | Rear | Top/Bottom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superstructure | 8 mm/38° | 8 mm/35° | 8 mm /30° | open |
| Hull | 8 mm/35° | 8 mm/35° | 8 mm/36° | 6 mm |
Specs:
| Sd.Kfz. 247 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Armored car |
| Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1937–1945 |
| Used by | Germany |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krupp (Ausf. A) Daimler-Benz (Ausf. B) |
| Manufacturer | Krupp (Ausf. A) Daimler-Benz (Ausf. B) |
| Produced | 1937 (Ausf. A) 1941–1943 (Ausf. B) |
| No. built | 10 (Ausf. A) 58 (Ausf. B) |
| Variants | 2 : Ausf. A and Ausf. B |
| Specifications (Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf. B) | |
| Weight | 3.700 Kg (unladen) 4.460 Kg (full) |
| Length | 5.000 mm |
| Width | 2.000 mm |
| Height Wheelbase Track Crew | 1.800 mm 3.000 mm 1.646 mm (front & rear) 6 (driver + 5) |
| Armor | 6 - 8 mm |
| Engine | Horch 8-cylinder, water-cooled 3.8 petrol - 80 hp |
| Power/weight | 18.1 hp/t |
| Transmission | 5 x 1 |
| Suspension | Coil spring |
| Ground clearance | 230 mm |
| Fuel capacity | 160 l |
Operational range | 400 km road 270 km cross-country |
| Maximum speed | 80 km/h |
The Kit:
When I built this girl (more than 15 years ago ...), there were no injected plastic versions of today, like the one from ICM, rich in external and internal details.
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B from ICM (#35110) ICM box art |
My only option was to mine on eBay this precious resin kit, in the Medieval Ages of Scale Modeling:
 |
| Sovereign 2000 Sd Kfz 247 Ausf B (#007) box art resin kit |
My kit consisted of a solid (and heavy) block of casting resin, which reproduces the entire body of the vehicle, resin wheels, resin fenders, resin ladder frame chassis and white metal detail parts. The resin casting quality is very good, with no airbubbles, warpage or broken parts. The details around the vehicle is very crisp and the foul weather tarp which covers most of the fighting compartment is very good textured.
 |
| A real resin "brick": solid, heavy, but very well cast and detailed ... |
 |
| The fenders and the chassis... |
 |
| The lower parts glued togheter with super-glue. The alignment of the pieces is very important ... |
 |
| Right side view |
 |
| Top view of th construction... |
 |
| Adding accessories from my spare parts box and some details in metal and plasticard... |
 |
| The Command Pennant is Tamiya (spare part) The Mg 34 is very well detailed (Academy). Notice the work with cooper wires... |
 |
| The little girl, with details in scratch... |
 |
| The spare wheel it was the only part I didn't like. The casting was defective ... Here it is provisionally glued ... |
 |
| The muffler with metal stripes in scratch... |
 |
| This spare wheel will undoubtedly be changed ... What an ugly thing !! |
My girl will be a warrior from the first battles. We will see her dressed in Hitler's Praetorian Guard markings; 1st Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), sporting the primitive Panzer gray, with the great White Crosses, which the Germans painfully discovered were excellent marks of sight for enemy gunners. Soon after the Polish campaign, the Germans quickly opted for less obvious markings. But here's my guide profile of markings and colors.
 |
| Panzerserra's color profile |
 |
| Starting the painting: Early vehicles in the early stages of the WWII: Panzer Gray! |
 |
| A little girl with attitude... |
 |
| left side |
 |
| Right side |
 |
| Working with tones... |
 |
| Rear view... |
 |
| Not bad, indeed... |
 |
| The tarp in Khaki |
 |
| tarp straps and tools under painting... Notice the spare wheel: my reproduction of a spare wheel from Sd.Kfz 222 form Tamiya... |
 |
| Spare wheel Tamiya: much, much better!! |
 |
| Almost ready for marings... |
 |
| My girl wearing early colors... |
 |
| 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Poland, 1939. |
 |
| Side view: the typical "wrinkle" of decals with Microsoft ... |
 |
| White german cross - Early days in WWII! |
 |
| Command penants!! |
 |
| So far...so good!! |
 |
| Starting the weathering... |
 |
| A little touch of dirty... |
 |
| ...and chipping... |
The girl, ready for action! This is the Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) - Schwerer Geländegängiger Gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen (s. gl. gp. Pkw.). 1st Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) -Poland, 1939.
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) 1st Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) Poland, 1939. |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) left side |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) 3/4 left rear view |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) rear view |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) 3/4 right rear view |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) right view |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) 3/4 right front view |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) 3/4 left front view |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) with Kojak and Rover, the dog |
 |
| Skoda LT vz.35 Czech light tank with Sd.Kfz 247 Ausf.B |
 |
| Sd.Kfz. 247 Ausf.B (4 Rad) 1st Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) Poland, 1939. |
See you in my next project!!!
Bye!!
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário