German Army The use of half-tracked
prime movers for artillery was common in the German forces but not elsewhere. Compared to wheeled vehicles, half-tracks are more difficult to maintain, they often suffer track breakages, and are slower on roads. However, they have better off-road mobility compared to wheeled vehicles. The Sd.Kfz.7 was used throughout the war. They were seen during the 1940 Paris victory parade and the Sd.Kfz. 7 features in much German wartime propaganda footage, contributing to the myth of the
mechanized Blitzkrieg. In fact, while produced in large numbers, there were never enough to fully equip the German forces. Typically, like many other types, the artillery elements of
Panzer and
mechanized infantry units (
Panzergrenadier) received them, while other units continued to rely on horses to draw their guns. The Sd.Kfz. 7 saw extensive use in the
North African Campaign where their tracks allowed them to drive through the desert sands far more effectively than trucks. Often, columns carrying troops or
POWs would include at least two half tracks with one generally riding point in order to make a path through the sands that the trucks could follow. The Sd.Kfz. 7 also became the basis of a number of
self-propelled anti-aircraft variants based on 20 mm and 37 mm flak types in use. The Sd.Kfz. 7/1 was armed with a
2 cm Flakvierling 38 quadruple anti-aircraft gun system. The Sd.Kfz. 7/2 was armed with a single
3.7 cm FlaK 36 anti-aircraft gun. On many of these variants, the driver's position and the engine cover was armored The Traclat was powered by two off-the-shelf 3.5 liter, 72 hp six-cylinder Bedford engines mounted side-by-side and geared to a common shaft to produce a combined 136 hp with a maximum speed of 30 mph. Unlike the German vehicle, where the front wheel bore the strain until full lock, the Traclat adjusted the drive to the track and wheels at the same time. Everything was re-engineered for British imperial units, and while the track pattern looked similar to the German ones, the bogies used imperial measurements and the overlapping wheels were a mix of different German designs. Due to these changes there was basically no compatibility between parts for the BT and the Sd. Kfz. 7. In July 1946, the test vehicle was required to tow a 25-pounder gun and limber, pitted against a
Crusader artillery tractor and an
Alecto self-propelled gun. While the Traclat gave the best performance, it bogged down in mud. A number of vehicles were shipped to Germany for more trials but this came to nothing, due to excessive cost, and because existing tractors were coping with combat conditions in Western Europe, there was no longer any requirement for series production. The paired standard Bedford engines produced a combined 136 bhp, with a combined fuel consumption of 3.5mpg(1.27 km/litre). The Traclat achieved a maximum road speed of 30 mph (48 km/h).
Allied use of Sd Kfz 7 Some Sd.Kfz. 7 were taken into service by the Allies after the Second World War. The
Czechoslovak Army used them for some years after the war. In
The Tank Museum,
Dorset, UK, there is a detailed evaluation of a captured Sd.Kfz. 7 produced by
Vauxhall Motors in 1942, pursuant to the Traclat project mentioned above. ==Variants==