World War 2 In Review: German Fighting Vehicles in View

Knocked out PzKpfw IV, North Africa, 1940-41.

2 cm FlaK 30 (Sf.) auf beute CMP Ford 15 cwt.

Marder III Ausf H (SdKfz 138) or 7.5cm PaK 40/3 auf PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf H. Note the Australian F60L in the background. Western Desert.

Marder III Ausf H (SdKfz 138) 7.5cm PaK 40/3 auf PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf H. Western Desert.

Captured Kettenkrad at an Australian base depot. Western Desert.

PzKpfw III. Western Desert.

PzKpfw IV. Western Desert.

PzKpfw III. Western Desert.

Schützenpanzerwagen SdKfz 251/1 Ausf C. Western Desert.

PzKpfw III. Western Desert.

PzKpfw IV. Looks like a British Ford truck in the background. Western Desert.

PzKpfw III. Western Desert.

SdKfz 9 half-track. Western Desert.

SdKfz 10 half-track. Western Desert.

SdKfz 11 half-track. Western Desert.

SdKfz 6 half-track.

SdKfz 6/3. North Africa.

SdKfz 8 half-track.

SdKfz 9 half-track towing trailer with StuG III.

SdKfz 11 half-track. Western Desert.

Sd. Kfz. 10/5 für 2cm Flak 38.

Beginning in 1942, some Sd. Kfz. 10/5 received armor protection in front of the radiator and the driver’s compartment. This made combat against enemy ground forces easier. The photo was made in winter 1943/44.

Western Desert.

SdKfz 11 half-track. Western Desert.

Chevrolet Cab 12 C60Ls. Captured by the Germans and later destroyed by the British.

Steyr ADGZ (Fu) (M35 Mittleren Panzerwagen), Slovenia, 1942. The Steyr ADGZ was an Austrian-German heavy armored car used during World War II. It was originally designed for the Austrian Army (its designation was "M35 Mittlerer Panzerwagen") from 1934, and delivered in 1935–1937.

Steyr ADGZ (M35 Mittleren Panzerwagen).

ADGZ.

Assault on the Polish Post Office in Gdańsk (Danzig) on 1 September 1939, by SS units supported by an ADGZ armored vehicle.

ADGZ, SS, Danzig.

ADGZ.

ADGZ (behind car).

ADGZ.

ADKZ, 1938. When developing the ADGK project, Austro-Daimler engineers identified the prospects for triaxial armored vehicles. This technique looked interesting and promising, but its full potential could only be achieved with the all-wheel drive chassis. This is how the new ADKZ project, the development of which was launched in 1935, appeared. The task of the project was not only the creation of a new armored car with high performance, but also the solution of several problems that accompanied the Austrian three-axis machines of the time.

Saurer ADMK. Produced in 1935, this Austrian wheel-cum-track tankette had the unique arrangement that was able to swing the front wheels upward via gear-driven arms. They then could be removed and put into brackets on the rear of the vehicle. The rear wheels could also be removed by driving the tracks up on blocks. A strange feature was that the front arms acted as a framework for the driver's seat.

Saurer ADMK.

SdKfz 254 wheel-cum-track vehicle, 7th Panzer Division. "The Sd.Kfz. 254 was a German fully tracked armored scout car planned in 1936. It was as the "RR-7" by Saurer (Austria), as an artillery tractor first, and for the Austrian army. Tested in 1937 it was approved for production in 1938, but only 12 were out of the factory Austria was occupied (Anschluss). The German took interest of this vehicles and started to relaunched the production for their own needs, after some minor modifications by the Waffenamt. Factory records established that 140 units were delivered, under the designation "RK-7" for "Räder-Kettenfahrgestell". The waffenamt later attributed the Sd.Kfz. 254 special vehicle designation. This wheel-cum-track armored vehicle was unique among the axis and its diesel motor ensured long range. They saw action in the Afrika Korps, used as artillery observation vehicles due to their excellent mobility on all terrain, fitted with a radio.

SdKfz 254.

SdKfz 254, 7th Panzer Division.

SdKfz 254.

ADGZ.

SdKfz 254, 11th Panzer Division.

ADSK.

ADGZ.

Saurer ADMK.

SdKfz 254.

ADGZ.

SdKfz 254, 7th Panzer Division.

SdKfz 254.

SdKfz 254 in foreground.

Steyr 250.

Steyr 250, Gebirgsjäger.

Steyr 250.

Steyr 250 (right).

Steyr 250.

A Bison self-propelled gun is ready for the attack near ruined Carroceto, Italy. A knocked out American M4 medium tank is in the background alongside a German SdKfz 251 half-track.

Jagdpanther being examined by French armored troops. Note two vision slits, early collar and two-piece barrel. Also note Sherman tank on road in back-ground.

Another view of Jagdpanther being examined by French armored troops. Another tank (tank destroyer?) has joined the Sherman on the road.

Early production Jagdpanther, knocked out, possibly by French armored troops. Note two vision slits, early mantlet, monobloc gun barrel.

Jagdpanther knocked out, possibly by French armored troops. Vehicle was probably tipped over to clear the road. Note the numerous telephone lines strung by Allied troops for communication. Probably in Germany, early spring 1945.

Jagdpanther with the simplified bolted gun collar, knocked out by tank destroyers of the 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion, attached to the 9th Infantry Division, U.S. First Army, 15 March 1945, Bargarten, Germany. In addition to the 90mm round through the glacis plate, other hits were scored on the right track and gun mantlet as well as at least three on the glacis.

This view of a standard production PzKpfw III Ausf G shows the 5 cm gun, turret side vision ports, and the ribbed drive wheel, all characteristics of the Ausf E to G series. This particular vehicle lacks the turret stowage box but has scaling flaps for the engine cooling intakes seen raised in this view. This was one of the waterproofed vehicles earmarked but not used for amphibious operations, and a frame for a waterproof cover is visible around the hull machine gun mount.

Panzerkampfwagen III, Eastern Front.

PzKpfw III, left, and PzKpfw II, right, North Africa.

PzKpfw III, Russia.

PzKpfw III and supporting SS panzergrenadiers near Stalingrad during the final days of the battle, 1943.

Disabled PzKpfw III offers some protection for British soldiers.

PzKpfw III.

PzKpfw III, Russia.

Crew of a PzKpfw III, Afrika Korps, North Africa, pause for a meal. They are wearing tropical shirts and shorts; two of them are still wearing the black Feldmütze of the continental uniform, the others are wearing peaked tropical caps. The man at left is wearing high laced boots; he is sitting over a South African pith helmet which has been badged with German insignia. Note the aircraft silhouette on the tank’s main gun, indicating their claim for shooting down an enemy aircraft.