History
Daimler-Benz developed this heavy prime mover halftrack, originally Sonderkraftfahrzeug 8 Schwerer Zugkraftwagen or Sd.Kfz. 8 in 1932/1933 with version designation DB s7. Other versions followed with improvements and more powerful engines up to the DB s10 in 1939.
This heavy prime mover had a 12 cylinder Maybach HL85 TURKM 8,5 liter water-cooled engine with 182 horsepower and was built to tow heavy guns like the 21 cm Mörser 18 (Eng. Mortar), the 17 cm Kanone 18 and the 10.5 cm Flak 38. It was capable of infantry and crew transport. It was in service with the German army from 1939 until 1945 but served other countries after the war. Skoda manufactured the Halftrack and it was used with the Czechoslovak and Romanian army until 1955. The Sd. Kfz. 8 served on all fronts throughout the war.
Specifications
The Sd. Kfz. 8 – 12t halftrack DB 10 weighed 14700 kilograms and was 7,35 meters long. 2,5 meters wide and 2,77 meters high. It was a gas guzzling vehicle which used 1 liter of gas for every kilometer, its fuel capacity of 210 in its main tank and 40 liters in its reserve brought him 250 kilometers on roads. Off roads this was declined to 125 kilometers. Its maximum speed was 51 km/h on road, 21 km/h off road.
It had a crew of 2 and 11 seats for infantry or a gun crew. The main manufacturers were Daimler-Benz and Krauss-Maffei but Skoda produced the heavy prime mover as well. It was produced 4070 times during and before the war.
Variants
The Sd.Kfz. 8 came, next to its development versions, in a few variants. The first, as seen above, is a heavy prime mover. The second version was the 8,8-cm-Flak 18 (Sfl.) auf Zugkraftwagen 12t / Bunkerflak or Bufla. The need for a truck with a 8,8 cm gun to destroy bunkers and strongpoints was decided in 1938. Ten of these variants were built and all ten ended up in the 1. Schwere Kompanie/ Panzerjäger abteilung. The 8,8-cm-FlaK 18 (Sfl.) auf Zugkraftwagen 12t saw action in Poland, France and Operation Barbarossa. Although it had a strong gun the halftracks height made it easy to spot on the battlefield which made it a target. The Bufla’s switched companies several times during the war but the last was taken out of action in march 1943 in the Soviet Union.
There was a recovery vehicle used for tank maintenance crews and recovery, the Sd.Kfz. 8 could tow a disabled Panther tank for instance.
The last variant was a fully armored halftrack to protect and support infantry during battle. This was the Sd.Kfz. 8 Gepanzerter Zugkraftwagen 12t. It is unknown how many were made but one was recovered and restored in Poland.
This Particular Sd.Kfz. 8 has Fahrgestellnummer 241218 (Eng. Chassis number) and was built by Krupp under licence, it lacks an engine.
The setup on the photo combines the 12 ton German Halftrack Sd.Kfz. 8 pulling a 150 cm searchlight and a 24 KW generator. Both the FlaKscheinwerfer 34 and the 24 KW Generator are carried by two Specialized trailer sets, the Sd. An. 104 (Sonderanhänger 104).
