Bradford - Axis armored fighting vehicles: 1/72 scale

The Kfz.13 was one of the first light reconnaissance cars fielded by the new expanding army of the German Reichswehr in the early 1930s. It was based on the popular Adler Standard 6 Kbelsitzer passenger car, fitted with an 8mm armored superstructure, and had a pedestal-mounted MG 13. It had a crew of two with the commander seated in the machine-gun position.

These vehicles were issued to motorized recon detachments from 1932 and by 1935 were being replaced by the SdKfz. 221 and 223. They took part in in the Polish invasion, and some even served in France and the early advances in Russia.

When Lt. Col. Heinz Guderian gained authority in 1931, he and Gen. Lutz agreed that the future makeup of the German Army must have armored troops in the form of panzer divisions.

In order not to alarm other world powers, Germany kept its medium tank programs under cover and turned its attention to a series of light tank designs. These light tanks could be manufactured cheaply and in quantities great enough to support serious training programs. An order for 150 machines was placed in the early 1930s.

First produced in 1935, the Pz.Kpfw. I Ausf. B served alongside the earlier Ausf. A light tanks. The Ausf. A version had soon proved to be underpowered for serious cross-country operation, and a larger engine was required. A 6-cylinder Maybach NL 38 TR water-cooled engine was fitted, along with an improved transmission. The most distinguishing features of the Ausf. B are the addition of a fifth roadwheel to accommodate the larger engine, four return rollers, a single muffler at right rear, and a raised rear idler wheel.

Both the Ausf. A and B models were first used in Spain, but proved dismally inferior to the Russian T-26s they encountered there. In the early battles of World War II, both types were pressed into service in Poland, Norway, France, and even North Africa. Those sent to Africa were modified for tropical service.

In 1937, the Vs Kfz. 622 went into production as the Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. A, and about 35 were built in time to see service in both Poland and France, where their short 75mm gun proved very effective as an infantry-support weapon. They were then withdrawn and replaced by the Ausf. B model for the rest of the 1941 campaign.

The majority of the 435 produced mounted the 3.7cm KwK, but about 100 were fitted with the 5cm KwL L/42 with external mantlet. Later, most of the 3.7cm models were upgraded with 5cm guns and add-on 30mm armor plate

The Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. B laid the groundwork for many of the characteristics of the eventual Pz.Kpfw. II. This version had been preceded by the Ausf. A/1, A/2, and A/3 of the first La S 100 series. As the second La S 100 series, it was a part of this early experimentation, and as such, the suspension featured the early-style triple bogies sprung by leaf springs and braced with an outer supporting girder.

The Ausf. B was developed in 1936 and began coming off the production line early in 1937. It was fitted with the more powerful HL 62 engine, improved tracks, a new drive sprocket, and generally strengthened overall. A total of 25 were built with this suspension before the later, more common five-wheel-style suspension of the Ausf. C took over.

The Ausf. B saw serious action during the 1939 Polish campaign alongside other versions of the Pz.Kpfw. II developed by that date. It started out as a combat tank but was soon redesignated as a light reconnaissance vehicle by the time Germany invaded Western Europe and Russia.

The kl.Pz.Bef.Wg. shown here is fitted with a frame aerial to support additional radio equipment and with the standard 2-meter antenna folded down into its protective wooden rack. It also displays the stow-age bin often fitted to this vehicle.

Since these were merely armored superstructures on a strengthened 6-wheeled cross-country truck chassis, their off-road performance was mediocre. Production began in the early 1930s, but they were not shown officially before 1936, when they were issued to Aufklrungs detachments of the newly developing motorized forces of the German Army.

The Sd.Kfz. 232 was based on the same model as the Sd.Kfz. 231, but with additional long-range radio equipment supported by a large frame antenna above. It was issued to the same units as the Sd.Kfz. 231, and both types participated in the occupation of Austria and Czechoslovakia and in the battles in Poland and France.

By the mid-1930s, the Austrian firm Austro-Daimler-Puch had designed several armored cars. After Austria was annexed by Germany, it began to take an interest in the ADGZ heavy armored cars and selected 14 of them for SS-police duties in the Danzig area in September 1939.

A total of 27 of these vehicles had been built for the Austrian Army originally, but the SS-police crews liked them so much that by early 1942, another 25 had been ordered. Some of these ended up in Yugoslavia, where they were used by SS troops in an antipartisan role.