sd kfz 232

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

the term schwerer panzerspähwagen (german: heavy armoured reconnaissance vehicle), covers the 6 and 8 wheeled armoured cars germany used during the second world war. in the german army, armoured cars were intended for the traditional cavalry missions of reconnaissance and screening. they scouted ahead and to the flank of advancing mechanized units to assess enemy location, strength and intention. their primary role was reconnaissance, but they would engage similar or light units and at times attempt to capture enemy patrols. the heavy panzerspähwagen was a large but very fast and highly versatile addition to the german army. the original 6 rad (6 wheel) versions were based on a 6x4 truck with an armoured body, but by 1937 they were being replaced by the 8 rad versions. during the replacement, the sd.kfz. (sonderkraftfahrzeug,special vehicle") numbers were carried directly over; differentiation is made by the addition of 6-rad or 8-rad in the vehicle's name.