| SdKfz 4 | |
|---|---|
15 cm Panzerwerfer auf Sf (Sd.Kfz. 4/1) at the Saumur Tank Museum |
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| Type | Half-track |
| Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Nazi Germany |
| Wars | World War II |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 7.1 tonnes |
| Length | 6 m |
| Width | 2.2 m |
| Height | 2.5 m |
| Crew | 4 |
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| Armor | 8 mm |
| Main armament |
7.92 mm MG34 or MG42 2,000 rounds |
| Engine | 6 cylinder Opel 3.6 litre engine. |
| Operational range |
130 km |
| Speed | 40km/h |
The SdKfz 4 Gleisketten-Lastkraftwagen ("chain-track truck"), nicknamed Maultier ("mule") was a family of half-tracks developed during World War II by Germany.
The SdKfz 4 was developed after the 1941 invasion of the USSR to deal with the ice and mud, which bogged down the road-bound commercial vehicles that were used to supply German forces.
A total of 22,500 SdKfz 4 halftracks were produced by 1944. Later in the war, Opel trucks were outfitted with 15 cm Panzerwerfer 42 rocket launchers and designated SdKfz 4/1, with around 300 being produced. However these variants, with the extra weight, could only manage a top speed of 25 mph.
The vast majority of SdKfz 4s operated using British-pattern Carden-Lloyd running gear, with the exception of the Type L 4500 R, which used PzKpfw. II running gear. The 6-cylinder engines were mated to a transmission with 5 forward / 1 reverse gears and could attain a maximum forward speed of 40 km/h. Each halftrack was equipped with the FuG Spr G f radio.
Aside from the SdKfz 4/1, the SdKfz 4 was armed only with a light 7.92 mm MG34 or MG42 machine gun with a traverse of 270° and elevation limits of -12° to +80°.
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