Rarities

[arminfreitag]

Hi everybody
I would like to start a new topic. Let's collect pictures here of vehicles
that we do not see often. It could be field modifications, test vehicles,
prototypes, vehicles built in small series only and anything that is rare
and not seen often may it be armoured or softskin.
Hopefully we will see a lot of new pictures.

Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

Hi
I would like to start with some unique vehicles of Pz I.
Here 5 pictures of a Pz I converted to Flammpanzer:

[arminfreitag]

Hi
four pictures of Pz I I09 with a frame work used to carry fascines (?).
Also one picture of a Pz I with dummy guns (?) in the turret.
Anybody has more info?

Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

Next some Pz I with frame antenna used as comand or Funk vehicles.
Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

More Funkwagen on Pz I.
Sorry about the bad quality of some pictures.

Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

Hi everybody
in the next posts I want to share some pictures of Pz I and kl. PzBefWg I
used as Sani-Panzers.

Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

And some more.

[arminfreitag]

5 more.

[bam]

Two Pz.I with wurfrahmen frame, taken from a sd.kfz.251. Probably a Pz.I from a panzer engineer abteilung, which had Pz.I in 1940-1.

I think this would have been an excellent use of old Pz.1 chassis. In Rebentisch's history of 23rd Pz.D, he says they mounted wurfrahmen on lorries during late 43- 44, due to lack of anything more suitable. The div was very short of everything, especially infantry, plus only had 10-20 tanks, and the lorried wurfrahmen were used as a quick response against massed soviet infantry attacks, which the few German infantry were struggling to stop.
They had a devastating effect when used in time, causing some physical casualties but basically stopping the attack through psychological shock. The 28cm H.E. rockets weren't big shrapnel generators, but they made a huge blast shock wave, that would stun anyone nearby. Caused deafness, disorientation, shock, fear, auto-defecation... basically rendered the people in the target area incapable of fighting for a few minutes, until their heads cleared. I was once very close to a large firework that went off unexpectedly, and I can report it is like being punched. You cannot think straight for awhile, and are confused and incapable, though otherwise unhurt.
So fitting wurfrahmen onto a all terrain vehicle would be a good solution. They used to fit a rack of 4 onto the back of recycled Renault UE schleppers, which could have been done to the Pz.1 too, plus maybe 2 more onto each side like they put onto Hotchkiss H38 tanks, would make one tank deliver a salvo of 8 rockets. Thats heavy metal ! Would have been very useful in 1941-2 when the Soviets repeatedly made human wave attacks without proper tank support.
.

350206626423.jpg (68.2 KiB) Viewed 6424 times

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A single Pz.I converted to a schwimmpanzer, with added removable pontoons.
.

Pz I.464 Schwimmpanzer.jpg (26.94 KiB) Viewed 6424 times

.
Without pontoons

01.jpg (53.47 KiB) Viewed 6424 times

[arminfreitag]

Hi Bam
thank you for your contribution.
The Pz I with Wurfrahmen seems to be a converted Ladungsleger.
Here some additional pictures, also a different view of the Schwimmpanzer.
Interesting what you wrote about 23rd Pzdiv. I have got some pictures with
Nebelwerfers on trucks which I will post here.

Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

Here some more.

Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

Hi all
here some more rare pictures of Pz I used for training.
Sorry about the quality.

Regards
Armin

[arminfreitag]

Hi all
a very rare picture of a 7,5 cm SFL 40,8 Model 1 (Büssing-NAG BN10H).
2 of them in one picture!

Regards
Armin

[SIS 5]

Hi Armin,

what an excellent pic! Thank You very much for posting. Do You know why this very progressive vehicle was not introduced?

Best regards

Bert

[arminfreitag]

Hi Bert
indeed interesting vehicles. Panzertracts 7-1 has the story of these
antitank halftracks. In 1935 the OKH requested an offensive tank defence.
It resulted in 2 different Sfls on halftracks: the 3,7 cm SFL L/70 and the
7,5 cm SFL L/40,8. There were different models of the 7,5 cm SFL and it
was still being tested in 1940. The last model was the Pz-SFL II, which saw
action in Africa. There are a few pictures of this model.
As Jentz writes all of these vehicles failed to achieve the key requirements
and the program was abandoned. They weren't faster, didn't have better cross-country
mobility, nor were they cheaper to produce than tanks.
Pictures of these vehicles (7,5 cm SFL L/40,8) are very rare and except the well known
ones shown in Panzertracts, Spielberger and other publications this is only the second
I found. The first one is shown here. (also found on Ebay).

Regards
Armin