The Krupp ''Protze'' (officially ''L 2 H 43'' and ''L 2 H 143'') was a six-wheeled 6x4

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

truck and

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be 6x6, wheeled, continuous track, tracked, or half-tracked. Trac ...

produced between 1934 and 1941 and heavily used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was powered by a 4-cylinder, 55 hp or, from 1936, 60 hp Krupp M 304 petrol engine. Its main purpose was to tow artillery, especially the 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun (designated ''Kfz'' 69), and transport

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ca ...

(designated ''Kfz'' 70). This vehicle was extensively used on the Eastern Front, during the North African campaign and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The "Krupp-Protze" was of relatively advanced design. Its fuel consumption was relatively high (24 Litres / 100 km on road) in comparison to the comparable

Opel Blitz Opel Blitz (''Blitz'' being German for "lightning") was the name given to various light and middle-weight trucks built by the German Opel automobile manufacturer between 1930 and 1975. The original logo for this truck, two stripes arranged loo ...

1.5 t truck (16.5 liters / 100 km, produced 1938 - 1942). Total production was about 7,000 units.

Variants

A successful design, the Krupp-Protze was converted into several variants: ;Kfz.19 :Telephone truck ;Kfz.21 :

Staff car A staff car is a vehicle used by a senior military officer, and is part of their country's white fleet. The term is most often used in relation to the United Kingdom where they were first used in quantity during World War I, examples being the ...

;Kfz.68 :Radio mast carrier ;Kfz.69 :Standard configuration for towing the 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun. Carried 2 in front with 4 in a pair of forward and rear facing seats. ;Kfz.70 :Standard configuration for personnel carrying. carried 2 in front with 10 seated in the rear on benches. ;Kfz.81 :Ammo carrier conversion for 2 cm FlaK anti-aircraft gun, usually towed *Kfz.83 :Generator carrier for anti-aircraft

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

, usually towed ;

Sd.Kfz. 247 Sd.Kfz. 247 ''schwerer geländegängiger gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen'' ("heavy all-terrain armoured motor vehicle") was an Armored car (military), armored car used by the Wehrmacht, German armed forces during World War II. Before the war, ten ...

Ausf. A :

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

, six-wheeled version, only 20 built in 1937; production went to

Daimler-Benz The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...

, who built the Ausf. B four-wheeled version in 1941 and 1942. Sometimes anti-tank (37 mm Pak 36) and anti-air (2 cm Flak) guns were mounted directly on the truck bed ( Portée).

Notes

References

External links

Pictures
at Olive-Drab.com

{{WWIIGermanVehicles World War II vehicles of Germany Military trucks of Germany Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s Military vehicles of Germany

Variants

See also

Notes

References

External links