The new German army made use of the experiences collected in World War I to realize their modern reconstruction based on motorization In spite of the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles able commanders introduced civilian vehicles into the army thus creating a motorized mentality In 1940 already a battalion consisting of 3 to 4 companies each equipped with 52 motorcycles with sidecars & 4 motorcycle was integrated into the motorized infantry & the armo-red divisions Moreover motorcycles were present in nearly all other Wehrmacht units especially with the reconnaissance units & the command as well as the pioneer & the supply units Produced in 16 500 units the BMW R 75 together with the Zijndapp KS 750 formed the nucleus of the motorized units on all theatres of operations especially in Africa & in Russia The motorcycle was armoured with an MG 34 mounted on the sidecar On the road it reached a maximum speed of 92 Km h ...

The model 42 Desert Vehicle was developed for the Italian Army based on the chassis & mechanics of the AB 41 armoured car Over the course of the operations on the African front the need arose for a reconnaissance vehicle specially adapted to the desert conditions where driving on sand required particular features large size tyres at low pressure height from the ground extensive autonomy that were not present on the currently available vehicles The engineers eliminated the dual running direction typical of the AB 41 & the four-wheel drive The vehicle was produced in two armament configurations one with 20 mm cannon machine gun & the other with 47 32 anti-tank cannon Several dozen of these vehicles were produced after the fall of the African front the remaining AS 42s were re-deployed in Italy ending their career in the police force in the 1950s ...

The need to protect the armoured units from the enemy aviation pushed the English army to develop this self-propeller equipped with a Bofors 40 mm cannon using the hulls of the Crusader armoured tank considered out-dated at the end of 1943 The cannon was placed in a tower with armoured plating able to assure the necessary protection to the gunners The Crusader AA was distributed to the air detachments for the protection of the control units at the end of 1943 Some detachments were used during the French invasion following the landing in Normandy but due to the air superiority of the allies the German air threats proved inexistent therefore the use of this self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle was very limited if not null ...

This large triple shaft amphibian vehicle was developed during the 2nd World War for the American armed forces The aim was to build a vehicle to supply ammunition food & materials
- stored in the holds of transport ships
- to invading troops occupying beachheads on enemy soil immediately after landing The DUKW offered good navigating qualities & could move well off-road too which combined with its high load capacity enabled it to perform its logistic role to the full In the post-war years it was widely used by USA s allies all the way through to the 70s including civil protection assignments

...

As the Volkswagen 82 Kubelwagen proved very successful during the campaign in Poland it was necessary to produce ever increasing numbers of this vehicle Later Ferdinand Porsche developed an amphibian version of this car called the Schwimmwagen The light weight of this vehicle about 1 2 ton permitted crossing of muddy areas since only two men were sufficient to keep this vehicle moving For reconnaissance & liaison missions water had to be crossed frequently which was impossible with other vehicles ...

During the final part of the Second World War the lack of fuel created by the destruction of the production structures & the loss of extraction areas forced German military organisers to create a whole range of alternative solutions in order to fuel all of the transportation vehicles required to carry on the war The various solutions also included the use of vehicles powered by gas produced by wood or carbon combustion standard 3 ton trucks based on the Kfz 305 chassis became rather popular among the various means of transport also used after the end of the war ...

The Panzer IV was developed during the opening months of World War Two to equip German armoured divisions with a tank having a 7 5 cm cannon Given the shortcomings of the previous Panzer III equipped with a 5 cm gun often in difficulty against the Soviet T34 with its 5 cm gun & highly effective armour it also featured enhanced protection The Mark IV was used extensively by the German Army on all fronts during the Second World War numerous variants were produced to counter the constant improvements made to enemy tanks ...

The Panther was developed for the German Army more than 50 years ago It was one of the most efficient & famous vehicles of WWII It was created together with the well-known tank mark VI This tank entered service in 1943 supporting the Mark IV tanks which had difficulties to oppose the onslaught of Soviet T-34 tanks on the Eastern front During the following two years of the war this powerful tank was present in all war zones Italy France as well as during the final battles on German soil It proved its qualities against its adversaries from Sherman to Stalin ...

The Jagdpanther is the tank destroyer version with a fixed gun based on the Panther G variant No 270 which has been known as one of the best tanks of World War II This version with its characteristics of a compact & ballistically advantageous shape was equipped with a remarkable 88mm gun which was able to penetrate all allied tanks included the well-protected Soviet Stalin Is & IIs This vehicle went into production in 1944 & because of intensive allied bombing raids against Germany industry only reached the frontlines in limited numbers & thus had no impact on the war efforts ...

The Elefant tank hunter was probably the biggest armoured vehicle built during World War II Officially designed as Jagdpanzer Tiger P Elefant a considerable number of them were built After the famous tank battle at Kursk on the Russian front they were moved to Italy where they operated until 1944 ...