Diorama with a plastic model of the Sd.Kfz. 234/4

The plastic model was built from the Dragon kit in 1:35 scale. The miniature was enriched with photo etched parts, resin wheels and an engine that comes from Great Wall Hobby.

Sd.Kfz. 234 was a German armored vehicle from the Second World War, which was produced in 4 versions differing in the type of gun. The Sd.Kfz.234/4 version was equipped with the 7.5 cm PaK 40 anti-tank gun.

The vehicle was fitted with a 14.8-liter (905 in³), 210 HP (157 kW) 12-cylinder diesel engine. Most of the German military vehicles were using gasoline engines during WW2. This vehicle was fitted a diesel engine from the Czech Tatra manufacturer.

An interesting fact is that there were 2 drivers among 4 crew members. The vehicle was able to quickly change direction of ride to reverse without the driver having to transfer to the second seat. The gearbox had 6 forward gears and the same number of reverse gears.

The production of the 234/4 version lasted for several months at the turn of 1944-1945 and amounted to 89 copies.

The 7.5 cm PaK 40 anti-tank gun was used mainly on its own chassis. It was so effective that it was also decided to install it in vehicles. The effective range of the shot was 1800 m (1969 yd), and the rate of fire was 14 rounds per minute. Three types of shells of different weights were used: 4.05 kg, 4.57 kg and 6.80 kg (8 lb 15 oz, 10 lb 1 oz and 15 lb)

Specifications:

• Length: 6.84 m (22 ft 5¼ in),
• Width: 2.33 m (7 ft 7½ in),
• Height: 2.35 m (7 ft 8½ in),
• Mass: 11500 kg (23 353 lb),
• Armor: 8-30 mm (5/16-1 3/16 in),
• Maximum speed: 80 km/h (50 mph).

Armament:

• anti-tank cannon 7.5 cm PaK 40,
• machine gun 7.92 mm.

Sources:

• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sd.Kfz._234/4
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sd.Kfz.234
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.5_cm_Pak_40
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/7,5_cm_PaK_40

24 May 2020