Gamer58 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Some of the German PSWs have some interesting features for which I cannot see an Allied equivalent. 1. Dual Driver 2. The large shovel type attachment (see here) 3. Other features? What do you make of the German AFV design, and what was the shovel attachment for? Obstacles or extra armor? How was visibility on these things compared to the Allied M3? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 The 'large shovel type attachment' wasn't a feature but a fix. The 232 bow armor was too weak, it couldn't take a hit. So they added stand-off armor our in front. I believe later in the war the stand-off armor was dropped when they beefed up the hull plate. I'm not that up on 232 changes over the war. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempestzzzz Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Dual drives I see as a maintenance headache-though I understand the logic. Just my time around engines I suppose. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Gamer58, For recon, the extra driver cum radio operator was worth his weight in gold. German armored cars so configured could pull into position and get out almost instantly, going as fast backward as forward, I believe. So good was it, the Bundeswehr revived the configuration during the Cold War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spähpanzer_Luchs If you watch some of the vids on YT, you'll notice how incredibly quiet this radically updated AC is. My brother, then in the 2/11 ACR, and his Bradley CFV crew were green with envy. The Luchs was everything their Bradley wasn't--low, quiet, fast and armed well enough to do recon, but not so heavily as to be drawn into a slugging match against tanks. The Bradley CFV was a hulking, slow, tall, heavily armed roaring, snorting monster, the antithesis of stealth. My brother and his crew particularly envied that driver cum radio operator facing aft. Now, why should on onrushing Guards Tank Army make that attractive? MikeyD, You are absolutely right about the add-on armor, but I believe it was the SdKfz 234 series which had enough armor to dispense with the awkward (find some period pics of a 232 crossing a gully or steepish streambed) and operate without the impediment. Tempestzzzz, What? Such a terrible thing could NEVER happen, especially in combat! (looks around anxiously for Murphy, his dread law and its endless corollaries) Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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