Kfz and Sd.Kfz – Keys for the German Army of WWII – Personalistation? - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

Keys are an area long taken for granted. The einheitsschaltkasten or universal ignition box were fitted as standard to majority of the mid to late assembled vehicles for the German Army in WWII. Variations existed within assemblers and contractors for keys used in vehicle types. Parts lists can be a great resource for determining which keys are for which vehicle even down to time of assembly. The problem is not all participants within the assembly line process adhered to this clear prescriptive rule. Many simply omitted the reference to the key save for (if fortunate) a tiny, grainy image on the relevant electrical equipment table. This can provide some assistance in determining the shape of the key. The more descriptive the manual and the clearer the images are the more accurate we can be determining exactly what key is for which vehicle even down to the specific part number. Exactly which key is for which vehicle takes on a very different form when considering a range of vehicles. Most keys work across many different German WWII vehicles but there are inevitably more than just the ignition keys for a vehicle. Many have stowage locks requiring keys and so on. This was not a problem for us at first until we experienced keys disappearing at shows we attended. The result was that we ended up with far fewer keys being used across the vehicles in the collection. This was before we researched which keys are correct for which vehicle class. How did the Germans designate which keys belonged to which vehicle or crew?. The answer emerged recently when we were hunting for components to be fitted onto our future project vehicles. We came across a dug up number of rusty keys on a key ring with two rectangular metal strips. There appeared to be numbering on one but we could not read the other. This was definitely worth a go as this was the first time we had seen a complete set of keys from a vehicle recovered from the ground all those years later. The state of the keys and the plates made this find all the more exciting as they had not been tampered with and we were very likely soon to be the beneficiary of first hand evidence of the ‘key regime’ of the German Army of WWII. One of the rectangular strips has the registration number of the vehicle to which it belonged 1A 154452 (a Berlin registration number). The rear face of this strip has another number 9021 stamped on it. The other rectangular strip has Fgst.Nr. 267 626 Fahrgestellnummer (chassis number) stamped on to the face. Of all of the numbers the only one that is not clear is what 9021 represents?.

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