Sd.Kfz.223 Ausf.B (5 Serie) – Uncovering the Provenance Part 2 – a Sd.Kfz.223? - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

Members will no doubt noticed how we no longer mention the 5.Serie Sd.Kfz.223 project and have opted instead to refer to this as our Typ v Fahrgestell project. The provenance of everything restored by the Foundation is all important and the most recent research has made us question just which type of le.Sp.Wg. this chassis might have been used for. We have come a long way since we began our research on this chassis. Our original steer came decades ago when Tom Jentz said we might have a very early 5.Serie Sd.Kfz.223 chassis. This statement was never questioned as Tom was generally right. We realised we had not even investigated this project for the past 10 years. A considerable amount of research has now been completed on the Fahrgestell. The data on Fahrgestell, le.Pz.Sp.Wg. and Kl.Pz.Fu.Wg. assembly is rather thin but there are several crucial points to draw from the records. In the last piece we discussed the range of dates and the firms responsible for the assembly of the various le.Pz.Sp.Wg. and Kl.Pz.Fu.Wg. armoured cars the base data for which is set out in Panzer Tracts No.13-1. A key point uncovered in the Foundations Document Archive is that Fahrgestell were delivered, to the assembly firms, with electrical suppression to Gruppe I or Gruppe III (Gruppe I vollenstort or Gruppe III einfachenstort /teilenstort). The chassis were pre-fitted with basic or full suppression kits by their manufacturer Auto Union AG, Werk Horch. The assembly firms who were responsible for mounting the armoured Aufbau and completing the vehicle prior to delivery to a Heereszeugamt. This information drove us increasingly to believe these vehicles were delivered in batches and not individually as previously thought. Our chassis 8110027, one of the first twenty-four of the 5.Serie Ausf.B, appeared to be in a batch of other Gruppe I chassis destined to be assembled by Wegmann, in Kassel, as a Sd.Kfz.223. These chassis should have been assembled in March or early April 1942. However, Wegmann did not start their Sd.Kfz.223 assembly until July. Had the assembly of this batch of suppressed chassis have experienced problems resulting in such a significant delay? Could this prove why such an early chassis was assembled so late? Surely there must be some evidence of a group of early Ausf.B 223?. We still hunted for confirmation that the chassis was for a Sd.Kfz.223. The data was however less than helpful in proving this identity. One piece of information had unavoidable conclusions that if the Sd.Kfz.223 Ausf.B only began assembly in July 1942 our Fahrgestell Nummer 8110027 is too low to have ever been a Sd.Kfz.223. Further research by Hilary Doyle provide an extensive look into le.Pz.Sp.Wg. production in from 1934 to 1944. Because of collating enormous amounts of data, collected by Hilary and Tom Jentz, not only from the various assemblers, but also from the units issued with the armoured cars Hilary created a data base of all the armoured cars. This database provides significant insight into this very opaque world. Of the over 2,400 Ausf.A and B le.Pz.Sp.Wg. produced, this database provides detailed Fahrgestell Nummer and type identification for more than 900 of the le.Pz.Sp.Wg. About 600 can even be allocated to specific Combat Units. This result is quite remarkable given just how little wartime information survives. Joining the dots over a vast archive range has produced a truly amazing resource. Armoured cars chassis numbers uncovered over nearly 50 years have provided us with a unique insight into when and what cars were produced. The database providing each chassis number listed consecutively together with its designation (Sd.Kfz.221, 222, 223, 260 and 261) alongside, the date the chassis was shipped to the assembly companies under each contract. We hope to add to this resource over time. A vast photographic archive listing registration numbers has also been built and awaits matching to the Fahrgestell Nummer register. From this resource emerged the only possible conclusion that our 8110027 le.Pz.Sp.Wg. or Kl.Pz.Fu.Wg. is not likely to be a Sd.Kfz.223. . We will reveal further exciting information in the next piece - Uncovering the Provenance Part 3.

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