From the Archive - Sd.Kfz. 222 or 223 Floor Plate Find. What is it for? - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

We recently received delivery of a quantity of items for our armoured car projects. Amongst these items was a large section of floor plate from a Sd.Kfz. 222 or 223. Finding original complete panels for these machines is difficult enough and finding those with their floor hatches intact is even tougher. Our investigation into the floor plate pattern of the 4th Serie Sd.Kfz 222 Ausf A and the 3rd Serie Sd.Kfz.223 Ausf A is brought once more into the spot light as we examine these original panels. The difficulty is determining which Serie or Ausfuehrung these panels originate from. The chassis width of the Ausf A differs from the Ausf. B but this only provides part of the picture as both the Ausf. A and Ausf. B vehicles have a floor support frame built in under the floor. The Ausf. A has a simple rail on either side whereas the B is a dedicated frame. The floor does not fit directly to the floor but to the rail in the Ausf.A or the frame in the Ausf.B. Looking at the Ersatzteilliste zum Aufbau for the Sd Kfz 222 D686/14 the Ausf B body components including the floor plate are shown in the first section of the manual and the Ausf A appears at the end. The images provide a much clearer idea of the floor plate required. Differences begin to emerge when comparing this D686/14 with its counterpart for the in D686/16 Leichter Panzerspaehwagen (Fu) Sd.Kfz 223 in which the later Ausf B is again listed up front while the Ausf.B is listed towards the rear. The images indicate this panel is from a 5 Serie Ausf.B vehicle. It shows the distinctive square cut out for top up access to the Hauptbremszylinder (main brake cylinder) to the centre left of the rectangular cut out. This is very different to the Ausf.A floor panel as the square is replaced by a circular hole to the lower left of the rectangular stowage access. The other determinant of the panel’s origin is the length of the floor plate panel. The panel is too short to have come from a Sd.Kfz223 reflecting the space required for the much larger Sockellafette for the 2cm KwK found in the Sd.Kfz222 as opposed to the Drehsockel in the Sd.Kfz.223. Another problem with the Ausf A range is the number of alternatives there are for some parts. The fahrgestellnummer is mostly conveniently provided for the parts in question. Certain parts are designated for certain chassis number ranges. This is helpful where you are looking for a part and need to kick off the hunt but rather depressing when you have the part and find it does not belong in the home you have been willing it to for years. The list of tradeable parts grows. The parts number is sometimes stamped on to the part but in the case of floor plate is not. How do we determine what armoured car chassis this floor section comes from? We will investigate these parts in the near future through Inside Track.

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