7.5cm PaK 40/1 auf Geschutzenwagen Lorraine Schlepper (f) (SdKfz 135)

History

During the war, Germany effectively mastered captured weapon systems in order to rebuild them for new battlefield uses. Such was the case with the Lorraine artillery tractors seized from France after the fall of France in June 1940.

Over time, it was decided to retrofit the excellent rifled anti-tank guns of the 75 mm PaK 40 series of the German Army to these existing machines and to produce a new self-propelled howitzer - 7.5 cm PaK 40/1 auf Geschutzenwagen Lorraine tractor (f) (Army license plate for "SdKfz 135").

The program change process is relatively easy, as the original French substructure remains largely unchanged. A lightly armored open-top structure was added for the artillery crew at the rear of the hull, the main gun consisted of the aforementioned PaK 40 mounted, with the mount and all (including the three-sided gun mantlet).

Body front panel. Shields were placed outside the side walls of the superstructure to maintain the ability of the gun to rotate 32 degrees to the left or right from the centerline (otherwise the entire vehicle would have to be turned in the desired direction of fire).

Power comes from a French DelaHaye 103TT 6-cylinder 70-horsepower gasoline engine, capable of 21 mph road speeds and a range of 75 miles (46.5 off-road).

FuG. Equipped with 5 radios for communication, the crew consisted of a total of four people - driver, commander and two gunmen. The gun crews lived in an open-air setting, which exposed them to the elements and dangers from abovethe Soviet winter was especially brutal for these folksbut the driver could sit inside the fuselage.

40 rounds of 75mm ammunition can be stored above the vehicle. A 7.92mm MG34 machine gun was installed for point defense. The total weight of the vehicle is 8 tons.

The conversion took place in 1942, and the program produced around 170 Waffentragers. The Panzerjager units of the Infantry Division were the first units of this type to be released, and these units were immediately used against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front.

However, Allied threats from the south and west resulted in some stocks being sent elsewhere for support. As a result, some of these weapons were used in the Battle of Normandy, and the series remained in service until the final weeks of the war (May 1945).

7.5cm PaK 40/1 on Geschutzenwagen Lorraine Hauler (f) (SdKfz 135) gauge

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

40 x 75 mm projectile.

Changes