Ref.: RODE-00712
Sd.Kfz. 4/1 Panzerwerfer 42 The SdKfz 4 "Gleisketten-Lastkraftwagen", nicknamed Maultier ("mule") was a family of half-tracks developed during World War II by Germany. The SdKfz 4 was developed after the 1941 invasion of the USSR to deal with the ice and mud, which bogged down the road-bound commercial vehicles that were used to supply German forces. A total of 22,500 SdKfz 4 halftracks were produced by 1944. Later in the war, Opel trucks were outfitted with 15 cm Panzerwerfer 42 rocket launchers and designated SdKfz 4/1, with around 300 being produced. However these variants, with the extra weight, could only manage a top speed of 25 mph. The vast majority of SdKfz 4s operated using British-pattern Carden-Lloyd running gear, with the exception of the Type L 4500 R, which used PzKpfw. II running gear. The 6-cylinder engines were mated to a transmission with 5 forward / 1 reverse gears and could attain a maximum forward speed of 40 km/h. Each halftrack was equipped with the FuG Spr G f radio.