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The ''Sonderkraftfahrzeug'' 8 ("special motorized vehicle 8") was a German half-track that saw widespread use in World War II. Its main roles were as a prime mover for heavy towed guns such as the 21 cm Mörser 18, the 15 cm Kanone 18 and the 10.5 cm FlaK 38. Approximately 4,000 were produced between 1938 and 1945. It was used in every campaign fought by the Germans in World War II, notably the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, the Balkans Campaign, the Eastern Front, the North African Campaign, the Battle of Normandy and the Italian Campaign. ==Description== The ''Sd.Kfz. 8'' had a ladder frame chassis. Power was provided by a Maybach 12-cylinder, water-cooled, 8.52 litre (520 cu in) ''HL 85 TUKRM'' gasoline engine of . It had a semi-automatic ZF transmission with four forward and one reverse gears. The driver selected the desired gear and initiated the shift by depressing the clutch. It had two fuel tanks, one of and the other of capacity.〔Spielberger, p. 164〕 Both tracks and wheels were used for steering. The steering system was set up so that shallow turns used only the wheels, but brakes would be applied to the tracks the farther the steering wheel was turned. The drive sprocket had rollers rather than the more common teeth. The rear suspension consisted of six double roadwheels, overlapping and interleaved in the usual ''Schachtellaufwerk'' system used for German half-track vehicles, mounted on swing arms sprung by torsion bars. An idler wheel, mounted at the rear of the vehicle, was used to control track tension. The front wheels had leaf springs and shock absorbers.〔Spielberger, p. 164〕 The upper body had a crew compartment with three bench seats, one for the driver and his assistant, and two others for the crew. The rear cargo area contained storage compartments, one on each side and two in the rear. The windshield could fold forward and was also removable. A convertible canvas top was mounted above the rear storage compartments. It fastened to the windshield when erected.〔Spielberger, p. 79〕 The ''Sd.Kfz. 8'' was initially designed to have a towing capacity of , but the wartime ''DB 10'' could tow .〔Spielberger, p. 85〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sd.Kfz. 8」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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