(German armored rail car with tank cannon turret
- a French officer who has written on armored trains in the past described
this vehicle as a 'turreted self propelled rail car (Schienenpanzerspahwagen)
built by the Steyr Company for use in the Balkans. '
In his response to album owner, Kim Fields, this
officer further stated "Part of a set of only 4 that were built, none have
survived. Apparently this photo is one of only a few photographs that exist
of this machine.
In 1943 Germany introduced light armored scout cars to the Balkans to secure
the railroad lines against partisan attacks. As a result of their
deployment, cars with greater firepower were requested, these were fielded
in the fall of 1944.
The concept was to permit an armored train consisting of 12 cars with
varying armament (four cars with Panzer III N turret mounting a 75mm L/24
cannon, two cars carrying a quadruple 20mm anti-aircraft gun, and six cars
armed with machine guns carrying infantry, command, communication, and
medical sections. Since each car by powered by a 76h.p. Steyr motor,
disabled units could be assisted by other operating cars, an improvement
over other armored trains generally powered by a single steam engine.
Due to material shortages, only eight trains were operational, these
contained only eight scout cars (two cars with Pz III turrets, two command
cars with fixed antenna, and four infantry cars). Six other cars were also
included: two flak cars carrying the quad 20mm guns on a flat car, two
panzertragerwagens (tank carriers) with a Panzer 38t tank, and two flat cars
carrying track maintenance equipment, which was used to detonate mines on
the rail bed. Each train could be operated as two sections of four scout
cars each, depending upon the mission."
Clearly the Barger Album continues to stand out as a
remarkable find.) |