SdKfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer

Demolition Carrier / Obstacle Clearance Vehicle

Nazi Germany | 1945

"The SdKfz 304 Spring was a explosives carrier for demolition work for the German Army of World War 2 and built atop the existing Kettenkrad half-track gun tractor design."

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Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 01/11/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The German Army of World War 2 (1939-1945) held a mastery of the battlefield concerning the use of mechanized warfare - both tracked and wheeled types. Throughout the conflict, its designs progressed at a rapid pace and, within time, many special-mission types emerged. In the field of battlefield engineering, the "Springer" disposable demolition tank was developed to help clear obstacles for the main fighting force.

Taking the Kettenkrad half-track gun tractor as a starting point, NSU Werke AG of Germany revised the design to carry a cargo load of 728lbs of explosives. Power was from a single Opel "Olympia" 4-cylinder, water-cooled engine of 36 horsepower carried over from the Kettenkrad vehicle. The track-and-wheel arrangement was also retained and this involved six overlapping road wheels to a track side. The vehicle still required an operator though he was only with the vehicle up to within range of the intended target / target area. The final leg of the journey was accomplished under remote operation (either wired or wireless) to which point the vehicle could be detonated and, hopefully, the target obstacle cleared.

Only about fifty Springer carriers were built and operated by the German Army in the last year of the war. Despite their promising mission scope, they proved themselves mechanically unreliable and prohibitively expensive to mass-produce in the numbers required. By this point in the war, Germany was a nation on the defensive and few resources could be given to such a novel battlefield solution.

The Springer demolition vehicle was given the German Army designation of "SdKfz 304". Its full designation was " SdKfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer".

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one land system design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the SdKfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer Demolition Carrier / Obstacle Clearance Vehicle.

1 x Opel "Olympia" 4-cylinder water-cooled inline engine developing 36 horsepower.
Installed Power

37 mph
60 kph
Road Speed

Structure
The physical qualities of the SdKfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer Demolition Carrier / Obstacle Clearance Vehicle.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

9.8 ft
3 meters
O/A Length

3.3 ft
1 meters
O/A Width

3.9 ft
1.2 meters
O/A Height

3,417 lb
1,550 kg | 1.7 tons
Weight

Armament & Ammunition
Available supported armament, ammunition, and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the SdKfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer Demolition Carrier / Obstacle Clearance Vehicle.

728 lb demolition explosives load carried.

AMMUNITION:
728 lb demolition explosives load carried.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the SdKfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer family line.

Springer (SdKfz 304) - Base Series Designation

Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer, Sd.Kfz 304 - Longform designation.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the SdKfz 304 Mittlerer Ladungstrager Springer. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national land systems listing.

Total Production: 50 Units
Contractor(s): NSU Motorenwerke AG (NSU) - Nazi Germany

[ Nazi Germany ]

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