Sd.Kfz.234/1

Description

The s.Pz.Sp.Wg. (2 cm KwK 30 L/55) Sd.Kfz. 234/1 was the second production model of the Sd.Kfz.234, following the Sd.Kfz.234/2. It was a heavily armoured reconnaissance vehicle with a simple open-top turret housing a 20 mm autocannon alongside an MG42 machine gun, designed to combat infantry and light combat vehicles. From mid-1944 to early 1945, about 230 vehicles of this modification were produced, which went into service with reconnaissance battalions.

Introduced during Update 1.97 "Viking Fury" as a reward for the "Space Race" event, the Sd.Kfz.234/1 combines the familiar chassis of the Sd.Kfz.234/2 with the turret of the Sd.Kfz. 140/1. While not as heavily armoured as the latter, the mobility offered by the former's chassis grants the Sd.Kfz.234/1 excellent map manoeuvrability, allowing it to utilise its 20 mm autocannon against unsuspecting opponents.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Vision ports)
• Structural steel (Side skirts)

Notes:

• Wheels provide 10 mm thick protection.
• Vision ports on car body are 10 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.

Mobility

The Sd.Kfz.234/1 has the same manoeuvrability as the rest of its Puma brethren. It has a maximum speed of 100 km/h, both forward and reverse in Arcade and 90 km/h forward and reverse in Realistic.

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition

• Default: API-T · HEFI-T*
• Sprgr.: HEFI-T*
• PzGr: API-T
• PzGr 40: HVAP-T

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Sd.Kfz.234/1

Notes:

• Ammunition is modelled as 25 clips of 10 shells.
• Racks disappear after you've fired all clips in the rack.

Machine guns

Usage in battles

Even though the armour of the Sd.Kfz.234/1 is lacking, it can still bounce a hit or two from low-calibre guns from the front if lucky and when played to its advantages it can become a vital part of achieving victory over the other team. This armoured car has two main things going for it: excellent mobility (with max speeds of 90 km/h RB, 100 km/h AB) and a very effective, fast-firing autocannon with Pzgr 40 rounds that have exceptional armour penetration, where it can decimate enemies at both close and medium ranges.

With these advantages in mind, there are several playstyles for this vehicle. The first of these is to play a harasser role. Using the excellent mobility, the Sd.Kfz.234/1 can get to the best positions on the map early and lie in ambush for enemy vehicles. Once you have struck and eliminated an enemy, use the vehicle's mobility to get yourself to a new position and repeat the process.

A second option is to play it so as to get to cap zones before the other teams do, and afterwards use your vehicle as a support tank along with your teammates' tanks taking up a position behind them.

The third option, if playing in a squad (two or more) you can also use this vehicle for flanking operations.

Notable opponents:

• KV-1's - Very well armoured for its BR and can be very dangerous (avoid if possible)
• T-70 / T-80 - Strong frontal armour that will be hard to penetrate (but thinner side and rear armour), if you find yourself fighting one of these try to flank its position and catch it off guard.
• USA - Most tanks of this tier can be penetrated easily by your autocannon, but be careful as some of these tanks especially BR 3.0 and up will carry .50 cal machine guns which can penetrate your armour so be careful when engaging them. Other nations tanks are relatively similar in their potency, so the same rules should be applied when engaging them.

To conclude, this armoured car is very useful when used in a harasser role, and in the other roles stated above. To make it even more useful, check the specs of other tanks & vehicles of the same BR to get a better idea on what vehicles you can pen and what you can't.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• HVAP belts has a full composition of HVAP, able to penetrate most light tanks (e.g. T-26, M3A1, BT-5, A13) and side armour of heavier targets (e.g. B1) easily
• The KwK38 is coupled with an MG42 with a blistering fire rate which allows quite effective suppressive fire capability on light-skinned vehicles
• The 20 mm cannon can shoot down aircraft due to a very high elevation angle which means it can, in a pinch, act as a pseudo-SPAA
• The quick speed (100 km/h in AB, 90 km/h in RB) allows the Sd.Kfz.234/1 to be one of, if not the first vehicle, to both, make contact with the enemy team and capture zones
• Very fast acceleration both forward and reverse, getting out of a sticky situation is very easily if your driver is alive
• It can average around 40 km/h off-road, which is quite fast for a wheeled vehicle
• The front hull and turret have 30 mm of armour which is sloped to increase the thickness
• The thin armour on the sides and rear mean that most solid shot rounds will go right through without causing much damage, which is useful against tanks with only solid shells, like all the M3/M5 Stuarts

Cons:

• The 20 mm cannon belt consists of only 10 rounds and it gets exhausted very quickly, so reloads are very frequent
• Weak armour from the sides and rear can be penetrated by lighter weapons like autocannons and machine guns (e.g. M13 MGMC, GAZ-AAA (DShK))
• Can be destroyed with overpressure by HEAT projectiles like the M8 Scott
• Poor damage of 20 mm shells means that it can be difficult effectively destroy spacious tanks like the LVT(A)(1)
• Tall wire mesh fencing on the turret sides can give it away if attempting to hide or play stealthily while providing no armour benefits
• The wheeled suspension makes controlling the vehicle in turns very hard as it has a tendency to drift
• It is a wheeled vehicle so, while being racecar-like on hard surfaces, mud, water, snow and sand really slow it down (to around 20-30 km/h)
• It is open-topped so artillery is deadly and aircraft ramming the vehicle can knock it out
• Turret traverse speed is average, this, coupled with its tendency to drift in turns makes taking out a target after turning quite the chore
• Unlike the Sd.Kfz.234/2, the Sd.Kfz.234/1 does not have access to smoke grenades, thus cannot safely retreat from danger
• Ammunition detonations are very frequent

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Sd.Kfz.234/1 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• Sd.Kfz.234/2, equipped with a turreted 50 mm KwK39 gun.
• Sd.Kfz.234/3, tank destroyer version of the Sd.Kfz.234, with a 75 mm K51 howitzer.
• Sd.Kfz.234/4, tank destroyer version equipped with the longer 75 mm PaK40/3 gun.

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• Sd.Kfz.222
• Sd.Kfz.222 (China)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.