Pumas and SdKfz 7/2 Armoured AA halftracks

In attempts to increase the options open to my Panzer Lehr panzergrenadiers, I have added more support platoons, offering strong recce and powerful anti-aircraft assets.


First up the mobile AA.  These are armoured SdKfz 7/2 half tracks fitted with a 3.7cm anti-aircraft gun.

Being armoured gives them some resilience against routine infantry fire, and the 3.7cm gun is very effective at knocking down enemy aircraft, in the hands of skilled crews from the Lehr division.

If no aircraft show up, the gun is equally useful in shooting up light skinned vehicles and armoured cars etc. and will also give dug in infantry a head ache. So they are quite a versatile piece of kit.

In modelling terms, I drilled in a small length of brass rod, to allow the guns to swivel on the spot.

Next up the Puma, a much vaunted recce armoured car, the pinnacle of German recce troops. A fast and manoeuvrable 8 wheel design, and sporting a regular MG and a decent antitank main gun.

So once the recce role has been performed, these vehicles can be fast enough to move forward to seize objectives, or be an annoyance in the enemy rear areas perhaps shooting up and assaulting artillery positions, or adding weight of fire against enemy infantry positions.

And most enemy tanks would be wary getting these on their flanks.