8 WHEELED ARMORED CAR SDKFZ 234/2 PUMA IN 1/15 SCALE. Armored cars played a more important part in the development of armored doctrine in Germany in the years between the two World Wars than any other major military power. The German victories of the Second World War were achieved largely through the bold use of armored fighting vehicles, to bypass enemy fortifications, isolate his forces and attack his nerve centers. But the finely honed Panzer Divisions that shattered Poland, France and--for a while--Russia, had their roots in the experiments with armored cars. By far the most important of all German armored cars in the Second World War were the impressive eight- wheelers which were originally conceived as heavy scout reconnaissance vehicles to complement the light four-wheelers. Of all the German armored cars produced during the Second World War the Puma must rate as the most elegant. Reconnaissance calls for the ability to probe deep into enemy lines before an advance and provide vital defensive information, a vehicle with "Tank-busting" capabilities and to be able to "Blitz" its way through enemy units, as initial contact with an attacking enemy was usually at reconnaissance unit level, and the Puma was the ultimate vehicle to satisfy all these requirements. This admirable vehicle sported an oval turret of excellent ballistic shape, with a semi-automatic 50mm KwK39 L/60 tank gun with a muzzle velocity of 2,700 feet per second, which carried 55 rounds in a streamlined Saukopf (pig's head) mantlet. The mantlet was compact and contained the recoil mechanism for the gun, a telescopic sight and co-axial MG 42. With its excellent cross country performance, powerful main gun, turret mounted smoke dischargers, good speed and relatively thick armor (100mm on the mantlet, 40mm on the front hull) it was perfect for the role. The Puma was possibly the best known of all German armored cars. The excellence of this Puma eight-wheeled suspension armored car made their performance almost equal to that of a tank and the road speed was, of course, much superior. The Puma represented one of the most advanced designs and concepts of any wheeled vehicle in the Second World War. Needless to say, the Puma was well ahead of its time, and had much influence on the subsequent armored car development of Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States, which have all produced multi-wheeled drive vehicles which clearly owe much to the German designs.
