8 WHEELED ARMORED CAR SDKFZ 234/3 STUMMEL IN 1/15 SCALE. During the Second World War, the power and success of German armored fighting vehicles was legendary. To the watching world they appeared to be symbolic and were viewed with awe and respect. German armored fighting vehicles became the armored superstructures which thundered their way across three continents: 1939-Poland; 1940-Belgium, Luxembourg, France; 1941-Yugoslavia, Greece, North Africa, Russia. German combat vehicles of the Wehrmacht have always had an awesome mystique quite out of proportion to its potential but always kept its prestige. The word "Panzer" has an emotional overtone which could not be altered. There was something enigmatic about "Panzers" which rapidly came to fame and glory during the war and furnished a legend. The 8-Rad SdKfz 234 ARK series was a brilliant concept and represented one of the most advanced designs in wheeled fighting vehicles to appear during the Second World War. The new SdKfz 234 8-Rad ARK series developed during the war was intended to replace the older SdKfz 231 8-Rad GS series developed in peacetime. The new 8-Rad SdKfz 234 ARK series featured a self-supporting hull, a 220 HP Diesel motor, a higher fording ability, better armor and much longer cruising range, and larger, wider tires and packed much higher caliber weapons to provide their own mobile fire support. The 8-Rad SdKfz 234/3 STUMMEL seen here carried the well-tested 75mm low-velocity KwK 51 L/24 gun, which could fire smoke, high-explosive and two types of armor piercing round. Overall the "attack" factor of these new 8-Rad 234 series vehicles was somewhat similar to the "defense" factor. This applied very well to this vehicle as it could easily "disperse" itself as soon as the shooting started. Since it was a wheeled mobile vehicle it benefited from this factor. In this case "speed" and "maneuverability" combined with good tactical doctrine played a decisive role.
