Sd.Kfz.222
| This page is about the German SPAA Sd.Kfz.222. For the Chinese version, see Sd.Kfz.222 (China). |
Contents
Description
The le.Pz.Sp.Wg. (2 cm) Ausf.B 5.Serie is a rank I German SPAA with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB) and 2.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Sky Guardians".
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour protection is, mediocre, to say the least. Almost the entire car is comprised of 8 mm sloped steel plates, which is barely enough to stop normal 7.62 mm AP bullets. HMGs and autocannons will be your biggest pain as they will easily shred your car up from any angle. In fact, if aimed at precisely from certain angles the 8 mm of armour can be pierced by the larger coaxial MGs, such as British BESAs, Swedish 8 mm MGs and even your own 7.92 MG34s (this can be a rare occurrence, but don't discount it). Only the front of the car, with a 30 mm radiator housing and 14.5 mm front plate, can offer protection against rifle-calibre fire, but anything bigger than that will basically fling you back to the garage. The open turret also means that chemical shells (i.e. HE, HEAT and the HESH round from the Lancia 3ro) are an instant death even if they miss; avoid them at all times.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 30 mm (35°) Lower glacis 14.5 mm (33°) Upper glacis |
8 mm (35°) Top 8 mm (34°) Bottom |
8 mm (39°) |
| Turret | 8 mm (33°) Turret front 8 mm Gun mantlet |
8 mm (35°) | 8 mm (35°) |
Notes:
- Mudguards and stowage boxes are 4 mm thick.
- Wheels (including the spare tire on the right side) are 10 mm thick.
Mobility
The Sd.Kfz.222 moves rapidly on roads, less so on regular ground and will get bogged down in soft terrain. It is easy to control at speed and can engage enemies quickly since it needs little time to come to a full stop.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 98 | 17 | 5 | 128 | 172 | 25.6 | 34.4 |
| Realistic | 91 | 16 | 80 | 90 | 16 | 18 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 20 mm KwK38 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 180 (10) | 450 | -7°/+85° | ±180° | - | 35.2 | 48.8 | 59.2 | 65.5 | 69.6 | 7.80 | 6.90 | 6.36 | 6.00 |
| Realistic | 23.8 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 37.6 | 40.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: API-T · HEFI-T*
- Sprgr.: HEFI-T*
- PzGr.: API-T
- PzGr.40: HVAP-T
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| HEFI-T* | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| API-T | 37 | 34 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 6 | |
| HVAP-T | 48 | 45 | 31 | 20 | 13 | 8 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| HEFI-T* | 900 | 0.12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 10.2 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| API-T | 800 | 0.15 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | ||||
| HVAP-T | 1,050 | 0.1 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | ||||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
| 7.92 mm MG34 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,700 (150) | 900 | - | - |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fast and nimble
- 20 mm autocannon has a fast rate of fire
- 20 mm HVAP rounds have a high penetration
- The thin armour on the sides and rear mean that most APHE rounds will go right through without activating the fuse
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 heavy machine guns (e.g. M13 MGMC, GAZ-AAA (DShK))
- Can be destroyed with overpressure by chemical rounds and artillery strikes
- Poor post-penetration damage of 20 mm shells means that it can be difficult to 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
- Prone to strafing from aircraft
- Has trouble turning in tight and narrow streets
- The 20 mm autocannon is lacking against heavily armoured enemies
- Both the AP and HVAP rounds' penetration drop below 30 mm past 500 m, making it struggle to penetrate common opponents past that distance
History
From 1935 to 1944, Nazi Germany produced a series of light armoured reconnaissance four-wheel drive armoured cars known as the Leichter Panzerspähwagen. Sd.Kfz. 222 (also known as Leichter Panzerspähwagen 2 cm) is the second variant in the Leichter Panzerspähwagen series, equipped with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon and a single MG 13 machine gun.
Development
The Leichter Panzerspähwagen series was created with reliability, fuel flexibility, simple construction, and off-road capabilities in mind. The Sd.Kfz. 222 utilises one of two conventional four-wheeled armoured car chassis - rear-mounted engine. Eisenwerk Weserhütte of Bad Oeynhausen designed the vehicles, while Horch (Auto Union) of Zwickau built the chassis and F. Schichau of Elbing and Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen of Hanover-Linden assembled them. The engine, which was originally a 3.5 Litre Horch V8, was also upgraded to a 3.8 Litre with 90 PS in 1942. Because of its light weight, the vehicle has a respectable road speed of 80 km/h and a cross-country speed of 40 km/h. Its maximum range was 300 km.
The second variant of the Leichter Panzerspähwagen - Sd.Kfz. 222 has the addition of a gunner increased the crew size to three over the previous variant Sd.Kfz. 221, greatly reducing the commander's stress and responsibility. Several upgrades were made to the Sd.Kfz. 222 between 1937 and late 1943, primarily in terms of firepower; the MG 13 was replaced by an MG 34 in 1938, and the KwK 30 was replaced by the faster-firing KwK 38. (1942). There are at least 990 vehicles produced in all variants.
The vehicle is primarily used by Panzer divisions' reconnaissance battalions (Aufklärungs-Abteilung). While it performed reasonably well in countries with good road networks in Western Europe, it was severely limited by its poor off-road performance on the Eastern Front and in the deserts of the North African campaign.
Replacement
Due to limitations in firepower and mobility during the Soviet Union invasion in 1941, the Leichter Panzerspähwagen Sd.Kfz. 222 was gradually replaced in the reconnaissance role by the Sd.Kfz. 250 half-track. Soviet designers studied captured Sd.Kfz 222s, which led to the development of the BA-64 light armoured car.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
- [Devblog] Sd.Kfz.222: A Little Tank
- [Youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYO386DeHvo&ab_channel=TheEuropeanCanadian
| Eisenwerk Weserhütte | |
|---|---|
| Sd.Kfz.221 | Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41) |
| Sd.Kfz.222 | Sd.Kfz.222 · ␗Sd.Kfz.222 |
| Germany anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Wheeled | Sd.Kfz.222 |
| Half-track | Sd.Kfz.251/21 · Sd.Kfz. 6/2 |
| Flakpanzer IV | Wirbelwind · Ostwind · Ostwind II · Kugelblitz · Zerstörer 45 |
| Other Flakpanzers | Flakpanzer I · Flakpanzer 38 · Flakpanzer 341 |
| Wiesel AWC | Wiesel 1A4 · Ozelot |
| Radar SPAAG | Gepard · Gepard 1A2 |
| Missile SPAA | FlaRakPz 1 · FlaRakRad |
