Matchbox 1/76 Sd. Kfz 234/2 Puma Armoured Car

Matchbox kit.

1/76 Sd-Kfz234/s Puma Armoured Car

The box is not sealed

Box is dated 1973 & made in England.

Not one of the Hong Kong knock-offs that are on the market now

A bit of history:

The SdKfz 234 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234, or special purpose vehicle 234) was an eight-wheeled armoured car used by the German Army in the Second World War. It broadly resembles the SdKfz 231 (8 rad).

The combat experience of the existing 8-wheeled armoured cars during the German invasions of Poland and France, indicated some deficiencies in the current design. Therefore, in August 1940 an improvement program was started, based on a new set of requirements learned from these combat experiences. The result was the SdKfz 234.

Developed from the Büssing-NAG SdKfz 232, design of the Sd Kfz 234 began in 1940. It was to have a monocoque chassis with eight wheels, like its predecessors, and an aircooled engine for use in North Africa.

Chassis were built by Büssing-NAG in Leipzig-Wahren, while armoured bodies were provided by Deutsche Edelstahlwerke of Krefeld and turrets by Daimler Benz in Berlin-Marienfeld and Schichau of Elbing, with engines from Ringhoffer-Tatra-Werke AG of Nesseldorf.

Protracted engine development meant the desert campaign was over before the 234 arrived, but it nevertheless proved useful on the Eastern Front. It was quite formidable, but not many were built before it was replaced by the simpler 234/1, with a 20mm gun, in 1944.

Model of an SdKfz 234/2 Puma

Type eight-wheeled amoured car

Place of origin Nazi Germany

Specifications

Weight 10,500 kg (23,148 lb)

Length 6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)

Width 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)

Height 2.10 m (6 ft 10 in)

Crew 4

Armor 9-30 mm (.35-1.18 in)

Primary armament (Puma) 1x50mm L/60 KwK 39/1
(234/1) 1x20mm autocannon
(234/3) 1x75mm K51

Secondary armament 1x7.92mm machinegun

Engine 14,825 cc (905 in³) Tatra 103 V12 diesel 157 kW (210 hp)