The L 2 H 43 and L 2 H 143 "Krupp

Krupp

The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...

-Protze" (unofficial designation) was a six-wheeled German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 truck and artillery tractor

Artillery tractor

Artillery tractor is a kind of tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, a vehicle used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights.-Traction:...

 used by German forces in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. It was powered by a 55 hp or 60 hp (since 1936) Krupp M 304 4-cylinder petrol engine. Its main purpose was to tow artillery, especially the PaK 36

PaK 36

The Pak 36 was a German anti-tank gun that fired a 3.7 cm calibre shell. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht infantry units until 1942...

. It was also used to transport infantry and other utility uses.

This vehicle was extensively used on the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

, North African campaign

North African campaign

During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...

 and in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. The "Krupp-Protze" was of relatively advanced design. It was mass-manufactured between 1933 and 1941. Its fuel consumption was relatively high (24 Litres / 100 km on road) in comparison to the comparable Opel Blitz

Opel Blitz

Opel Blitz was the name given to various German light and middle-weight trucks built by Opel between 1930 and 1975.During the years preceding the Second World War Opel was Germany's largest truck producer...

 1.5 t truck (16.5 liters / 100 km, produced 1938 - 1942).
Total production was about 7,000 units.

Variants

A successful design, the Krupp-Protze was converted into several variant configurations

• Kfz.19 - Telephone truck
• Kfz.21 - Staff car
• Kfz.68 - Radio mast carrier
• Kfz.69 - Standard configuration for towing the 3,7 cm PaK 36
  PaK 36
  The Pak 36 was a German anti-tank gun that fired a 3.7 cm calibre shell. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht infantry units until 1942...
  
  
• Kfz.70 - Standard configuration for personnel carrying
• Kfz.81 - Ammo carrier conversion for 2 cm FlaK
  2 cm FlaK 30
  The Flak 30 and improved Flak 38 were 20 mm anti-aircraft guns used by various German forces throughout the Second World War. It was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun, but by far the most numerously produced German artillery piece throughout the war...
  
   gun, usually towed
• Kfz.83 - Generator carrier for anti-aircraft spotlight, usually towed
• Sd.Kfz. 247
  Sd.Kfz. 247
  The Sd.Kfz. 247 was an armored command car used by the Germany during World War II. Ten were built before the war of a six-wheeled model and 58 were built during the war of a four-wheeled model, the Ausf. B. The proper name was schwerer geländegängiger gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen...
  
   Ausf. A - Armoured personnel carrier
  Armoured personnel carrier
  An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
  
  , six-wheeled version, only 20 built in 1937, before production went to Daimler-Benz
  Daimler-Benz
  Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...
  
  , who built the Ausf. B four-wheeled version in 1941 and 1942.

Sometimes anti-tank (36 mm Pak 36) and anti-air (2 cm Flak) guns were mounted directly on the bed of the truck.

External links

• Pictures at Olive-Drab.com
• Pictures and technical data
• Pictures of a Krupp-Protze carrying a PaK 36
• Info and pictures about Krupp Protze