SPz kurz KrKW Hotchkiss – Photos & Video

Photo gallery of a SPz kurz KrKW Hotchkiss, The SPz kurz KrKW (Hotchkiss) belonged to the initial supply the Bundeswehr with armored vehicles. The tank was based on the armored TT 6 French company Hotchkiss, the landing gear but was extended for a further five castors. From 1959 to 1967 1,600 cars were built under license at Magirus-Deutz in Mainz. The most famous version was the Spähpanzer, which was used to light reconnaissance troop in two vehicles.

Source: SPz kurz KrKW Hotchkiss on Wikipedia

The Schützenpanzer Kurz (SPz Kurz) KrKW Hotchkiss was a German armored personnel carrier developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Here is an HTML description of this vehicle:

The SPz Kurz was an armored infantry fighting and reconnaissance vehicle developed for the West German army. It was a minor modification of the French-designed Hotchkiss SP1A.

Specifications

• Type: Armored reconnaissance vehicle
• Place of origin: France and West Germany
• In service: 1959–1987
• Mass: 8,200 kg (18,100 lb)
• Length: 4.51 m
• Width: 2.28 m
• Height: 1.97 m
• Crew: 5
• Armor: 15 mm at 62° of chrome-nickel-molybdenum
• Main armament: 1 x 20 mm Hispano-Suiza 820/L85 cannon
• Secondary armament: 3 x smoke grenade launchers
• Engine: 1 x Hotchkiss et Cie 6-cylinder petrol engine, 164 hp (122 kW)
• Suspension: Torsion bar
• Operational range: 390 km (244 miles)
• Maximum speed: 58 km/h

Armament

The SPz 11-2 Kurz was armed with a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza 820 L/85 cannon with a 15×15 periscopic sight. It carried 500 rounds of 20 mm ammunition and had three smoke grenade launchers for concealment.

Variants

• Sanitätspanzer kurz 2-2 – Medevac vehicle
• Beobachtungspanzer 22-2 – Forward observer vehicle
• Mörserträger 51-2 – 81 mm mortar carrier
• Radarpanzer 91-2 – Vehicle with AN/TPS-33 radar
• Nachschubpanzer 42-1 – Supply vehicle
• Spähpanzer SP I.C. – Light tank with 90 mm gun (prototype)

Service

The SPz Kurz served with the West German Bundeswehr from 1959 to 1987. It was used in cannon platoons of armored infantry battalions until 1974, and remained in reconnaissance service until 1982 when it was replaced by the Spähpanzer Luchs.

Production

Between 1959 and 1967, around 2,374 SPz Kurz vehicles were produced for West Germany, with the first 2,000 built by Hotchkiss-Brandt in France and the remainder by Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz (KHD) in West Germany.