I could look it up but thought I'd be lazy and ask the Forum : -

What does SdKfz actually stand for ? ( I know it means 'half-track'..)

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

I thought it is the abbreviation for 'Sonderkraftfahrzeug'. This means something like 'special vehicle'. Kraftfahrzeug or Kraftwagen is in the german language used for automobiles: Lastkraftwagen for truck and Personenkraftwagen for normal automobiles.

I am a bad translator but hope you understand what I mean.

Volkbert is correct. Its the equevalant of the US M designator, or the British FV number.

It applied to just about every German vehicle, from Jeeps to tanks. But where as other types were given other designations by wich they are better nown, such as PzKpfw for tanks, halftracks only use the Sdkfz number.

SdKfz 182 is the Tiger II

__________________
'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT

"...every vehicle accepted into service was given an Ordnance Inventory Number- Sonderkraftfahrzeug abbreviated to SdKfz." Forty, Tanks of WW2.

right on the money, volkbert.

__________________
Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Thanks everyone !

Another of those little mysteries solved...

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Now vice versa, what does the U.S. "M" mean? "FV" seems obvious (Fighting Vehicle), but "M"...otorized, Mobile, M...

Cheers,

__________________
"Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"
(President Merkin Muffley in "Dr. Strangelove")

Hi Andy; The M stands for 'Mechanized'

__________________
The soldier above all others prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. General Douglas Macarthur

Steve- if the M stands for "mechanized", what about something like the M-16? "Mechanized 16"?

__________________
Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

Hi Crazy; The Mechanized refers only to vehicles

__________________
The soldier above all others prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. General Douglas Macarthur

Thats a good point actually, i'd never thought about what it stood for. But i don't think its as obvious as that. As well as armoured vehicles, it also applies to Land Rovers and trucks. Plus all the spare parts and tools have an FV number, as do, i think, our weapons. I'm sure there is an FV number on the side of the SA 80.

__________________
'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT

Got it, Steve. That makes sense...

But, that leads me to a minor question; it seems the "M" designation is used for most all US military items (vehicles, weapons, etc.).
I'm wondering how this works... did the "M" just come to be used as a general designation, or is there another meaning when NOT talking about vehicles?
I've always wondered about this one...

__________________
Seriously, all today is missing is free cotton candy and the annual Bay State Hooker Parade to make it any better.

HI Crazy; The "M" designation was originally used to designate the year the item or variation was put into service such as M-1936 or M-36 (model 1936).

__________________
The soldier above all others prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. General Douglas Macarthur

Thats a good point actually, i'd never thought about what it stood for. But i don't think its as obvious as that. As well as armoured vehicles, it also applies to Land Rovers and trucks. Plus all the spare parts and tools have an FV number, as do, i think, our weapons. I'm sure there is an FV number on the side of the SA 80.</font>[/quote]maybe some meaning with "verifier"? I'm just guessing

As for "M": what about "Military" or "Model"

Cheers,

__________________
"Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!"
(President Merkin Muffley in "Dr. Strangelove")

I thought M stood for model, which explains all the M followed by a date desegnations. I have always wondered how many M1's there are and why here appear to be so many, there seem to be hundreds. I prefer the german system, compound nouns are a bugger to spell but they are mroe logical.

__________________
There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd dredge up this old one ( it is under 'modelling', after all.... ).

Just out in the UK this week, the latest in Dragon's 1/72 Armor range of ready-made models ; Sd.Kfz. 251/7 Ausf. D 'Panzer Lehr' Normandy 1944....






Again, this is a quite tiny model with extraordinary detail - right down to the MG42s and the webbing-backed driver/navigator seats.....

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

It was short for Sonderkraftfahrzeug[sp?]...........special- purpose vehicle. SdKfz preceeded half-tracks and ammo carriers and the like.

Here's a bit of fun - as sort of Modelling Then & Now.Full marks to Dragon for their research - I just came across this pic of the 'real thing' in one of my more obscure Normandy books : the half-track was knocked-out and abandoned on the St Lo - Periers road during Operation Cobra....

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson