Sd.Kfz.222 (China)
| This page is about the SPAA Sd.Kfz.222 (China). For the German version, see Sd.Kfz.222. |
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Contents
Description
The Sonderkraftfahrzeug 222 (Sd.Kfz.222), also known as the Horch Armored Car (豪須裝甲車) from the name of its manufacturer, was the second variant in the series of light four-wheel-drive armoured reconnaissance vehicles (Leichter Panzerspähwagen) manufactured in Germany between 1935 and 1944 by Horch. A substantial quantity of German-made equipment was transported to China in 1933, marking the start of the Kuomintang government's army reorganising program. When these vehicles were shipped, they were still painted in the dark grey of the German army. The Chinese Nationalist Army emblem was painted on the right rear side of the armoured car body and under the turret after it arrived in China, but the original German emblem was retained. The Sd.Kfz.222 was deployed by the Chinese Nationalist Army's special motorised unit. Its mission was to serve as a fire support vehicle for the reconnaissance corps when scouting alongside the less heavily armed Sd.Kfz.221, which was armed only with machine guns. The Chinese Sd.Kfz.222 is an early model; thus, it differs slightly from that of the German army's Sd.Kfz.222 in terms of tires and gun system.
Introduced in Update "Sky Guardians", the Chinese Sd.Kfz.222 offers the Chinese Army's early-rank ground units swift attack autocannon armoured cars, which are extremely rare in Chinese tanks. As the autocannon lacks the capability to penetrate even the many light tanks prevalent in the early ranks, players should always try to flank the enemy whenever possible. Since the main autocannon has a high elevation angle of attack, this light tank can also be deployed for anti-aircraft tasks. This light armoured car will provide Chinese ground forces players with valuable insights into other nations' doctrine during World War II.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Sd.Kfz.222 is overall a poorly protected vehicle.
The frontal hull consists of 14-30 mm armour plates, which can only stop heavy machine gun rounds and, with good angling, non-HVAP autocannon shells. Thus vehicles with heavy machine guns or autocannons are highly dangerous, for example M13 MGMC, Pz.II, Sd.Kfz.234/1, etc. Any projectile with a larger calibre will go through its armour with ease. The rest of the vehicle is covered in 8 mm plates, which are barely enough to stop rifle-calibre bullets. At point blank range, even rifle-calibre machine guns have a good chance of penetrating the Sd.Kfz.222. The thin armour also makes the vehicle highly vulnerable to shrapnel from bombs and near-miss high explosive shells, so stay away from diving planes or artillery strikes.
The post-penetration survivability is low. There are only 3 crews, with 2 sitting closely together in the turret making them easy to be taken out by a single shot. However, the vehicle will sometimes survive a shot or two, but don't count on that. The open-topped turret also makes HE, HEAT, bombs, and explosive rockets very lethal due to their overpressure. Therefore, the Sd.Kfz.222 will be knocked out with a single shot from howitzer-equipped vehicles like the M8 HMC, the Chi-Ha, or the 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | ___ mm | ___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom |
___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Turret | ___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet |
___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Cupola | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm |
Notes:
Mobility
The Sd.Kfz.222 is a highly mobile vehicle, so the player should utilise this trait and avoid the flaws in protection.
On flat paved road, the vehicle can quickly accelerate to around 60 km/h thanks to its 18 hp/t power-to-weight ratio. This speed is comparable with famous fast tanks like BT-5. In offroad conditions, the vehicle can still maintain an average speed of around 50 km/h, allowing it to get to any location in a timely manner.
The -16 km/h reverse speed seems significantly lower than forward speed, but it is fast enough to pull the vehicle out of danger if it is not far from a cover behind. Other wise, it may be better to turn the vehicle around.
The vehicle's 4 wheels can all steer, making it very agile to navigate through confined environments like a small town, or to quickly change driving directions.
The only flaw in mobility is that, at high speed, it is awkward to precisely control the direction as the vehicle tend to "snake" around when trying to steer. Also, it takes a few seconds to fully come to a halt when braking at high speed. Lastly, due to the vehicle's light weight (only 5t), it cannot quickly ram through obstacles like metal fences without losing speed, so avoid driving into them.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 87 | 17 | 3.9 | 107 | 143 | 27.44 | 36.67 |
| Realistic | 81 | 16 | 66 | 75 | 16.92 | 19.23 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The Sd.Kfz.222 is armed with a single 20 mm KwK30 autocannon paired with a coaxial rifle-calibre machine gun. The Sd.Kfz.222 possesses a quick turret traverse and elevation speeds, and can elevate its gun to 80 degrees, allowing you to aim at and track aircraft with comfort. Compared to its German counterpart, the 20 mm KwK30 autocannon fires at a slower rate than the KwK38, but has double the ammunition per magazine. The KwK30 doesn't have access to the PzGr.40 belt, which grants it a higher penetration. This is a bigger disadvantage than one might expect, and limits the Chinese Sd.Kfz.222 more to its stated role as SPAA, especially in uptiers. Against many of its contemporaries, however, the penetration at point blank should be enough to deal with armoured cars and light tanks. There is more bullet drop on the KwK30 than the KwK38 autocannon, but the low penetration means it shouldn't be used to snipe, and it is not noticeable enough to really affect anti-air performance. The lower BR on the Chinese Sd.Kfz.222 should place you against weaker enemies than the German one anyway, making the lack of HVAP belts not as noticeable.
| 20 mm KwK30 | 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 (20) | 280 | -7°/+80° | ±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
| 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 | |
| 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° | ||||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
The MG13 Dreyse is a normal coaxial MG with a significantly lower rate of fire than its original German version. The MG is capable of elevating alongside the main cannon and can be utilised in AA work as a reserve weapon while loading the main gun or just attracting enemy planes to get a shot. It has decent penetration for a rifle-calibre MG, so it can be used in rare circumstances against very lightly-armoured vehicles or exposed crewmen.
| 7.92 mm MG13 Dreyse | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 900 (75) | 500 | - | - |
Usage in battles
The Sd.Kfz.222 is a fast vehicle capable of keeping up with the fastest of Rank I vehicles. This opens up numerous opportunities for you, as unlike the Flakpanzer I or the Flakpanzer 38, you are not nearly as vulnerable to gunner snipes as you would be with them. In addition, you are not nearly as well suited for AA work as you only have room for a maximum of 9 magazines (including the one you have loaded), so prolonged AA work will simply burn your ammunition long before the Flakpanzers even needed to start getting worried. The closest analogue one can compare the 222 to is the Sd.Kfz.234/1 (basically a Puma chassis with the same turret). Instead of shooting planes, one can actively use the 222 as a speedier version of the Pz.II, attacking enemy tanks. Your lack of armour and excellent speeds encourage flanking or ambushing roles. Remember enemy weak spots and avoid armour you can't handle.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High speed especially on paved road, comparable with fast foes like BT-5
- All-wheel steering, very agile navigating through urban areas
- Fast turret traverse, can keep up with high-speed targets like planes
- Good -16km/h reverse speed, helpful to retreat from danger
- 20-round magazine is beginner friendly
- Very small profile, easy to hide in bushes
Cons:
- No HVAP shells unlike the German version, cannot penetrate armoured targets like H.39, D2, etc.
- Very poorly protected, even a heavy machine gun can frontally penetrate it
- 7-second reload is quite slow
- 280 rounds/min fire rate is slower than the German version, requiring extra aiming skills to hit planes
- Only 9 magazines of 20 mm rounds can be carried compared to 18 in the German Sd.Kfz.222, limiting ones potential without any restocking of ammo
History
By the decade of 1930s, for the need to import tungsten and seek for opening the arms market in China, the Nationalist Government purchased 22 Sd.kfz.221 series (twelve Sd.kfz. 221, six Sd.kfz. 222 and four Sd.kfz. 223 respectively) from the Third Reich as part of the modernization attempt for the NRA before the 2nd Sino-Japanese War broke. These vehicles were delivered in two batches in 1936; unlike the standard (late) version in Wehrmacht service, NRA's Sd.kfz.222, the weaponry was downgraded to earlier series with Kwk 30 autocannon and a RHS MG13 machine gun, as well as conventional tires instead of crossroad tires. These 22 vehicles were also the foundation of NRA's armored reconnaissance corps thanks to having radio for every vehicle which were all delivered to the 3rd Company, Reconnaissance Regiment, NRA Armored Corps (later NRA 200th Division). They were usually deployed to the battlefield according to the purpose and intensity of battle, where normally a duo of 221 and 222 would compose a recon platoon in combat area.
According to the spares records of these vehicles, they were first deployed at the Taierzhuang, Shandong in March 1938 and having no losses; later in 22nd May, they were deployed at Lanfeng (now Lankao County, Shandong) alongside with a reinforced infantry company when they faced a cavalry from IJA's 18th Infantry Regiment, at first the superiority of these three armored cars made it easy for them to chase off the cavalry before the cars spotted an artillery command post of IJA's 14th Division where they managed to destroy observation balloon vehicles, suppressing the Japanese forces before they returned fire and destroyed one of the Sd.kfz.222 (the vehicle was then transported to Tokyo as trophy of war). The remaining German armored cars were then transferred to the Cavalry Regiment, 5th Army and redeployed to Burma in April 1942 to maintain the bloodline of NRA from India to Yunnan via Burma; the armored cars ran into a squadron of IJA infantry on 18th and managed to push back their offensive with the help from infantry.
Due to the impossibility to attain parts from Germany, lack of spare parts and further losses of these vehicles, they were likely been replaced by US-built M3 armored car with no surviving examples of the "Horch armored car".[1]
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
| Eisenwerk Weserhütte | |
|---|---|
| Sd.Kfz.221 | Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41) |
| Sd.Kfz.222 | Sd.Kfz.222 · ␗Sd.Kfz.222 |
| China anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Radar SPAAG | PGZ09 |
| Gun and Missile SPAAG | PGZ04A |
| Missile SPAA | Antelope |
| Other | ZSD63/PG87 · ZSL92 · WZ305 |
| Germany | ␗Sd.Kfz.222 |
| North Vietnam | Phòng không T-34 |
| USA | CCKW 353 (M45) · ␗M42 |
| USSR | Tor-M1 |
