Sd.Kfz.234/1

Sd.Kfz.234/1

Sd.Kfz.234/1

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.0	2.0	2.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The s.Pz.Sp.Wg. (2 cm KwK 30 L/55) Sd.Kfz. 234/1 is a premium gift rank I German light tank with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during Update 1.97 "Viking Fury" as a reward for the "Space Race" event.

General info

Survivability and armour

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	100	100	11.5	325	401	28.26	34.87
Realistic	90	90		186	210	16.17	18.26

The Sdkfz.234/1 has the same manoeuvrability as the rest of the Puma brethren. It has a maximum speed of 100 km/h, both forward and reverse in Arcade and 90 km/h forward and reverse in Realistic.

Armaments

Main armament

Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.

20 mm KwK38					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	250	-4°/+70°	±180°	N/A	14.3	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	7.8	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					8.9	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	36	34	26	19	14	10
Sprgr.	2	2	2	2	2	2
PzGr	36	34	26	19	14	10
PzGr 40	64	63	26	8	3	1

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
250	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Optics

Sd.Kfz.234/1 Optics
	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	x1.8	x3.5
Comparable optics	___

Machine guns

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

7.92 mm MG42
Mount	Capacity (Belt capacity)	Rate of fire (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
Coaxial	1,800 (150)	1,200	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

Even though the armor of the Sd.Kfz.234/1 is lacking, if played to its advantages,can become a vital part of achieving victory over the other team. This armored car has 3 main things going for it. 1. It has excellent mobility (90 Kph RB) (100 Kph AB). 2. It has a very good and fast firing auto-cannon that can decimate enemies at close to medium range 500m max. Being a armored car it does have the scouting mechanic available to it. (which is very useful in RB for spotting enemies for your team).

With these advantages in mind you will have several options on how to play this vehicle. The first of these is to play a harasser role, because of your very good mobility you can get into good positions before your enemies get there and wait in ambush for them, once you have striked and taken them out use your mobility to get yourself to a new position and repeat the process. While waiting, if you spot any other tanks be sure to scout them for your team.

A second option is to play it so as to get to cap zones before the other teams do, and afterward use your vehicle as a support tank along with your teammates tanks taking up a position behind them.Third option, If playing in a group (2 or more) you can also use this vehicle for flanking operations.

Some enemies to watch out for. USSR, KV-1'S - Very well armored for its BR and can be very dangerous. (avoid if possible), T-70 / T-80 tanks - Very strong frontal armor that will be hard to penetrate (but thinner side & rear armor), if you find yourself fighting one of these try to flank its position and try to catch it off guard. USA, Most tanks of this tier can be penetrated easily by your auto-cannon, but be careful as some of these tanks especially BR 3.0 and up will carry 50cal machine guns which will pen your armor so be careful when engaging them. Other Nations tanks are relatively similar in their potency, so the same rules should be applied when engaging them. To conclude, this armored car is very useful when used in a harasser role, and in the other roles stated above. To make it even more useful, check the specs of other tanks & vehicles of the same BR to get a better idea on what vehicles you can pen and what you can't.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tires		Parts	Horizontal Drive	Sprgr.
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	PzGr
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	PzGr 40

Pros and cons

Pros:

• HVAP belts has a full composition of HVAP rounds with rounds able to penetrate most light tanks and side armour of medium tanks easily
• Relatively fast reload at around 7 seconds
• The KwK38 is coupled with an MG42 with a blistering fire rate which allows quite effective suppressive fire capability on light-skinned vehicles
• The 20 mm cannon can shoot down aircraft due to a very high elevation angle which means it can, in a pinch, act as a pseudo-SPAA
• The quick speed (100 km/h in AB, 90 km/h in RB) allows the Sd.Kfz.234/1 to be one of, if not the first vehicles, to both make contact with the enemy team and capture zones
• Very fast acceleration both forward and reverse, getting out of a sticky situation is very easily if your driver is alive
• It can average around 40 km/h off-road, which is quite fast for a wheeled vehicle
• The front hull and turret have 30 mm of armour which is sloped to increase the thickness
• The thin armour on the sides and rear mean that most solid shot rounds will go right through without causing much damage
• It has the ability to scout, which is unique for a vehicle in Rank I
• As a light tank it is able to repair allies, making the Sd.Kfz.234/1 an even more useful asset to the team

Cons:

• The 20 mm cannon's belt consists of only 10 rounds and it gets exhausted very quickly, this means that reloads are very frequent
• Weak armour from the sides and rear can be penetrated by lighter weapons like autocannons and machine guns
• Can be hull broken
• Tall wire mesh fencing on the turret sides can give it away if attempting to hide or play stealthily, while providing no armour benefits
• The wheeled suspension makes controlling the vehicle in turns very hard as it has a tendency to drift
• It is a wheeled vehicle so, while being race car-like on hard surfaces, mud, water, snow and sand really slow it down (to around 20-30 km/h)
• It is open topped so artillery is deadly and aircraft ramming the vehicle can knock it out
• Turret traverse speed is average, this, coupled with its tendency to drift in turns makes taking out a target after turning quite the chore
• Unlike the Sd.Kfz.234/2, the Sd.Kfz.234/1 does not have access to smoke grenades
• Ammunition detonations are very frequent

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.