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 Sd.Kfz.234/1 has the same manoeuvrability as the rest of its 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

20 mm KwK38						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	250 (10)	450	-4°/+70°	±180°	N/A	14.3	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	7.8	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic						8.9	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

• Default: API-T · HEFI-T
• Sprgr.: HEFI-T
• PzGr: API-T
• PzGr 40: HVAP-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
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

Ammo racks of the Sd.Kfz.234/1

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
25	17 (+8)	9 (+16)	1 (+24)	No

Notes:

• Ammunition is modeled as 25 clips of 10 shells
• Racks disappear after you've fired all clips in the rack.

Machine guns

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 armour of the Sd.Kfz.234/1 is lacking (It can still bounce a hit or two from low calibre guns from the front if lucky), when played to its advantages it can become a vital part of achieving victory over the other team. This armoured car has 2 main things going for it: an excellent mobility (with max speeds of 90 km/h RB, 100 km/h AB) and a very effective, fast-firing autocannon with Pzgr 40 rounds that have a lot of armor penetration, it can decimate enemies at close to medium range.

With these advantages in mind, there are several playstyles for this vehicle. The first of these is to play a harasser role. Using the excellent mobility, the Sd.Kfz.234/1 can get to the best positions on the map early and lie in ambush for enemy vehicles. Once you have struck and taken them out, use the mobility to get yourself to a new position and repeat the process.

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 squad (2 or more) you can also use this vehicle for flanking operations.

Notable opponents:

• KV-1's - Very well armoured for its BR and can be very dangerous (avoid if possible)
• T-70 / T-80 - Strong frontal armour that will be hard to penetrate (but thinner side and rear armour), if you find yourself fighting one of these try to flank its position and catch it off guard.
• USA - Most tanks of this tier can be penetrated easily by your autocannon, but be careful as some of these tanks especially BR 3.0 and up will carry .50 cal machine guns which can penetrate your armour 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 armoured 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
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• HVAP belts has a full composition of HVAP, able to penetrate most light tanks (eg. T-26, M3A1, BT-5, A13) and side armour of heavier targets (eg. B1) 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 vehicle, 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, which is useful against tanks with only solid shells, like all the M3/M5 Stuarts.

Cons:

• The 20 mm cannon's belt consists of only 10 rounds and it gets exhausted very quickly, so reloads are very frequent
• Weak armour from the sides and rear can be penetrated by lighter weapons like autocannons and machine guns (eg. M13 MGMC, GAZ-AAA (DShK))
• Can be hull broken by HEAT-shooting tanks like the M8 Scott
• Poor damage of 20 mm shells means that it can be difficult effectively destroy spacious tanks like the LVT(A)(1)
• 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, thus cannot safely retreat from danger
• 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

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Sd.Kfz.234/1 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Best armored cars discusses the Sd.Kfz.234/1 at 1:03 - War Thunder Official Channel

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

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