The Sd.Kfz. 2 Kettenkrad was a multipurpose half-track motorcycle with a single front wheel. Originally designed as a light tractor for airborne troops, it had to be compact enough to fit inside the cargo hold of a Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft. Developed by NSU Werke AG in 1939, it entered production in late 1940.
The Kettenkrad had excellent cross-country mobility and could carry two passengers in addition to the driver. Its rated payload was 325 kg, including the crew. Although designed for airborne forces, it was widely used by regular Wehrmacht units, proving to be a reliable and capable vehicle in difficult terrain. It served as a reconnaissance vehicle, artillery tractor, cable-laying vehicle, medical transport and infantry carrier. Towards the end of the war, it was also used to tow aircraft around airfields. The Kettenkrad saw service on the Eastern Front, elsewhere in Europe and in North Africa.
The vehicle weighed 1,560 kg and was powered by a 36 hp Opel four-cylinder petrol engine, giving it a top speed of 70 km/h on good roads. It was steered using handlebars, with the front wheel providing gentle directional control, while sharper turns automatically engaged the brake on the corresponding track. A total of 8,345 Kettenkrads were built during the war. Production continued until 1948, with approximately 550 additional vehicles manufactured after the war as agricultural tractors.
The model depicts an early-production Kettenkrad serving with the Luftwaffe’s Ramcke Brigade in North Africa in 1942–43.
More about the model and its construction can be found at this link
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