This article does not cover Freikorps armored car, the experimental vehicles as the Magirus ARW, the Daimler 3to armored truck, Von Epp’s armored trucks, or late Reichswehr vehicles as Kfz.13, etc… but the serial armored cars accepted in the early Reichswehr.

The Daimler DZR-19 :

For a precise article, see Daimler DZR-19 in countries

At the end of the First World War, the German army, monopolized by other urgent productions, notably ammunition, no longer had the means to develop armored vehicles. That’s why in November 1918, the German armored cars force consisted of capured vehicles (Minerva, Peugeot, Armstrong-Whitworth Fiat, Izhorski-Fiat, Packard, Jeffery-Poplavko, Garford-Putilov, Austin, Lancia 1Z), the first three prototypes from Daimler, Büssing and Ehrhardt, and the 12 Ehrhardt/17 produced although the exact number of these vehicles still available is not known.

Despite everything, Daimler was still working on a vehicle that could succeed its Daimler 1915 armored car and in order to save time, kept the chassis of the 100 horsepower Krupp-Daimler KD-I tractor. The chassis was stiff enough to serve as the basis for an armored car and the engine had sufficient power . The project was still on its way when the Reich capitulated, and, under the Treaty of Versailles, did not have the right to have armored vehicles. At the same time, the Allies examined armored cars, called strassenpanzerwagen (armoured cars for the roads), and their use on the battlefield being questionable, allowed further development and production of the Daimler armored vehicle for the needs of the Reichswehr in 1919 -1920. Thus, on February 05, 1919, the War Ministry ordered 38 (later 40) Daimler now called Daimler DZR-19 and on February 12, 1919, 20 additional Ehrhardt/17 later called Ehrhardt/19 due to small modifications. The Daimlers came into units in the spring of 1920. It should also be noted that the allies wanted a strong enough German army to prevent the country from tipping over to a communist regime due to the troubled situation in Germany. It was not until 07/22/1920 that the note from Boulogne (another discussion between the allies and Germany) allowed the German police to have 150 police armored vehicles for the maintenance of order without the possibility of moving off-road and armed with a maximum of two machine guns . Next to that, the Reich Army was allowed to own 105 unarmed, armored personnel carriers (only 45 were acquired under the name Sdkfz3)). This is how the Ehrhardt 17/19s that still remained in the inventory and the 40 Daimler DZR-19s that the army still possessed could be turned over to the police.

Daimler DZR-19 :

Year of production: 1919-1920

Manufacturer: Daimler

Number of produced: 40

Combat weight: 10500 kg

Dimensions: 5580x2100x3100 mm

Reservation: 4-12 mm

Armament: 2 x MG-08

Propulsion: wheeled, 4×4

Engine: Daimler M1574, 12020 cv3, 100 hp

Crew: 8

The Schupo Sonderwagen project :

For a precise article, see Daimler DZVR-21 in countries

To reach the hoped number of 150, 85 vehicles had been ordered by 1925 from 3 companies:

Daimler in Berlin Marienfelde for 31 ex, Ehrhardt Automobil Werke in Zella Mehlis for 30 ex, Benz Werke in Gaggenau for 24 ex. Around 50 other vehicles came from stocks of the Reichsheer (Daimler DZR-19 and Ehrhardt). In addition to plans to simply get armored vehicles, the need to maintain production was also taken into account, so there was no special competition, they just sent out a technical task. Considering that it was not planned to use these vehicles on the battlefield, the requirements for armored cars were more sparing, although the need for allwheel drive and two control posts remained. Unlike military orders, the mass of vehicles was limited to 12 tons, vertical armor made of high quality chrome nickel steel had to be increased to 12 mm, weapons had to be placed in two rotating machine-gun turrets, and the need for a commander’s cupola was also determined. The bottom of the vehicle was armored with 4mm thick plates to protect the crew from hand grenades under the vehicle . Operations in an urban environment with a short range of operations required reinforced armor, which at the same time meant more weight. Since the vehicle was to be used primarily on paved roads, it received front and rear wheels of the same size with solid rubber tires. With only one steerable axle, the driver had to steer very carefully when reversing. The upper part of all armored cars above the conventional sides was almost the same and was transferred to different manufacturers for manufacturing. The most interesting design was the decision of the fighting compartment. In it, German designers tried to combine the diagonal arrangement of machine gun turrets that had been worked out in the Russian army with a purely German requirement for a commander’s cupola. The commander’s cupola was located between the two machine gunners in their dead zone and did not interfere with the shooting. At the same time, the placement of the cupola required a greater distance between the axes of the machine-gun turrets, as a result, both turrets went outside the armored hull, which was eventually made with sponsons for the convenience of the gunners. The commander’s turret towered over the machine-gun turret, providing excellent visibility. All three Schupo-armored cars ( Schutzpolizei-Sonderwagen) Model 1921 from Erhardt, Benz and Daimler have a very similar appearance with some modifications due to the differents chassis and the same weapon system. Only the chassis is radically different. But at the same time, many small differences make it possible to distinguish cars from each other. Since the various German states which had sovereignty over the police corps in their region were technically unable to do so, the Reich Ministry of the Interior took over the supervision of the development, production and the distribution of vehicles, representatives of each state being attached to a commission which supervised the tests of the various prototypes. All three companies used almost the same steel superstructure. It should be noted that these vehicles could still be loaned to the army for maneuvers. The Benz was called Benz VP-21, the Ehrhardt, Ehrhardt type 21 and the Daimler, Daimler DZVR-21. The difficulties of the post-war period meant that these vehicles could only be handed over to the state police from about 1924

A single vehicle (Daimler) survived until 1945. This vehicle was documented with a lot of photos in the inner courtyard of the former Berlin Reich Chancellery

Daimler DZVR-21 :

Year of production: 1921-1927

Manufacturer: Daimler

Number of produced: 31

Combat weight: 12000 kg

Dimensions: 6100x2692x3365 mm

Reservation: 8-12 mm

Armament: 2 x MG-08

Propulsion: wheeled, 4×4

Engine: Daimler M1574, 12020 cv3, 100 hp

Crew: 6

Ehrhardt type 21 :

Year of production: 1921-1925

Manufacturer: Ehrhardt

Number of produced: 30

Combat weight: 11000 kg

Dimensions: 6500x2410x3450 mm

Reservation: 8-12 mm

Armament: 2 x MG-08

Propulsion: wheeled, 4×4

Engine: 8490 cv3, 80 HP

Crew: 6

Benz VP-21 :

Year of production: 1921-1927

Manufacturer: Benz

Number of produced: 24

Combat weight: 11000 kg

Dimensions: 5950x2565x3325 mm

Reservation: 4-12 mm

Armament: 2 x MG-08

Propulsion: wheeled, 4×4

Engine: Benz S 140N, 12300 cv3, 100 HP

Crew: 5

Differences in proportions between the three vehicles

Gepanzerter Mannschaftstransportwagen Sd.Kfz.3:

With the construction of the Daimler DZVR-21 Schupo Sonderwagen, the army quickly found a possible vehicle for its use in accordance with the possibility of owning 105 vehicles allowed by the note of boulogne. In fact, it had to go quickly because the situation in Germany at that time was more than troubled. As an armament under turret was prohibited, it was easier to remove them and to modify the hull slightly and in 1921, the reichsheer was able to acquire this model. The vehicle allowed to transport up to 12 soldiers or 6 machine gunners with full equipment but there shouldn’t be any weapons specific to the vehicle itself. Also, additional sections and jacks on the sides, as well as a characteristic box-shaped construction with aiming slots all around the fighting compartment, became the features of this car. Access was through two side doors, two armored searchlights were on the roof in the front and rear. The armored superstructure weighed 5.5 tons and was supported by a chassis designed for 4.5 tons, so driving outside roads was forbidden. The crew consisted of 2-3 people. The DZVR chassis was all-wheel drive (4×4 wheel formula). Front wheels were single and rear ones double, equipped with solid rubber tires. The release of armored personnel carriers proceeded extremely slowly – from 1921 to 1927. about 45 cars were assembled out of the 105 allowed by the Boulogne note. All Sd.Kfz.3 were actively used by Reichswehr units. In addition, several Sd.Kfz.3 were equipped with additional equipment. So, at least one armored personnel carrier, which was used as a command and staff vehicle during the maneuvers of 1927-1928, received a 20-watt transmitter, which made it possible to carry out voice communication in a radius of 5 km and transmit data in telegraph mode at a distance of up to 15 km. After 1933, these vehicles were renamed Sd.Kfz.3. These Sd.Kfz.3 were attached to the third company of each of the 7 kraftfahr abteilungen with five vehicles.

Panzerspähwagen-Nachbildung Büssing:

Also known as Büssing 26. There is very little information about this vehicles, since they are not found in any official publications on German armored vehicles of the intermediate period. According to the most plausible assumptions, in 1926, by order of the Reichswehr, a small batch of heavy training vehicles (Panzerspahwagen-Nachbildung) was assembled. Their basis could be the design of the old Büssing A5P armored car, which ended its career after WWI and remained in a single copy. There is no data on armor and weapons. Presumably, they were unarmed (as for the Sd.Kfz.3) and were made from ordinary sheet steel. The armament could well include 7.92 mm Schwarzloze MG.08 machine gun teams embarked. A large cylindrical tower (or a fixed cabin?), mounted on the roof of the « combat compartment », was rather intended for surveillance of the area. The exact number of Panzerspahwagen-Nachbildung Büssing training vehicles built remains unknown. Judging by surviving photographs, at least 12  vehicles were collected, which were used by the Reichswehr to train personnel of armored units.

Organisation:

After the German Army (“Reichsheer”) was dissolved in January 1919 and was to be transformed into a peacetime army, the Reich government decided in March 1919 to form a provisional Reichswehr. The strength of this army should be 400,000 men. From October 1, 1919 to April 1, 1920, the armed forces of the so-called Provisional Reichswehr were transformed into the 200,000-strong  » Transitional Army « . At the same time, the previous units and departments of the old army were eliminated . After the intermediate step of 150,000 men in October 1920, the final army strength of 100,000 men was reached by January 1, 1921. The Reichswehr was formed on January 1, 1921, with the military law of March 23, 1921 regulating the details. The Reichswehr was divided into the Reichsheer (“100,000-man army”) and the Reichsmarine . The Reichsheer consisted of seven infantry and three cavalry divisions , with all units being renumbered. Territorially, the Reich was divided into seven military districts (I–VII). There were two group commands , No. 1 in Berlin and No. 2 in Kassel .

In each Infanterie Division, there was a Kraftfahr Abteilung divided into three different companies (from 1933 on). The 1st company was a Kradschützen rifle company (twelve light and four heavy machine guns on BMW motorcycles with sidecars), the 2nd company as a kampfwagen company, equipped with dummy tanks, and the 3rd Company was a Panzerspäh-nachbildung company with Sd.Kfz.3 (at least 5) and Büssing 1926 (?).

Colours:

Initially, the plain Feldgrau livery (for the police vehicles) and, occasionally, the tricolor scheme of 1918 remained in force. In September 1921, Erdgelb (earth yellow) and Braun (brown) were standardized for the motorcycle fleet. red color was used for iron and steel, light gray for wood, medium gray for intermediate layers. Later on, it was agreed that the colors of the final liveries will be developed from seven colors: Feldgrau, ocher, green, brown, black, white, and red from which derive the colors Feldgrau Nr 2 & 3 Erdgeld Nr. 17, Grun Nr 28, Dunkelbraun Nr 45 Dunkelgrau Nr 46 which will be used from 1928. The first truly innovative livery appeared in 1928 and lasted until 1937, it was a three-tone pattern with large spots. the first years, the shape and arrangement of the spots will vary, to settle definitively in 1932, according to the H.Dv. 488/1 (Heeres-Druckvorschrift – printed army directive). The colors are then placed on the vehicles, from front to rear in the following order: Endgelb Nr. 17, Brun Nr. 18 and Grun Nr 28. the stains are cloudy in shape with clean edges not identified. the tarpaulins and hoods are coated identically and the rims receive only one color.