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 maybe 20 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 an order was placed to 3 firms:
Daimler in Berlin Marienfelde for 33 ex, Ehrhardt Automobil Werke in Zella Mehlis for 32 ex, Benz Werke in Gaggenau for 24 ex. This means that the exact number of each type of vehicle is not exactly known. 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: 33
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: 32
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
Daimler | Benz | Erhardt | |
Length overall in meters | 6.10 | 5.95 | 6.5 |
Greatest width in meters | 2,692 | 2,565 | 2,410 |
height in meters | 3,365 | 3,325 | 3,450 |
Ground clearance in meters | 0.340 | 0.360 | 0.360 |