The le.Sp Steyr K2670 model is here

The protection of railways was a problem for German logistics in the occupied territories throughout the Second World War. In the Balkans and Greece, this problem became crucial in the spring of 1943. This is why, in June and July 1943, two BP-42 type armored trains were sent there. Unfortunately, they proved too heavy for local bridges and rail structures. It was therefore necessary to find other solutions. After being inspired by the Czech Tatra T-18 armored draisine, it was decided to build armored draisines that could be used alone or assembled for more specific operations. This solution provided more flexibility depending on operational situations. It was decided to build light draisines le.Sp (or leichte Schienenpanzerspähwagen) and heavy draisines s.Sp (or schwere Schienenpanzerspähwagen).The Austrian firm Steyr-Daimler-Puch was chosen in August 1943 to build the model. The same chassis was designed for both models. This choice and the subsequent difficulty in adapting to supporting a greater load led to delays for the heavy model.

The le.Sp could drive in both directions, the front and rear were identical because the construction was symmetrical around a centrally positioned engine. At either end were two seats, one for the driver and one for the MG gunner, a fifth MG gunner seat was in the middle opposite the engine. There were six firing ports and four machine guns on board. There were two identical roof casemates for observation and a removable hatch in the center of the roof through which the engine could be removed for maintenance. A frame antenna was coupled to a Fu-22 radio set. The classic crew was 5 to 6 soldiers. It was planned to assemble ten of these draisines to form a light armored reconnaissance train or leichte Schienenpanzerspähzug, two being reserved for command, two for engineers and the rest for infantry. Total strength: 2 officers, 16 non-commissioned officers, 53 men. These draisines could also operate in pairs or half-trains of 5 vehicles. 40 copies were built to equip 4 le. Sp (or leichte Schienenpanzerspähzug) numbered 301 to 304. These trains were put into service in the first half of 1944 to operate in the Balkans.

The 301 operated in March and April 1944 in Serbia in the Ujse-Raska region and was destroyed at the end of 1944.

The 303 was captured at the end of the war.

The 304 was destroyed at the end of the war.

There remains a copy in the Trieste museum in Italy, this copy was used by the English occupation troops in Italy, it is recognizable by its side air inlets of the first model (rectangular) while the late models will have round air inlets of the same model as those of the s. Sp.

At least one example was used by the Polish railway protection forces (or SOK) after the war and into the 1950s. It is not known where this example came from but perhaps from the armored train training center in Rembertow. It also featured rectangular air inlets.

It should be noted that the widespread name of the Steyr K2670 draisine is not the official name but only that of the technical drawing of the project.

 

Technical description :

 

Weight: 7.5 t (9.5 t in combat order)

crew: 5 to 6 men

armor: 14.5 mm (sides), 10 mm (floor), 5,5 mm (roof)

armament: 4X 7.92mm MG34 machine guns (the vehicle has no fixed armament but six firing hatches)

engine: 3.5L V8. 70 HP center mounted steyr

speed: 60 km/h

autonomy: 400 km

two rolling axles with two driving stations (one for each direction of traffic)

length: 5,69 m / width: 2,52 m / height without radio: 2,27 m / height with radio: 2,53m