History:
The basis for the DZVR-21 was the Daimler DZR-19. The DZR-19 had an armored superstructure with a single turret in the middle and with significantly less angled armor plates than the later Type 21 vehicle. The structure of the Daimler DZVR-21 was quite similar to that of the other Schupo (schutzpolizei) Sonderwagen (Benz VP-21 and Ehrhardt Type21). However, adjustments had to be made for the respective chassis.
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 |
Since the vehicle was to be used primarily on paved roads, it received front and rear wheels of the same size (1220 mm) with solid rubber tires.With a four-wheel drive, they could be steered both forwards and backwards via another driver’s seat at the back. With only one steerable axle, the driver had to drive very carefully when reversing.The wheels of the DZVR-21 consisted of spokes secured with armored disks. The wheels were double at the rear.The driving training took four weeks.
The armor consisted of chrome-nickel steel plates with a thickness of up to 12 mm, which was to provide protection against infantry shells with steel core ammunition at 25 m.
All vehicles were equipped with two turrets that were diagonally offset. The front tower was on the left opposite the driver’s seat, the rear on the right oposite the rear driver’s seat. There was one MG 08 in each turret. The turrets ran on ball bearings and could be locked in notches at intervals of 10 cm. Each turret had four viewing slits that could be closed.
Between the turrets was an armored command post with another cupola above. The cupola had slits that gave the commander an all-round view over the two machine gun turrets. These viewing slits were also secured by protective plates.The fighting room was located under the two turrets and had both sight and embrasures from which both machine guns and rifles could be used. It was possible to disassemble the MG and use them elsewhere. A bottom armor of 4 mm protected the vehicle from hand grenades under the vehicle.
The Daimler DZVR-21 had armored headlight covers of simple rectangular shape attached to the sidewalls of the radiator protection, in contrast to Ehrhardt and Benz who had them on the fenders. Each turret had a protected searchlight above it. The rear armor plate was fully sloped contrary to Ehrhardt and Benz. In the front part, the muffler was installed obliquely along the wing contrary to Ehrhardt and Benz.
The 100 hp Daimler 4-cylinder M 1574 gasoline engine was fully enclosed by an armored cowl, but could still be serviced to a certain extent while underway, as it was accessible through a manhole from inside the fighting compartment. In contrast to the armored body, the armored engine hood was not riveted but screwed in order to be able to quickly remove the engine without difficulty.
The driver’s seats were trough-shaped armchairs with seat cushions and upholstered backrests. All protruding parts in the interior were fitted with leather pads to prevent crew head injuries. In addition to interior lighting, the vehicles also had signaling devices such as a multi-tone cylinder whistle, a horn, as well as two fold-out direction indicators. As other equipment, all cars had two tire stands to accommodate spare solid rubber tires and two crossing plates. In addition, the vehicles each had two jacks with a load capacity of 8 tons, two pickaxes, two spades and two wheel chocks. The latter served to secure the vehicle in the event of longer periods of standing on sloping sites.
according to the plans the state police should have had the following schupo sonderwagen (all types):
In reserve (apparently at RMI): 2.
In fact, only 31 Daimler, 30 Ehrhardt and 24 Benz were slowly produced which were added to Daimler DZR-19 and Ehrhardt transferred from the army. Due to the difficult economic situation at that time, the construction of the Daimler took so long that the order was not completed and the vehicles handed over to the state police authorities until 1927. In 1928, 72 (all types) were in the service of the Prussian protection police. 38 others with police units in other German states.
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
Combat use:
The most well-known operations of the “Daimler DZVR-21 Schupo” were the Ruhr uprising as a result of the Kapp Putsch in April 1920, the central German uprising in March/April 1921 and the Hamburg uprising in October 1923, which were partly used by the KPD as so-called workers’ revolts against the “Weimar Republic” were initiated. Until the National Socialists came to power, the barracked police officers were on duty almost continuously to protect or break up demonstrations and to secure political events. Some of the cars were scrapped in the late 30s, but one armored car became famous all over the world, a Daimler DZVR-21 armored car was destroyed right at the steps of the Reich Chancellery in the inner courtyard along with a rare Dutch Wilton-fijenoord armored car. A single vehicle survived until 1945. It is in the tank museum in Munster (Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster). The car served in the police until 1939, after which it was transferred to the training unit in Munster, which entered the western zone of occupation, thanks to which it was preserved. The last specimen of the DZVR-21 arrived in Munster on a low loader trailer from a scrapyard in Hannover-Hainholz and is on display in the tank museum’s educational collection.
