The Leichter Panzerspähwagen, or Sonderkraftfahrzeug Leichter Panzerspähwagen, was a lightly armored, four-wheeled reconnaissance vehicle produced from 1935 to 1944. 2,394 units were manufactured over that duration.
To me personally, the Leichter Panzerspähwagen is one of the more iconic designs to come out of WW2, and is one of my favorite chassis used in the conflict. I wanted to detail how I would like to see the vehicle implemented in the game, though my primary focus would be on the 223/260/261 patterns of vehicle and how I think they could more uniquely be implemented. But lets start from the beginning:
Sd. Kfz. 221
The base model and first production series of the Leichter Panzerspähwagen. The vehicle had a crew of two, with the commander doubling as a gunner. The vehicle initially only featured an MG-13 machine gun, but after 1938 this was replaced with an MG-34. Some 221 vehicles were also rearmed with the 2.8 cm sPzB 41 heavy anti-tank rifle in a modified turret. The turret traverse is relatively limited. It uses only APCR (at least if WT is to be believed) sporting 84mm of penetration against a flat target at 100 meters. The 221s all featured the Ausf. A chassis with 14.5mm of angled frontal armor.
I think this vehicle could be implemented as a “Rider” class vehicle in the configurations with a machine gun at BR1, or with the modified heavier gun at BR2. Alternatively, the heavier gun version could simply be added as a BR1 “tank” slot vehicle.
Sd. Kfz. 222
The second and by far the most numerous iteration of the Leichter Panzerspähwagen, the 222 pattern featured an additional crewman, and was armed with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon and one MG 13 machine gun which was also replaced with the MG-34 in 1938. The autocannon was also replaced in 1942 with the faster-firing KwK 38 of the same caliber. Unlike the 221 which had limited turret traverse, the 222 has 180 degrees of horizontal traversal and 85 degrees of vertical traversal, allowing the vehicle to effectively engage aircraft. The penetrative ability is slightly less than the upgunned 221, featuring 45mm of penetration at 100 meters using HVAP ammunition, or 34mm at 100 meters with API-T ammunition. The HEFI-T round would be useless against any armored vehicle but should be effective against aircraft and soft ground targets.
The 222 could be implemented as a BR1 “tank” squad vehicle. I don’t think it would be appropriate to classify an AA vehicle as a rider squad vehicle unless other AA vehicles in the game were likewise adjusted.
The Sd. Kfz. 223, 260, and 261
I would like to lump the 223, 260, and 261 together, because all three are primarily radio/command vehicles, and I believe any one of the three could be suitably added with a more unique implementation. The 223 was fitted with an MG-13 (an MG-34 after 1938) while the 260 and 261 were unarmed.
I believe it would be appropriate for these command vehicles to be APC mobile spawn points. Where other APCs spawn troops inside the vehicle, the 223/260/261 could simply spawn squads outside the vehicle since there is no room inside the vehicle. Since our constructed rally points are literally just radios, I think it would be more appropriate that these vehicles function as mobile rally points rather than simply being an armored car that can call artillery every few minutes.
