The Kfz.70 6x4 Truck served throughout WWII after mass production commenced in 1933. Some 7,000 trucks were produced up till 1942 and the vehicle was powered by an air-cooled 3.308-liter flat-four engine. The horizontal engine gave rise to the trucks distinctive, sharply sloped nose, and also to its nickname Boxer. The truck was used for all kinds of purposes, and it was commonly employed for towing light artillery such as the 3.7cm Pak 35/36 antitank cannon.

Now Dragon Armor is getting in on the action with a new fully built-up model in a personnel carrier configuration, in which state it was known in German nomenclature as the Kfz.70. The Kfz.70 6x4 truck is finished in a winter camouflage scheme of white swirled over the panzer gray basecoat. It isnt known what unit the truck originally stemmed from, but it did serve on the Eastern Front in 1943. The wheels and independent coil spring suspension are masterfully represented, as is the raking hood. To add to the items appeal and value, the truck is towing a gray-colored 3.7cm PaK 35/36 anti-tank cannon as well. This 6x4 truck was a workhorse of the German military during WWII, and here Dragon Armor has put it to good use towing a common early-war anti-tank cannon. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 4-inches
Width: 1-inch

Release Date: October 2012

Historical Account: "Motor Transport" - In NATO and most other western countries, motorized infantry is infantry which is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers, infantry combat vehicles, or infantry fighting vehicles. In Russia and the former Soviet Union the term motostrelki (Мотострелки in Russian) is used to indicate mechanized infantry, and during the Korean War this usage prevailed in all Warsaw Pact countries.

Motorizing infantry is the first stage towards the mechanization of an army. Civilian trucks are readily adaptable to military uses of transporting soldiers, towing guns, and carrying equipment and supplies. This greatly increases the strategic mobility of infantry units, which would otherwise rely on marches or railroads. In practice, armies have found it advantageous to develop trucks to military specifications, such as all-wheel drive, in order to have vehicles that function reliably in extremes of weather and terrain.

Motorization provides no direct tactical advantage in combat, because trucks and jeeps are vulnerable to artillery and small arms fire. For winter and mountain use, light tracked vehicles were employed, the Swedish made Snow Trac and Bandvagn 202 both found service with the British Royal Marines. But it does increase the infantry's flexibility, because motorized elements can travel with their own integral support weapons (heavy machine guns, mortars and artillery, anti-tank weapons, etc.). The disadvantage of motorization is that the formation becomes dependent on supplies of fuel.

The British created the Experimental Mechanized Force between the wars to test the capabilities of all-arms formations of mechanized units, this included motorized infantry.

The speed advantages of motorized infantry first became important in World War II in the German Blitzkrieg. While no more robust than regular infantry moving on foot, its increased speed became decisive in the Blitzkrieg strategy because it could follow the panzer forces and defend its flanks. Notwithstanding the obvious advantages of motorization, most countries opted only for partial motorization of their infantry because of the cost and logistical implications caused by the deployment of so many vehicles. Even large armies were affected by these factors. The bulk of German and Soviet infantry remained on foot, while U.S. infantry divisions could, if needed, redirect the activities of enough trucks to motorize an infantry regiment. Likewise, infantry divisions of the UK Britain and its Empire could motorzse chosen subordinate units, but infantry advanced on foot in most cases.

Currently in the post Cold War world, motorization of infantry is becoming more popular since humanitarian deployments are more prevalent with troops acting as quasi-police units. There is also a trend for motorized infantry to be up-armoured due to the situation of insurgency and terrorism in post-invasion Iraq.