On August 5th, 1940, an order was given to design an eight-wheeled armored car similar in design to the Sd. Kfz. 231. Unlike the previous design, where the armored body was bolted to the chassis, the Sd. Kfz. 234 armored hull was to serve as the chassis, thereby strengthening the overall integrity of the vehicle. Furthermore, the armored car was to have heavier armor and a 12-cylinder air-cooled diesel engine that would enable it to operate in the hot climate of North Africa as well as the cold steppes of western Russia. Two trial versions were built and an initial order was made for 500 vehicles, which was later increased to 1,500. The initial requirement was for a vehicle equipped with the 5cm KwK 39/1 gun (Sd. Kfz. 234/2). In January 1944, the order was cut to limit the Puma production to 100 vehicles so that two new variants could be created, one mounting a 2cm KwK gun and the other a more powerful 7.5cm KwK gun.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a German Sd. Kfz. 234/1 8-wheeled armored car that was attached to the 4.Panzer Division, then deployed to Danzig, Poland, during 1945. Pre-order! Ship Date: December 2024.

Dimensions:
Length: 3-1/4-inches
Width: 1-1/4-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Withdrawal" - In the spring of 1944, the division moved to the area of Kowel in occupied Poland, where it was to support Army Group South during the expected Soviet spring offensive. However, Operation Bagration, (started on June 22nd, 1944), was aimed at Army Group Centre and the division retreated with the rest of the German army. Assigned to the XXXIX Panzer Corps under Gen. Karl Decker, the division withdrew to the area of Warsaw, where the Soviet advance ran out of momentum at the end of July. The 4th Panzer Division took part in the Battle of Radzymin (also known as the Battle of Wołomin) and on August 2nd, 1944, alongside the 19th Panzer Division, threw the Soviet III Tank Corps back to Wolomin. The Soviet Tank Corps suffered heavy losses and their advance halted.

The division was then transported to northern Lithuania, where it was to support Army Group North. It was attached to the 3.Panzer Army. The Soviet advance cut the German army group in two and the division was mostly dispersed. Some of its sub-units were cut off from the rest of German-held territory, along with the 16th and 18th Armies, in Livonia on the Courland Peninsula, where they supported the defense until the end of the war. Other units were attached to smaller, often improvised formations.