The SWS Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper halftrack was intended as a lightly armored supply vehicle. They were also used to carry 20mm, and 37mm anti-aircraft guns, as well as 150mm rocket launchers. Everywhere I look, I find different production numbers for the individual versions but there seem to have been at least 500 manufactured in various configurations, and probably many more. There was also one with an unarmored cab.
Recently I have posted a few photos of an SWS halftrack that has a camouflage paint job. The same halftrack has appeared in a number of different set up. This caused a few people to ask if it is the only SWS halftrack in my collection. The SWS series is one of the oldest Roco Minitanks ever made. They come in six versions, but sadly, don't make the unarmed cab version. They are also some of the oldest vehicles in my collection as I likely have not purchased a new one in the package in at least 20 years.
Here is a company of them employed as armored infantry vehicles. Two Kubelwagen and one SWS command radio version. I got this in a collection I purchased forever ago and figured it was too nicely done to change. This is the original paint job it had when I got it.
I have no evidence that the SWS halftrack was ever used as an armored infantry carrier, and no evidence of even troops simply riding in the back of the vehicle. Back in olden times we could not get HO scale SdKfz 251 armored infantry carrier halftracks so we use the Matchbox or Eadai / Arii / Grip versions in 1/76th scale. Even so they were much more expensive than the Roco SWS and so it was not uncommon to improvise and use the SWS instead or in addition to the 1/76th scale versions.
The first platoon, all Roco, the platoon commander has the 37mm anti-tank gun on top, and the three others have light machine guns. I painted these probably 30 years ago. One dot at a time with the brush. I added a few other details that will be seen later.
Second platoon, no machine gun, but I have them ready to install. These came painted and marked like this.
Third infantry platoon also came like this. Years ago my wargame group and I purchased two collections that were in excess of a thousand vehicles. I got a lot of these in that purchase as no one else was interested.
2 comments:
Some of these must have came to Norway during the German occupation 1940-45, because just right after WW2 a couple of these with rocket launchers made service with the Norwegian Artillery.
Interesting, I did not know that. There were a lot of the rocket launcher version made and it was a good vehicle.
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