After the Wehrmacht's successes in the "Blitzkrieg" at the outbreak of World War II, recovering damaged or broken-down tanks from the battlefield proved relatively easy.
After securing an area, reinforcing divisions could easily send inoperable vehicles back home by rail for repair.
However, in the war of movement with the British Army in North Africa and against the Red Army on the Eastern Front, the rapid repair of tanks became an indispensable element of the Wehrmacht's combat strategy.
The use of the 18-tonne half-track vehicle "Famo" proved to be fundamental to this.
The proposal for the development of the Wehrmacht's half-track vehicles was first made in 1932.
Initially, three half-track vehicles, designated according to their towing capacity (5 tons, 8 tons and 12 tons), were constructed by 1936; a light 3-tonne and a heavy 18-tonne vehicle, the Wehrmacht's largest vehicle, were added.
It was designed mainly for towing 21cm and 24cm howitzers and of course for tank recovery. It could also be used for transporting over 30 soldiers.
Plastic model kit for a 18t Sd.Kfz. 9 FAMO
- incl. 8 figures
- Total length: 243 mm, total width: 75 mm
scale 1:35
unbuilt / unpainted
paint and glue not included
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