Italeri 1:35 RSO w/PaK 40

Italeri 1:35 RSO with PaK 40

To better meet the logistical and transportation needs in the challenging environmental conditions of the Eastern Front, the Wehrmacht developed tracked tractors capable of towing various types of vehicles and transporting different loads, including ammunition and supplies. The official designation of this series of vehicles, which were highly versatile in operational use, was "Raupenschlepper-Ost" (Crawler Tractor-East). The RSO was predominantly built by the Austrian company Steyr, which also developed an anti-tank version that was simple and cost-effective to produce, armed with the reliable and formidable 75mm PaK40 cannon. The vehicle essentially had the same technical structure as the tractor and featured increased frontal protection, given its operational use in direct contact with the enemy.

RSO (short for: Raupenschlepper Ost) is a German tracked transport vehicle from the Second World War. The first copies of this car appeared in 1942, and mass production started shortly after. Approximately 23,000 vehicles of this type were built in its course. RSO - depending on the version - was powered by a single engine: Steyr with 85 HP (RSO / 01) or Deutz with 66 HP (RSO / 03).

The RSO was constructed for the needs of the German troops fighting on the Eastern Front, which in the first year of the war with the Soviet Union realized the shortcomings of their wheeled means of transport in the country's wilderness. In order to shorten the research and development time, the RSO structure was based on proven Steyr 1500 truck components and many elements of German half-tracked transporters. Ultimately, the RSO had good off-road characteristics, good payload, but a speed of only 30 km / h. On its basis - in 1943 - a self-propelled gun was also created using the PaK 40 anti-tank gun, designated RSO / PAK40.

German anti-tank gun 7.5 cm Pak 40 (7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40) from the Second World War. Work on this cannon was carried out in 1939-1941 by Krupp and Rheinmetall. A significant acceleration of research work took place after the start of Operation Barbarossa and the encounter by German armored units of the KW-1 and T-34 tanks. The Pak 40 cannon was introduced into line units from the end of 1941. Thanks to its high parameters, it became the main German anti-tank gun until the end of the war. It was able to engage in firefight with any Soviet and Allied tanks, until the appearance of such vehicles as the IS-2, M26 Pershing and Centurion. In the period 1941-1945, over 29,000 of these weapons were produced (including cannons installed on tank destroyers). Its main drawback was its relatively high weight, which required the use of an artillery tractor for its transport. Due to the wide range of ammunition it could fire, it was often used as a field cannon. Projectile weights ranged from 4.1 kg to 6.8 kg. Technical data: caliber: 75 mm, weight: 1425 kg, initial velocity: 930 m / s (sub-caliber shell), rate of fire: 14 rounds / min. After the war, the Pak 40 gun was used in the armies of, among others, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Romania and Hungary.