Horch Kfz. 17 Radio Car
The radio car Kfz 17 was the smallest fully enclosed radio vehicle used by the German Wehrmacht. The vehicle is built on a 4 x 4 Horch 901 Einheits Pkw chassis, weighing over 3 tons, and came in various radio variants.
The roof antenna was specifically developed to enable the use of long and medium-wave radio in mobile vehicles. Normally, very long antennas are required for these long wavelengths, but that doesn't fit on a vehicle. However, the Germans discovered that they could still establish a reasonable connection with a frame or roof antenna. The effectiveness of the antenna increases when you place it higher above the roof, but the total height of the vehicle had to be low enough to pass through railway tunnels, so for the Typ 40 version of the Kfz.17, a foldable version was developed that could be raised significantly higher during use.
All remaining Kfz.17's still in existence today appear to be built on Horch chassis (instead of Wanderer or Opel variants of the Einheits Pkw). It is estimated that 20% of Horch's total production of 50,000 units was used for Kfz.17 variants with closed bodies. Today, only a handful of complete Kfz.17's remain, with the one depicted here currently being the only complete and running specimen in the world.
The orange trident signing on the back of the vehicle refers to the German 2. Panzer Division, which had at least one of these vehicles, as a wreckage of it remained after the Normandy battle.
This partcular vehicle is, due to its camouflage pattern, however contradictory that may sound, absolutely one of the most striking vehicles at Militracks. The owner about it: "For the camouflage pattern, I studied countless photos. Unfortunately there are hardly any known photos of Kfz.17 during the Battle of Normandy apart from some burnt wrecks. Normandy is of course known for its tricolor camouflage; my biggest inspiration was a photo of a Funktrupp with a Kfz.15 and Kfz.17 taken during that period in France."
