The Kfz 13 during a re-enactment of the Battle of Mława, 2012

 

Kfz 13 (left)

 

Left: a Kfz 13; right: an armoured Sd.Kfz. 232 with large loop antenna (6-wheeled radio and command vehicle)

The Kfz 13 (also in German: Maschinengewehr-Kraftwagen) was the first armoured reconnaissance vehicle introduced by the Reichswehr after the First World War and, by 1935, 147 units of this lightly armoured vehicle had been delivered to the fleet. The Kfz 13 was based on a civilian car, the Adler Standard 6. Although the Kfz 13 was equipped with all-wheel drive, the vehicle had poor cross-country capability. The unarmed version, the Kfz 14communications vehicle, was equipped with a radio set instead of the machine gun.

The Kfz 13 was deployed in the Invasion of Poland and the Battle of France. It was retired from active service in 1941 and only used thereafter for training purposes.