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SDKFZ.9 FAMO 18T HALFTRACK

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Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
The 18-ton Heavy Tractor or “Famo” was a massive beast that could tow 22-ton loads & was the ultimate German halftrack.

Wheeled vehicles saw their off-road ability vastly improved with the addition of caterpillar tracks on the rear portion of the chassis. So it was that the German Army devised a family of 1, 3, 5, 8, 12 & 18-ton tractors. The “Famo”, or Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkfz.9, was the big daddy. It was used as an artillery tractor & tank recovery vehicle. It could employ its 7-ton capacity winch, which was increased through the use of pulleys, to extricate stricken vehicles. Sometimes it was aided by a specially mounted spade & hoist. These large tractors could also pull the 10-ton Sd.Anh 115 & 22-ton Sd.Anh.116 flatbed trailers for hauling wrecked tanks over longer distances.

On the roads, the halftrack could travel up to 55km/h whilst the 44cm wide tracks gave it good off-road performance. The vehicle could be equipped with a Bilstein revolving crane for tank maintenance tasks. However, its biggest failing was that up to 5 “Famos” were needed to safely recover & tow a Tiger tank or Panther tank. This was a heavy ratio, meaning tank ARVs were ultimately much better suited to this sort of work.

Highly engineered & expensive to produce, the manufacturing process was simplified later in the production cycle. It is one of these later simplified vehicles that we found at the Militracks event in Holland & we photographed it thoroughly. So now you can detail your model builds of Tamiya’s 1:35th scale & Trumpeter’s 1:72nd scale renditions of the legendary monster halftrack.

Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
Schwere Zugkraftwagen Sdkz.9 18t Famo Halftrack
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