Dear All,
I've been reading, and reading, and I can't identify a part on the halftrack


It's the long item attached to the side of the vehicle right under the sandbag protecting the gun, and in front of the side vision block.
It does not look like a rearview mirror to me, but what else can it be?
Thank you

Ola Andras
It is a direction indicator. Inside the thing is a little flap possibly with a light in it. It can be controlled from the inside of the vehicle. There is another one at the other side of the vehicle. When going left or right the flap goes out of the holder.

It's a mechanical turn signal/indicator. Very common on earlier-war and pre-war designs but later dropped.

Yeah... those little turn-wands were all the rage back before the war, as the intermittent blinker device was in its infancy.

To operate them - generally a rotary type handle connected to two cables which tugged the wand - the plan was that the light lit when the wand popped up...

I had the joy of owning a 1955 VW beetle which had these things. Folks I knew called them "macht-nichts" sticks... on account of they would easily stick in the out position and both would be "on" at once.

Bob

Any idea on the time frame of the picture and campaign? Looks early, vehicle seems to be German Grey. Interesting, I have never seen the shovels stored that way. And the damage to the stowage is interesting too, might have to simulate on my next 251 build.

This is an Ausf.A as shown by the vision blocks in the troop compartment. The tools were stowed there for Ausf.A and B. (Reference: Panzer Tracts vol. 15-2).