I know what a SdKfz 140/1 Aufklärungspanzer is, but I can't find a translation of the word, "Aufklärungspanzer." Anyone know the translation of "Aufklärungspanzer" to English? Thanks!

I believe the word's prefix," aufklarung" means 'scout' or 'reconassense'(sp)
so the simple translation would be 'scout tank' or 'recon tank'?
Cheers!

Yahoo's Babel Fish translates it as "Clearing-up tank".
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt

Maybe "way-clearing" is a better wording.
-Sean H.

In terms of "normal" English words, it would be "armoured scout vehicle" or "armoured reconnaissance vehicle" (the "panzer" means armour). In practice it would probably be a tracked vehicle, or "tank", although wheeled armoured scout vehicles could also be called "aufklarungspanzer".

But, as Sean says, a literal translation of "auf" + "klarung" + "panzer" is indeed "way-clearing armour"...

Tom

Rick, Mike, Sean & Tom -- Thanks for the info! Just enforces the reality that modeling is more than building from plastic, wood, etc.; it's history, language, research, education, and sharing information. Thanks, again!

Hi, All!

I would have at first said "Aufklarungspanzer" meant "search-ahead armor(ed vehicle)".... realistically, a "recon tank", both in meaning and in practice.

But.... the Merriam Webster web-site offers a slightly different translation of Aufklarung: "enlightenment"! Come to think of it, recon IS to seek some enlightenment as to where and what is out there in (enemy) land.... so - it's an "enlightenment tank"!

While armored cars and half-track variants were actually created for recon use and were so used by the Germans in WWII (and favored now-adays), I believe the term "Aufklarungspanzer" was applied only to fully-tracked "tanks" - armored "recon" half-tracks, such as the SdKfz 250/9 2cm "recon" vehicle, were called "Schutzenpanzerwagen", and armored cars, such as the SdKfz 222 2cm car built for recon use, were called "Panzerspahwagen" ("armored reconnaissance vehicle") - the -222 being a "Leichte Panzerspahwagen" or light armored recon vehicle, while its larger cuz, the SdKfz 234/1 8-Rad, was a "heavy" or schwerer PzSpWgn.

To mess with the mind just a tad more... those "Panzerspahwagen" were also known in German WWII military terminology as "Strassen Panzer" - literally "street armor" - armored scout cars, while some sources indicate that the SdKfz 250/9 (and sometimes also the /5) were sometimes labelled as "Aufklarungs-Panzerwagen"! (The larger SdKfz 251/ series were all "Mittler Schutzenpanzerwagen" - no "reconners" amongst them, unless we count that "maybe vehicle", the /23 with the SdKfz 222 2cm turret on top...) And, spinning forward to today... in the modern Bundeswehr, armored recon cars are called "Spahpanzer".

The more some folks change the names... Whew!

Bob

Wow, Bob! Great review, and interesting, too. (rhyme unintentional) German nomenclature could be a topic in itself. Thanks for the education!