Small Scale Military Headquarters

Some years ago Hans Weber was able to ‘crack the code’, so to speak, of how 1. Kompanie, Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 2. numbered their Panzerspähwagen (PSW). The sequence is believed to have included these numbers:

“111”, “112”
“121”, “122”
“131”, “132”
“141”, “142”
“151”, “152”
“161”, “162”
“171”, “172”
“181”, “182”
“191”, “192”
“1101”, “1102”
“1111”, “1112”
“1121”, “1122”
“1131”, “1132”
“1141”, “1142”
“1151”, “1152”

[NB: given the ongoing debate over numbers and types of actual vehicles in the Kompanie and the common instance of having distinctly numbered commander and deputy commander's vehicles in a given Kompanien, there may be the possibility "101" and "102" also existed in 1./PzAA2]

Essentially, instead of following the official guidelines many other units appeared to adopt, where the unit was split into a relatively low number of Zuge (ie platoons) with several vehicles in each Zuge; instead 1./PzAA2 split their unit into several Truppen (ie troops), with only two vehicles in each Truppe.

The actual make up of the Kompanie as far as PSW types go is yet to be agreed upon, but it is clear the majority of vehicles were Sdkfz 234/2 (ie in modern parlance “Pumas”), probably 25 to begin with; plus originally perhaps up to six SdKfz 233 in the last three Truppen (ie 13-15). Note: there is some debate as to the presence of perhaps at least one SdKfz 222 and a handful of SdKfz 231/232 mixed in with the “Pumas” in Normandie, plus perhaps at a later stage SdKfz 234/1 and 234/3, but photos of any of these types are yet to be verified.

The growing number of photos available have also now revealed another aspect of the numbering system adopted by 1./PzAA2, which involved the additional application of Truppe numbers on the vehicles lower sides, along these lines:

“111” - White “1” on fwd bin doors, “112”- Black “1” on fwd bin doors
“121” - White “2” on fwd bin doors, “122”- Black “2” on fwd bin doors
“131” - White “3” on fwd bin doors, “132”- Black “3” on fwd bin doors
“141” - White “4” on fwd bin doors, “142”- Black “4” on fwd bin doors
“151” - White “5” on fwd bin doors, “152”- Black “5” on fwd bin doors
“161” - White “6” on fwd bin doors, “162”- Black “6” on fwd bin doors
“171” - White “7” on fwd bin doors, “172”- Black “7” on fwd bin doors
“181” - White “8” on fwd bin doors, “182”- Black “8” on fwd bin doors
“191” - White “9” on fwd bin doors, “192”- Black “9” on fwd bin doors
“1101” - White “10” on fwd bin doors, “1102”- Black “10” on fwd bin doors
“1111” - White “11” on fwd bin doors, “1112”- Black “11” on fwd bin doors
“1121” - White “12” on fwd bin doors, “1122”- Black “12” on fwd bin doors
“1131” - White “13” on fwd bin doors, “1132”- Black “13” on fwd bin doors
“1141” - White “14” on fwd bin doors, “1142”- Black “14” on fwd bin doors
“1151” - White “15” on fwd bin doors, “1152”- Black “15” on fwd bin doors

[NB: In the case of "1111" and "111" the Truppe number was repeated on the LHS of the rear plate, but its not clear if this was a completely uniform feature on 1./PzAA2 PSW at this stage, as both "181" and the "1152" would appear not to have LH rear numbers. Better photos would be needed to verify these cases. Also, it can only assumed at this stage the white and black Truppe numbers appeared on the sides of non-SdKfz 234/2 types, like the SdKfz 233, as photos are yet to confirm this]