The basic Kettenkrad prime mover was developed into two other distinct production forms, both designed to lay down communication lines for the advancing German Army. The SdKfz 2/1 kleines Kettenkraftrad fur Feldfernkabel was fitted with a thin framework of pipes over the midsection of the Kettenkrad hull (aft of the driver)for supporting a communications line reel while the similar SdKfz 2/2 kleines Kettenkraftrad fur schwere Feldfernkabel was completed with a different heavier framework to mount a large communications line spool. Both versions allowed for communications lines to be laid at speed.
German military interest in the small vehicle was strong enough to order an initial batch of 500 vehicles in 1940. Deliveries of the design began in 1941 and, by June, German soldiers were enjoying the benefits of their new ride as they were in operational service along the Eastern Front in the war with the Soviet Union. In service, the type was categorized as a "prime mover" intended to haul portable battlefield artillery pieces and a portion of their crew - which it did, with some ease. Hauling capabilities actually proved greater than initially anticipated spurring greater production in 1942 of 1,208 further examples. This total was then bested in 1943 by the 2,450 units produced. By this time more additional manufacturing resources had been added (automobile maker Stoewer Werke of Stettin) to keep up with demand and, in 1944, another 4,490 examples were delivered, signifying the peak of Kettenkrad production in the whole of the war. It was only due to the lack of additional resources, which were either tied to other programs or non-existing at this point in the war for Germany - that production of Kettenkrad systems suffered through the final months of the war. With the fall of Berlin in May of 1945 to the Soviets and the end of the war in Europe, Kettenkrad production ceased for the interim.
The Germans certainly valued their nimble little Kettenkrads and used them in all manner of battlefield roles beyond the originally intended ones. It could haul many types of small and large caliber towed artillery (75mm pieces noted) and various trailer designs beyond the two-wheeled carriage developed specifically for the Kettenkrad. It could help free stuck vehicles and traverse areas that were too confined for tanks and half-tracks or too soft for infantry and wheeled vehicles. It proved the perfect blend of tank and motorcycle to the point that German Luftwaffe airborne troopers found great value in the system as well - it fitting nicely into awaiting Junkers Ju 52 transports. The Kettenkrad held a certain curiosity to Allied troops who, it appears, never fully appreciated the value of the Kettenkrad as many accounts place the vehicle at the center of many-a-joyride for American soldiers. Beyond their operational service along the East Front, the Kettenkrad saw service on the West Front and in the North African Campaign.
After the fallout of war in Europe, the Kettenkrad entered production once more though as a civilian-minded piece, sold to farmers who appreciated the hauling aspects of the little machine. Some 550 examples were believed produced during this period.
In all, 8,345 Kettenkrad examples were produced until 1949. Today, they may be found as museum pieces or in private hands - their engines still operational.
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