Major Hans Cramer Saluting in Sd.Kfz.247

This image shows the relatively rare initial version of the Sd.Kfz.247 armored command-and-control vehicle with a rear dual axle (only ten were built). It was later succeeded by a four-wheel version. The image shows the ceremonial entry of the forces into the new facilities at Krampnitz for the fledging motorized reconnaissance force in 1937. The officer saluting is Major Hans Cramer (last rank General der Panzertruppe), the second commander of the Kavallerie-Lehr und Versuchs-Abteilung. Of course, the design of armored cars was an issue that affected all of the major combatants. Coupled with the usual requirements of maneuverability, armor, and armament inherent in all armored-vehicle design was the necessity of speed and stealth. It proved to be a complicated equation that was never really solved satisfactorily. Give a scout too much firepower, and he is tempted to use it. Give him too little, and he may not survive even the smallest of opposition. The key to success for the armored reconnaissance soldier was foremost his speed. His mission was not to destroy the enemy, but to report on him so that the higher commander could devise a plan to destroy him with more suitable assets. As Munzel succinctly observes, “In summary, it can be said that the technical problems for mechanized reconnaissance are more difficult to solve than for the armor force. Scouting elements should move as quietly as possible, be faster than other vehicles, be capable of cross-country movement, and be able to defend themselves against superior enemy armored vehicles. Those demands did not allow themselves to be combined in a satisfactory manner at the
time.”

Source :

Book "Scouts Out: A History of German Armored Reconnaissance Units in World War II" by Robert Edwards, Michael H. Pruett and Michael Olive