Trumpeter 09577 Schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18 t with 8.8cm Flak 1:35

The Sd.Kfz.8 12ton half-track was the second largest half-track produced for the German Army in WWII and was designed primarily as an artillery tractor for large heavy guns such as the 21 cm Mörser 18, 15 cm Kanone 18 and the 10.5 cm FlaK 38.

Approximately 4,000 were produced between 1938 and 1945 with main contractor being Daimler-Benz with others built by Krupp, Krauss-Maffei and Škoda, the DB s8, DB 9 and DB 10 were provided by a Maybach 12-cylinder, 8.52 litre HL 85 TUKRM gasoline engine of 185 horsepower.

While the majority of Sd.Kfz.8s was built as artillery tractors some were converted for other uses, the most notable were the ten 8.8 cm Flak 18 (Sfl.) auf Zugkraftwagen 12t (Sd.Kfz. 8) vehicles with modified 8.8 cm Flak 18 anti-aircraft guns mounted on rear pedestals, all these were all built on the DB s8 and DB 9 chassis. These vehicles were used by Panzerjäger-Abteilung 8 during the invasion of Poland in 1939, the Battle of France in 1940 and Operation Barbarossa in 1941; the last three vehicles had been lost by March 1943.