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This review
is of the new book "Krupp Protze Lorry” authored by Alan
Ranger and published by MMP Books. The book is the
22nd release in MMP's "Camera On" Series of books.
The review copy was provided by
WarWheels sponsor
Casemate Publishers.
The subject
of the book is the different versions and variants of
the German Krupp L 2 H 43 and L 2 H 143 “Protze” 6x4
light truck series. Those “Lorries” were built between
1934 and 1941 and used throughout World War Two.
The official Protze variants covered in the book are:
-
Kfz. 19
Fernsprechtbetriebskraftwagen mit Fahrgestell des
I.glLkw. (Field Telephone Exchange Van)
-
Kfz. 19 Funkwagen (Late)
(Radio Communications Vehicle)
-
Kfz. 68 Funkmastkraftwagen
(Radio Aerial Mast Vehicle)
-
*Kfz.
69 Protzkraftwagen mit Fahrgestell des I.giLkw
(Light Prime Mover)
-
*Kfz.
70 Mannschaftkraftwagen mit Fahrgestell des I.giLkw
(Cargo & Troop Carrier)
-
Kfz. 83 Leichter
Scheinwerferkraftwagn I (60cm Searchlight Prime
Mover Type 1)
-
Sdkfz 247 Ausf. A.
Schwerer gelandegangiger
gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen (Heavy Wheeled
Armored Personnel Carrier)
In addition, a small number of
improvised “variants” were also built on base Protze
vehicles and some of them are also covered in the book.
They are:
-
20mm FLAK 30 & 38 Weapons
Carrier
-
37mm PAK 35/36 Weapons Carrier
-
Armored 37mm PAK 35/36 Weapons
Carrier
*The majority of the book is dedicated to these vehicles.
In the book’s
introduction, the author states the purpose of this
reference is the photographic coverage of the Protze
Truck series, using unpublished photos from his personal
collection. As a result, there’s not a lot of
historical information provided. This certainly is not a
deal breaker to me as there are more than enough other
sources available on that subject. However, Mr. Ranger
does provide perfectly adequate background information
of the vehicles covered so as to give the entire work a
solid frame of reference. Standing alone, it’s
actually a very good summary of the vehicle series in my
opinion.
With that
being said, the author does provide a bit of information
that is "above and beyond" other books. Mr. Ranger
provides succinct descriptions of the visual differences
between the two (2) main production “lots” (L 2 H 43 vs.
L 2 H 143), which one can use to help identify vehicles
from each batch. The same goes for his
descriptions of the different truck variants. Although
not unique, those descriptions are not always provided
in other references.
In addition,
the author excels in providing very detailed captions
for each photograph. The captions contain a myriad
of background details about each photograph (when
available), including the area of operations, timeframe
and unit(s) involved. Mr. Ranger also provides
"bonus" details about each photo including unique
aspects of the vehicles/personnel shown, most notably
the production batches of some of the cars as mentioned
above.
Now on to the
main point of the book, the presentation of unique
photographs. This is where this reference sets
itself apart from others and becomes truly unique.
The author provides approximately 150 black/white
photographs that have NOT been seen in any other books.
They ALL come from his personal collection. Most of the
photographs contained in the book were originally taken
by service members and found their way into the author's
collection, so they would all indeed be unpublished.
I did briefly scan my references covering the Protze and
did NOT find any of the photos provided in this book, so
the author's claim looks to be legit.
As for the
quality of the photographs, they range from excellent to
fair, although surprisingly most are good to very good
images. After all, the pics were taken by
non-professionals, so the quality would not normally be
expected to be at a professional level. The
sub-average photographs the author does include is by
design as he states in the introduction, that a fair
quality photograph of a unique vehicle or detail is
better than none. I wholeheartedly agree with this
reasoning.
Conclusion
The new book
"Krupp Protze Lorry" by author Alan Ranger, is indeed a
unique and welcome addition to the plethora of
references available covering these ubiquitous German
World War Two era trucks. It provides sound
background information about the vehicles featured, with
the addition of a very large number of unique and
interesting photos never before published. If
you’re interested in this vehicle, you can’t go wrong in
purchasing it.
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