Description: While the Überschwerer Kampfschreitpanzer served to appease Hitler's vanity, the much smaller, and much more mobile Waffenträgerschreitpanzer Läufer was far more popular among the infantry, who liked having close-in artillery support capable of traversing almost any terrain. Designed and built by the Nazi "mad" scientist Dr. Clausenhausen, the Läufer was a bipedal armored combat machine, designed to accompany infantry, snipe at enemy armor, and generally serve as an all-terrain self-propelled gun.
The Läufer was used on both fronts, and was especially popular in the thick forests of Russia and the broken farmlands of France. Although not especially well armored, its size and shape made the vehicle easy to hide, and the Allies often found them tucked into barns, factories, deep ditches, thick stands of trees, and the like. As the howitzer was of limited use against enemy armor, the Läufer was usually used to shell troops in the open or soft vehicle targets—such as jeeps and trucks. The 20 mm cannon was often used to help spot targets for the howitzer, and tracer rounds were a common load. The MG 34, on the other hand, was meant for close defense and as an antiaircraft weapon.
Although several hundred Läufer were made, they had little overall impact on the course of the war. While fine anti-infantry weapons, their high silhouette and thin armor made them walking (literally) targets for Allied tank gunners and ground-attack pilots. Also, as the war progressed, and parts became scarce, many Läufer were simply abandoned upon experiencing a mechanical failure, although a few were made into semi-fixed artillery platforms.
As a curious side note, there is an account of a Läufer successfully destroying an American BGP Mark 1 "Pistol-Packing Pete" in what is thought to be the first clash of armored combat walkers.
A Waffenträgerschreitpanzer Läufer has a squat blocky body mounted on two short legs. The howitzer is set to the right of the pilot, with the twin 20 mm cannon mounted to a fixed wing on the far right of the vehicle. The primary access hatch is behind the howitzer, while the vehicle's engine is directly behind the driver's compartment. It is roughly 12' tall, 10' long, and 8' wide. It weighs 20 tons, has a top speed of 26 miles per hour, and a crew of three (driver, gunner, loader).
(Character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
The Waffenträgerschreitpanzer Läufer's Hero Designer File
