What Does a Puma Carry?

Here’s a list of stuff that a Puma carries, at least according to Tankograd’s wonderfully photo-laden book on the vehicle.

–Equipment for Vehicle Subsystems–

  • Fuel: 900 L
  • Ready 30mm ammo: 200 rounds
  • Stowed 30mm ammo: 161 rounds (in seven-round boxes)
  • Ready 5.56mm ammo: 1,000 rounds
  • Stowed 5.56mm ammo: 1,000 rounds
  • Ready ATGM: 2 missiles
  • Stowed ATGM: 0 missiles
  • Grenade Launcher, Ready Rounds: 12 76mm Grenades -OR- 24 40mm grenades

–Equipment for Dismounts–

  • Stowed 5.56mm ammo for dismounts: 1,500 rounds
  • Stowed 40mm grenades: 36 rounds
  • Stowed frag grenades: 30 grenades
  • Stowed smoke grenades: 7 grenades
  • Stowed signal rounds: 20 rounds
  • Stowed rockets: 4 Panzerfaust 3 rockets and 2 launchers
  • Stowed Water, 1.5 L bottles: 32 bottles

The Tankograd volume doesn’t make mention of how much of the 5.56mm ammo stowed for the dismounts is in magazines and how much is linked for the dismounts’ MG4. 1,500 rounds doesn’t seem like all that much for six men, but perhaps the Germans trust their supply. It’s nice that Tankograd notes how much water the Puma usually carries.

3 thoughts on “What Does a Puma Carry?

  1. Checkmate

    No reason they can’t use the vehicle’s 5.56. That’s another 1000 rounds right there, assuming they keep the vehicle’s MG rounds ready. An APC/IFV if far more dependent on it’s main gun (the 30mm) than it’s secondary armament (which is far more important for tanks; I believe Patton was the one who said tanks were a way to get MG to bear on the enemy backlines, with the big gun being a nice addedum and meant for niche scenarios such as other tanks and hardened positions).

    Reply
    1. parvusimperator Post author

      They’d have to delink it first. It’s still not a ton of ammo, but I’m an American (see tomorrow’s Bradley post for a Rambo-sized loadout, haha). I still would prefer a proper 7.62N coax, since the IFV is a very useful base of fire vehicle. Especially with only the six dismounts.

  2. Pingback: Engineering Tradeoff Q&A: Puma and Bradley | The Soapbox

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