Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251): German Workhorse
The German Sd Kfz 251 Half-Track was a fantastic platform that saw many uses with the Wehrmacht. Designed by Hanomag, this vehicle was so versatile that 23 variants and 14 sub-variants were manufactured by 5 different companies throughout WWII. In total, over 15,000 were made between 1939 and 1945.
The Czechoslovaks even kept on manufacturing them for their own armed forces after WWII!
Versatility of the Sd.Kfz. 251
The Germans used the Sd.Kfz. 251 as Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Armoured Personnel Carriers. They also used it as artillery tractors; tank destroyers (with the 37mm Pak 36 or the 75mm Pak 40); artillery observation vehicles; command vehicles (with extra radios); recon vehicles; mobile telephone exchange; fire support vehicles (with the same 75mm L/24 gun as the one found on the Stug III or with an 81mm mortar); engineering vehicles and so on.
Some variants were used to fire rockets (Nebelwerfer type); others carried searchlights; infra-red searchlights and optics; and some were used as self-propelled AA platforms (2 cm KwK38 or triple mount MG 151).
Cost and Mobility Advantages
The Sd.Kfz. 251 was relatively cheap to manufacture, had good mobility and had the added bonus of driving like a normal truck, meaning that it could be crewed by normal drivers with little extra training, as opposed to drivers having to learn how to drive fully tracked vehicles.
-RBM.
