OT-810

Sd.Kfz. 251
Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf. A Ungepanzerte
Type	Half-track armored personnel carrier
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1939–1945
Used by	Nazi Germany Kingdom of Romania Kingdom of Hungary Italian Social Republic Independent State of Croatia
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Hanomag
Manufacturer	Hanomag, Adlerwerke, Horch, Škoda, Borgward
No. built	Approx. 15,252
Specifications
Weight	7.81 tonnes (8.61 short tons)
Length	5.80 m (19 ft)
Width	2.10 m (6 ft 10 in)
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Crew	2 + 10 passengers
Armor	6-14.5 mm (0.24-0.57 in)
Main armament	MG 34 or MG 42
Secondary armament	MG 34 or MG 42
Engine	one Maybach HL 42 6-cylinder petrol engine 100 PS (99 hp, 74 kW)
Power/weight	12.8 hp/tonne
Suspension	Overlapping torsion bar (track) Leaf spring (wheels)
Operational range	300 km (186 mi)
Speed	52.5 km/h (32.5 mph)

Overlapping torsion bar (track)

The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was a WW2 German armored fighting vehicle designed by the Hanomag company, based on its earlier, unarmored Sd.Kfz. 11 vehicle. The Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers (German mechanized infantry) into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251s were the most widely produced German half-tracks of the war, with at least 15,252 vehicles and variants produced by various manufacturers, and were commonly referred to simply as "Hanomags" by both German and Allied soldiers.

There were four main model modifications (Ausführung A through D), which formed the basis for at least 22 variants. The initial idea was for a vehicle that could be used to transport a single squad of 10 panzergrenadiers to the battlefield protected from enemy small arms fire, and with some protection from artillery fire. In addition, the standard mounting of at least one MG 34 or MG 42 machine gun allowed the vehicle to provide suppressive fire for the rifle squad both while they dismounted and in combat.

The armour plates were designed to provide protection against standard rifle/ machine gun bullets (like the 7.92×57mm Mauser bullet). The front-facing plates were 14.5mm thick; the sides were steeply angled, V-shape 8mm thick plates. This level of armour provided protection against normal (non-tungsten) rifle AP round, which could pierce about 8mm of vertical armour.

Positive aspects of the open top included greater situational awareness and faster egress by the infantry, as well as the ability to throw grenades and fire over the top of the fighting compartment as necessary while remaining under good horizontal cover. The downside was a major vulnerability to all types of plunging fire; this included indirect fire from mortars and field artillery, as well as small arms fire from higher elevated positions, lobbed hand grenades, even Molotov cocktails, and strafing by enemy aircraft.