The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was a World War II German armored personnel carrier designed by the Hanomag company, based on its earlier, unarmored Sd.Kfz. 11 vehicle. The Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the Panzergrenadier (German mechanized infantry) into battle. Sd.Kfz. 251 were the most widely produced German half-tracks of the war, with at least 15252 vehicles and variants produced by seven manufacturers. Sd.Kfz. 251 was commonly referred to simply as "Hanomags" by both German and Allied soldiers after the manufacturer of the vehicle; German officers referred to them as SPW (Schützenpanzerwagen, or armored infantry vehicle) in their daily orders and memoirs.
VARIANTS:
- Sd.Kfz. 251/1 - Schutzenpanzerwagen. Standard personnel carrier.
- Sd.Kfz. 251/1 Ausf. A Ungepanzerte - made with plain steel 5mm plates instead of armour, to make up numbers due to slow initial 251 production. Around 350 made up to mid 1940.
- 251/1 I - with intercom facilities
- 251/1 II - Rocket launcher Wurfrahmen 40 equipped with six side-mounted frames for launching 280 mm or 320 mm Wurfkoerper rockets.
- Sd.Kfz. 251/1 - Falke Infrared imaging equipment for driver and mg42, to be used in combination with Sd.Kfz. 251/20 Uhu. Mostly Ausf. D variants.