SdKfz 251

"I call shotgun! No Franz! Ve cannot, not since that horrible var..."

The SdKfz 251 (more commonly known as the Hanomag) was the primary combat half track for the German Wehrmacht in World War II. It had almost 2 dozen official subvariants, and is an iconic vehicle along with the Tiger and Panther.

Early War

Die Stats

IRL

"der Hurensohn! You nearly hit my mother back there!"

The Hanomag started as an improvement on the Sd.Kfz 11 open topped half-track made by the Hanomag company. This new Half track was to take the decent features of the 11, but improve the protection of the passengers from small arms fire, and especially a degree of protection from artillery fire, provided said artillery didn't hit the vehicle directly.

The Hanomag was first deployed in earnest against the Polish in September of 1939, where it saw great success, allowing Panzergrenadiers to keep pace with the Panzer II and IIIs that made up a majority of the German Arsenal with ease, while laying down tons of suppressive fire with the MG 34 it was equipped with.

The Hanomag, like all half tracks, had benefits and upsides. The simplicity of the vehicle, combined with the tracks, made it an easy to operate all terrain vehicle, though a dedicated tracked vehicle or wheeled vehicle was better on rough terrain or roads respectively. The open top eased deployment of troops and allowed for better situational awareness, but left the passengers exposed to mortars, grenades, artillery, and flamethrowers. However, these shortcomings were just as prevalent on the M5/M3 Half track, and the sloped design of most later Hanomags meant that objectively, the allied Half tracks had marginally less protection for their crews.

As stated, almost 2 dozen different subvariants exist, but the biggest of these was the 1943 D variant, which simplified the design in order to speed up production. Two variants that stand out are the 251/21 and 251/22. The 21 was an AA half-track equipped with either a 15 or 20mm autocannon, and the 22 had a Pak 40 strapped to it, a clear attempt to try and get some T-34 kills without having to risk the valuable and powerful big cats.