SdKfz 250

Light armored personnel carrier

 

FAST FACTS:

SdKfz 250 was a light armored personnel carrier. Six men crew consisted of driver, commander and four infantry men. Development of this vehicle started in 1939. It was based on a D7p chassis, which was a shortened version of original SdKfz 10 chassis. Serial production started in 1941 and continued until March 1945. Simplified version called Ausf. B was introduced into production in 1943. Altogether some 6628 pieces of SdKfz 250 were built.

There were 12 official modification of the original armored personnel carrier, each of them modified to fulfill specific tasks. Some of them were just support machines (command and radio vehicles, cable laying vehicles, vehicle for artillery fire aiming, ammunition carriers etc.) while others were direct combat vehicles (carrying mortars, small caliber anti-tank guns, anti-tank rifles or even a 75 mm gun). Beside the official versions several field conversions are documented on photos.

SdKfz 250 had a mass of 5,8 tons and was powered by a 4,2 liter 100 hp Maybach engine. It had a top speed of 65 km/h. SdKfz 250s served till the end of war and were quite popular among the soldiers for their durability.