SdKfz 251

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WWII Vehicle

SdKfz 251
SdKfz 251
Type Halftrack Transport
Country of origin Germany
Crew 12 including passengers
Dimensions Width 6'-10.7" (2.1m)
Length 19'-3" (5.8m)
Height 5'-8.9" (1.75m)
Max Speed 28-32 mph
Aces High II Armor Thickness
Superstructure Front 10mm
Superstructure Side 8mm
Superstructure Rear 8mm
Hull Front 15mm
Hull Sides 8mm
Hull Rear 8mm
Hull Bottom 6mm
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The SdKfz 251 in World War II[edit]

The Sd.Kfz.251 German halftrack was an armoured fighting vehicle built by Germany during World War II. The initial idea was for a vehicle that could be used to transport a squad of troops to the battlefield protected from enemy fire. The open top meant that the crew was still vulnerable. Although designed for cross country work, the German halftrack had some limitations as the front wheels were not powered. The standard personnel carrier version was equipped with a 7.92mm MG34 or MG42 machine gun mounted at the front of the open compartment, above and behind the driver.

Sd.Kfz.251 German halftrack dash.jpg


Development[edit]

There were four main models (A - D), with many variations. The first two models were produced in small numbers. The C variant has a larger production run, but was a quite complex vehicle to build, involving many angled plates that gave reasonable protection from small arms fire. The D variation utilised a much simpler design, and can be easily recognized by its single piece sloping rear (with flat doors).

Variants of this German halftrack were produced for specialized purposes, including anti-aircraft guns, rocket launching ( with 3 rockets fitted on either side of the vehicle) as well as a version with an infra-red search light used to spot potential targets for associated Panther tanks equipped with infra-red detectors.

There were 23 official variants of the German halftrack, and sundry unofficial variants. Each variant is identified by a suffix to the model number. There was however some overlap in the variant numbers.

  • SdKfz 251/1 - standard company machine
  • SdKfz 251/1 - Equipped with six Wurfrahmen 40 Rocket Launchers
  • SdKfz 251/1 - Falke Infrared detection equipment for operation with IR-equipped Panther units
  • SdKfz 251/2 - 80mm Mortar Carrier
  • SdKfz 251/3 - Communications vehicle (January 1943 and later)
  • SdKfz 251/4 - Infantry tractor for towing guns (designated 251/3 prior to January 1943)
  • SdKfz 251/4 M - Variant of the 251/4 used only for ammunition transport
  • SdKfz 251/5 - Pionierpanzerwagen (command vehicle for engineer units)
  • SdKfz 251/6 - Command version, externally similar to the 251/3
  • SdKfz 251/7 - Pionierpanzerwagen (has suppports for bridge frames 251/5 lacks)
  • SdKfz 251/8 - Armoured ambulance
  • SdKfz 251/9 - Equipped with 75mm StuK 37 L/24
  • SdKfz 251/10 - Equipped with 37mm PaK 36
  • SdKfz 251/11 - Telephone line layer
  • SdKfz 251/12 - Artillery survey vehicle
  • SdKfz 251/13 - Equipped with sound recording gear for artillery spotting
  • SdKfz 251/14 - Equipped with sound ranging gear for artillery spotting
  • SdKfz 251/15 - Equipped with flash detection gear for artillery spotting
  • SdKfz 251/16 - Flammpanzerwagen
  • SdKfz 251/17 - equipped with 20mm FlaK 38
  • SdKfz 251/18 - armored artillery observation and command vehicle
  • SdKfz 251/19 - telephone exchange vehicle
  • SdKfz 251/20 - Infrared searchlight
  • SdKfz 251/21 - Flakpanzerwagen, 3 15mm MGs
  • SdKfz 251/22 - 75mm Pak 40
  • SdKfz 251/23 - prototype to replace the SdKfz 250/9, equipped with turret from SdKfz 234/1 with a 20mm KwK



Unit Deployment[edit]

The early production models of this vehicle we issued to the 1st Panzer Division in 1939. These vehicles were meant to enable panzergrenadiers to accompany panzers and provide infantry support as required. In practice, there were never enough of them to go around, and many panzergrenadier units had to make do with trucks for transport. Only a very few favored divisions like Panzer Lehr received enough to fully equip their infantry units.

Aces High II Vehicle

SdKfz 251
SdKfz 251
Type Halftrack Transport
Crew 2, plus 10 troops
Aces High II Ordnance Options
Options 6x 28cm Rockets at 23º
6x 28cm Rockets at 45º
Cargo 4x Vehicle Supplies
1x Field Supply
10x Troops
Aces High II Main Arenas
Earliest MA Early War
Typical perk cost 0 (Late War)
ENY value 40 (Late War)
Available on carrier no
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The SdKfz 251 in Aces High[edit]

Some tactics and useful information on the SdKfz 251:[edit]

The SdKfz 251's main armament consists of 6x 28cm ground-to-ground rockets which can be fired individually or in salvos. They fire at a fixed elevation of either 23º or 45º, selectable in the hangar. The ranges for the 28cm "Wurfkorper" rockets from a stationary SdKfz 251 on level ground are roughly 975yds at 23º or 2200yds at 45º.

With the right loadouts, two 251s will kill a Vehicle Base's VHs much faster than any other GV can, and capture it to boot. 12 rockets are required to destroy a VH, which equates to two loads of rockets in the Sdkfz 251. Done just right, you can deack the field yourself using the vehicle's MG from just outside the detection range of the ack, which means one possible plan is to have 1 SDK251 carrying rockets and supplies, and another SDK251 rockets and troops, so one of them kills one auto-ack and the man ack and the two main VHs, while the other kills the map room auto ack and its VH, and drops troops..
The Sdkfz251's rockets' range vary depending on the forward or backward velocity of the vehicle. Here we see (circled in red) where the rockets in the following picture are fired from, to illustrate the different effects of said velocity.
Blue is range at full forward speed.
Green is from stationary.
White is from full reverse.


If you have macro abilities, you can do it even faster: salvo 6 rockets onto the target VH, then salvo 1 supply, reload yourself (put the mouse in the top left corner ahead of time..), and salvo 6 more rockets against that VH. That's barely as much time as a tank takes to shoot 2 to 6 rounds, depending on your range to the target - meaning that from close-in you'll have to be rolling towards the VHs and are spending more time accelerating fast enough to reduce the rocket range (this is due to a counter-intuitive side effect of firing rockets like the SDK's while moving - see the side bar for an illustration).

A pretty expedient method, despite the relatively long and cumbersome delay in repositioning between these two salvos. The real difficulty is getting the ack yourself with just 1 light MG. Following this plan, you have the option to have the 2 SDKs rolling together rather than separately (e.g. 100y apart rather than one at opposite ends of the vbase - 1 map room side, 1 main pad side) and share the auto ack fire, which is risky but not guaranteed to kill you. Usualy the front tires get hit a relatively long while before anything else breaks (the rear is mounted on much sturdier tracks), and the supply SDK can afford to drop 1 box of supplies for repairs to still provide enough to destroy the VHs. Both front wheels damaged means you'll still be able to move, but won't be able to steer.

Alternatively, you can leave the map room VH up (buys you a few seconds and degrees of angle of cover from spawning GVs' fire over on the main pad) and spare 2 supplies total.. although that's depending on your exact tactics, since you might as well not be killing any VHs and sneaking the map room, which the 251 isn't the best tool for.

Without a lot of experience, it's difficult to estimate the distance to targets with enough accuracy to be wasting a negligible amount of rockets. It's possible to range yourself with the front MG (it goes out to ~1.5K standing still).. If you can get a friend to bring a tank to range VHs for you, you can really put the artillery to use as it probably was in WWII (very fun to do). Drop the required supplies before firing, and you can have the target VH down in two pulls of the 2nd-fire trigger and one mouse click. Just one pull of the trigger if you've got two friends: one ranging the VH in a tank, and a second 251 also firing on range. An M-8 can probably scout ahead to find a good spot with the right range to target ahead of time while the 251 is on its way.. There's no need for a heavier tank, since the 251(s) will drop the hangars in a hurry, provided it gets there. Note that ranging with the tank sights requires some correction if there's a difference in elevation between you and the target, or if you're stopped on an incline.

The SdKfz 251 and the 28cm "Wurfkorper" rockets are pretty useful against large static targets. The best use for the 28cm rockets is not against a single target when absolute accuracy is needed, but rather when an "area effect" is desired. If the SdKfz 251 is able to get the ranges dialed in roughly, letting loose a barrage of rockets on a town or even the enemy field itself will yield very good results. The blast area is very wide and the HE is equivalent to 280 lbs of explosives so while one near miss will not destroy the typical OBJ (ammo bunker, fuel tank, radar mast, barracks, town building, etc), it will severely weaken it so that a quick burst of gun fire is all that will be needed to finish the job.







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