The SdKfz 251/ 4 Ausf A,B,C Ammunition Carrier/Prime Mover was designed in 1936, manufactured by Hanomag Borgward based on the existing half track SdKfz 251 Ausf A and was in use from 1937 to 1945.
General Details
Specifications
Operational Date(s)
1937 - 1945
Ordnance classification
SdKfz 251/4
Quantity Produced
0
Weight
8 tonne
Crew
7
M.G's small
1
M.G's large(>10mm)
n/a
Length
5.85 mtr
Width
2.12 mtr
Height
2.34 mtr
Engine Details/Performance
Max Road Speed
33 mph
Max Cross Country Speed
16 mph
Range Road
188 miles
Range Cross Country
94 miles
Fuel Type
Petrol
Fuel Capacity
unknown
Horse Power
100 hp
Power/Weight
12 hp/tonne
General Information
The SdKfz 251/ 4 Ausf A,B,C Ammunition Carrier/Prime Mover was designed in 1936, manufactured by Hanomag Borgward based on the existing half track SdKfz 251 Ausf A and was in use from 1937 to 1945.
The vehicle was powered by Maybach 'HL-42' petrol powerplant producing 100 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 33 mph with a range of about 188 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was good providing a max speed of about 16 mph and a range of about 94 miles.
It was armed with 1 light machine gun. Its main armament consisted of a 7.5cm Le IG 18 which could penetrate 32 mm of flat plate at 200 metres
The SdKfz 251 series of vehicles were the first purpose built Armoured personel carriers. The vehicles could carry 10 panzer grenadiers in a small arms and shrapnel protected space. This version was used to move the 7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18, the 50 mm Pak 38, 75 mm PaK 40 and 10.5 cm leFH 18 light field howitzer.
Armour Details
Turret
Front
n/a
Side
n/a
Rear
n/a
Top
n/a
Superstructure
Front
10mm
@
33°
(12mm)
Side
8mm
@
35°
(10mm)
Rear
8mm
@
40°
(10mm)
Top
n/a
Hull
Front
15mm
@
21°
(16mm)
Side
8mm
@
35°
(10mm)
Rear
8mm
@
30°
(9mm)
Top
6mm
@
90°
(6mm)
Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°)
Effective Armour - Maximum 16 mm - Minimum 6 mm
Weapon Details
7.5cm Le IG 18 7.5cm leichtes Infanteriegeschutz 18 7.5cm Le Infanteriegeschutz 18
(translates as Light Artillery)
(translates as Artillery)
History
This was a light Infantry support gun first issued in 1927 and still in use in 1945 and was designed as a horse drawn or vehicle towed gun
Manufacturer
Rheinmetal
Manufactured
1927 - 1945
Calibre
75mm
Length
L/22
Rate of Fire
12rpm
Ammunition Details
Name/Id
Calibre Weight MVelocity
Explosive Content
7.5cm I Gr 18(HE)
75mm 6Kg 210M/Sec
0.570Kg explosive
Maximum Range 3375 Mtr
Range(Mtr)
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Flight Time(Secs)
5.49
12.99
23.81
40.82
Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill
3 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill
6 mtr
Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill
15 mtr
Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr
1 mm
An explosion within 3 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal.
An explosion within 6 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's.
An explosion within 15 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties.
The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will penetrate 1 mm of the tank armour including the roof.
7.5cm I Gr38 H(HEAT)
75mm 3Kg 260M/Sec
Quoted Penetration 45mm @ 200mtr/30° ( ≈ 51mm/0°)
Range(Mtr)
100
200
400
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
Flight Time(Secs)
0.39
0.79
1.63
3.45
5.5
Penetration(mm@30°)
45
45
45
45
45
Penetration(mm@0°)
45
45
45
45
45
Hit Probability(%)
98
98
81
25
6
Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.
The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive
and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The
information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre,
the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation
originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.