Germany SdKfz 251/ 4 Ausf A,B,C Ammunition Carrier/Prime Mover (Hanomag) Ordnance classification - SdKfz 251/4

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.

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