SdKfz 11
Encyclopedia
The Sd.Kfz. 11 was a German
half-track
that saw very widespread use in World War II
. Its main role was as a prime mover for medium towed guns ranging from the 3.7 cm FlaK 43
anti-aircraft gun up to the 10.5 cm leFH 18
field howitzer
. It could carry eight troops in addition to towing a gun or trailer.
The basic engineering for all the German half-tracks was developed during the Weimar
-era by the Reichswehr
's Military Automotive Department, but final design and testing was farmed out to commercial firms with the understanding that production would be shared with multiple companies. Borgward
The actual development was done by Hansa-Lloyd
, a subsidiary of the Borgward Group was chosen to develop the second smallest of the German half-tracks and built a series of prototypes between 1934 and 1937. However development was taken over in 1938 by Hanomag
who designed the main production version, H kl 6.
The chassis formed the basis for the Sd.Kfz. 251 medium armored personnel carrier. Approximately 9,000 were produced between 1938 and 1945, making it one of the more numerous German tactical vehicles of the war. It participated in the Invasion of Poland
, the Battle of France
, the Balkans Campaign and fought on both the Western Front
and the Eastern Front
, in North Africa
and in Italy
.
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The Sd.Kfz. 11 used a conventional ladder frame. Power was provided by a front-mounted Maybach
six-cylinder, water-cooled, 4.17 litres (254.3 cu in) HL 42 TRKM gasoline
engine of 100 hp. It had a Hanomag U 50 transmission with four forward and one reverse gears. Maximum speed was 52.5 km/h (32.6 mph) and it could ford water 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) deep.
Both tracks and wheels were powered as well as used for steering. The steering system was set up so that shallow turns used only the wheels, but brakes would be applied to the tracks the farther the steering wheel was turned. The drive sprocket had rollers rather than the more common teeth. The rear suspension consisted of six double roadwheels mounted on swing arms sprung by torsion bars. An idler wheel, mounted at the rear of the vehicle, was used to control track tension. The front wheels, carried on the rigid front axle, had transversely mounted leaf springs and shock absorbers, the only ones on the vehicle, to dampen impacts.
Two different upper bodies were built over the production run of the Sd.Kfz. 11. The "artillery" body had an ammunition compartment separating the driver's compartment from the crew compartment. The ammunition compartment had doors that opened on each side of the vehicle and could be configured for different sizes of ammunition. Bench seats on the sides of the vehicle, with under-seat storage, could accommodate six men. The crew entered from the rear of the vehicle. The windshield could fold forward and was also removable. A convertible canvas top was mounted above the ammunition compartment. It fastened to the windshield and to the rear of the crew compartment when erected. Side pieces could be mounted to protect the crew from the weather.
The "engineer" body had three bench seats for the crew and a convertible canvas top was mounted at the upper part of the rear body. It fastened to the windshield when erected. Side pieces could be mounted to protect the crew from the weather. There was a storage compartment at the rear of the vehicle, underneath the crew seats. Photographic evidence shows both "artillery" and "engineer" versions were used by artillery units.
Ernst Kniepkamp of the Military Automotive Department (Wa Prüf 6) before the Nazis took power in 1933. His designs were then turned over to commercial firms for development and testing. Borgward
was assigned to develop the 3 tonne towing vehicle with the first HL. kl. 2 prototype produced in 1933. It had a six-cylinder, 3.485 litres (212.5 cu in), 71 hp Hansa-Lloyd
Type 3500 L engine mounted in the front, a four-speed Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission, had only four roadwheels per side and weighed 5 tonne. The improved HL. kl. 3 prototype followed in 1936, but differed only in details from the earlier prototype.
The first production model was the HL.kl.5 which still used the Type 3500 L engine and the Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission, but was lengthened by two roadwheels per side. It weighed 6.5 tonne and could carry a payload of 1500 kilograms (3,306.9 lb) while towing a 3 tonne load. 505 were made by Borgward between 1936—38 at the price of 20,000 Reichsmarks
each.
Hanomag
took over development of the vehicle in 1938 and designed the H kl 6 which initially used a Maybach
HL 38 TUKR engine that was superseded early in the production run by a HL 42 TUKRM. Hanomag replaced the Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission with their own four-speed U 50 transmission and enlarged the fuel tank to 110 litres (29.1 US gal). The vehicle weight climbed to 7200 kilograms (15,873.3 lb), but the payload also increased to 1800 kilograms (3,968.3 lb).
of Zwickau
and Škoda
of Mladá Boleslav
were added to the production plan. On 20 December 1942 some 4209 were in service. 2133 were built in 1943 and 1308 in 1944. All told, over 9000 were built by 1945.
or 40
mortar. The ammunition compartment had racks to hold the shells and their propellant with side-opening doors.
The Sd.Kfz. 11/2 was a chemical decontamination vehicle fitted with a 70 kg (154.3 lb) capacity spreader and space for eight barrels of decontamination chemicals. This left room for only three crewmen. The barrels were stowed on platforms over the tracks with foldable outer rails.
multiple rocket launcher
. Its ammunition racks could carry 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) mortar shells, 15 centimetres (5.9 in) or 21 centimetres (8.3 in) rockets. It could carry thirty-six 15 cm or ten 21 cm rockets as well as the six man crew of the launcher.
multiple rocket launcher
. Unlike earlier Nebelwerfer ammunition vehicles it was given a wooden upper body with two compartments. The forward cargo compartment was open-topped and lacked the racks of earlier models. The rear crew compartment had a bench seat facing the rear of the vehicle with rifle racks on each side of the seat.
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
half-track
Half-track
A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering, and caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cross-country capabilities of a tank and the handling...
that saw very widespread use in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Its main role was as a prime mover for medium towed guns ranging from the 3.7 cm FlaK 43
3.7 cm FlaK 43
The 3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43 were series of anti-aircraft cannon produced by Nazi Germany, which saw widespread service in the Second World War. The cannon was fully automatic and effective against aircraft flying at altitudes up to 4200 meters. The cannon was produced in both towed and...
anti-aircraft gun up to the 10.5 cm leFH 18
10.5 cm leFH 18
-History:The 10.5 cm leFH 18 was the standard divisional field howitzer used by the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. It was designed and developed by Rheinmetall in 1929-30 and entered service with the Wehrmacht in 1935. Generally it did not equip independent artillery battalions until...
field howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
. It could carry eight troops in addition to towing a gun or trailer.
The basic engineering for all the German half-tracks was developed during the Weimar
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
-era by the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
's Military Automotive Department, but final design and testing was farmed out to commercial firms with the understanding that production would be shared with multiple companies. Borgward
Borgward
Borgward was a German automobile manufacturer founded by Carl F. W. Borgward . The company was based in Bremen...
The actual development was done by Hansa-Lloyd
Hansa (car)
Hansa was a German car brand, which was part of the Borgward group. Hansa was based in Bremen.The Hansa-Lloyd company, in the Bremen suburb as Hastedt, had been established as a car and truck makers since 1905....
, a subsidiary of the Borgward Group was chosen to develop the second smallest of the German half-tracks and built a series of prototypes between 1934 and 1937. However development was taken over in 1938 by Hanomag
Hanomag
Hanomag was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering a large number of steam locomotives to Romania and Bulgaria before World War I....
who designed the main production version, H kl 6.
The chassis formed the basis for the Sd.Kfz. 251 medium armored personnel carrier. Approximately 9,000 were produced between 1938 and 1945, making it one of the more numerous German tactical vehicles of the war. It participated in the Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
, the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, the Balkans Campaign and fought on both the Western Front
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
and the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, in North Africa
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
and in Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
.
Description
Maybach
Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by...
six-cylinder, water-cooled, 4.17 litres (254.3 cu in) HL 42 TRKM gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
engine of 100 hp. It had a Hanomag U 50 transmission with four forward and one reverse gears. Maximum speed was 52.5 km/h (32.6 mph) and it could ford water 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) deep.
Both tracks and wheels were powered as well as used for steering. The steering system was set up so that shallow turns used only the wheels, but brakes would be applied to the tracks the farther the steering wheel was turned. The drive sprocket had rollers rather than the more common teeth. The rear suspension consisted of six double roadwheels mounted on swing arms sprung by torsion bars. An idler wheel, mounted at the rear of the vehicle, was used to control track tension. The front wheels, carried on the rigid front axle, had transversely mounted leaf springs and shock absorbers, the only ones on the vehicle, to dampen impacts.
Two different upper bodies were built over the production run of the Sd.Kfz. 11. The "artillery" body had an ammunition compartment separating the driver's compartment from the crew compartment. The ammunition compartment had doors that opened on each side of the vehicle and could be configured for different sizes of ammunition. Bench seats on the sides of the vehicle, with under-seat storage, could accommodate six men. The crew entered from the rear of the vehicle. The windshield could fold forward and was also removable. A convertible canvas top was mounted above the ammunition compartment. It fastened to the windshield and to the rear of the crew compartment when erected. Side pieces could be mounted to protect the crew from the weather.
The "engineer" body had three bench seats for the crew and a convertible canvas top was mounted at the upper part of the rear body. It fastened to the windshield when erected. Side pieces could be mounted to protect the crew from the weather. There was a storage compartment at the rear of the vehicle, underneath the crew seats. Photographic evidence shows both "artillery" and "engineer" versions were used by artillery units.
Design and development
Preliminary design of all the German half-tracks of the early part of the war was done by Dipl.Ing.Diplom
A Diplom is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland , Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Ukraine...
Ernst Kniepkamp of the Military Automotive Department (Wa Prüf 6) before the Nazis took power in 1933. His designs were then turned over to commercial firms for development and testing. Borgward
Borgward
Borgward was a German automobile manufacturer founded by Carl F. W. Borgward . The company was based in Bremen...
was assigned to develop the 3 tonne towing vehicle with the first HL. kl. 2 prototype produced in 1933. It had a six-cylinder, 3.485 litres (212.5 cu in), 71 hp Hansa-Lloyd
Hansa (car)
Hansa was a German car brand, which was part of the Borgward group. Hansa was based in Bremen.The Hansa-Lloyd company, in the Bremen suburb as Hastedt, had been established as a car and truck makers since 1905....
Type 3500 L engine mounted in the front, a four-speed Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission, had only four roadwheels per side and weighed 5 tonne. The improved HL. kl. 3 prototype followed in 1936, but differed only in details from the earlier prototype.
The first production model was the HL.kl.5 which still used the Type 3500 L engine and the Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission, but was lengthened by two roadwheels per side. It weighed 6.5 tonne and could carry a payload of 1500 kilograms (3,306.9 lb) while towing a 3 tonne load. 505 were made by Borgward between 1936—38 at the price of 20,000 Reichsmarks
German reichsmark
The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
each.
Hanomag
Hanomag
Hanomag was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering a large number of steam locomotives to Romania and Bulgaria before World War I....
took over development of the vehicle in 1938 and designed the H kl 6 which initially used a Maybach
Maybach
Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH is a German luxury car manufacturer. It was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son. The company was originally a subsidiary of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH and was itself known as Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH until 1912.Today, the ultra-luxury car brand is owned by...
HL 38 TUKR engine that was superseded early in the production run by a HL 42 TUKRM. Hanomag replaced the Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission with their own four-speed U 50 transmission and enlarged the fuel tank to 110 litres (29.1 US gal). The vehicle weight climbed to 7200 kilograms (15,873.3 lb), but the payload also increased to 1800 kilograms (3,968.3 lb).
Production
Borgward and Hanomag initially built the Sd.Kfz. 11 chassis, but later Adlerwerke of Frankfurt-am-Main, HorchHorch
Horch was a car brand manufactured in Germany by August Horch & Cie, at the beginning of the 20th century.-History at a Glance:The company was established first by August Horch and his first business partner Salli Herz on November 14, 1899 at Ehrenfeld, Cologne. August Horch was a former production...
of Zwickau
Zwickau
Zwickau in Germany, former seat of the government of the south-western region of the Free State of Saxony, belongs to an industrial and economical core region. Nowadays it is the capital city of the district of Zwickau...
and Škoda
Škoda Auto
Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
of Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav
Mladá Boleslav is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, on the left bank of the Jizera river about 50 km northeast of Prague.Founded in the second half of the 10th century by King Boleslav II as a royal castle...
were added to the production plan. On 20 December 1942 some 4209 were in service. 2133 were built in 1943 and 1308 in 1944. All told, over 9000 were built by 1945.
Sd.Kfz. 11/1
This was an ammunition carrier for the 10 cm Nebelwerfer 3510 cm Nebelwerfer 35
The 10 cm Nebelwerfer 35 was a heavy mortar used by Germany during World War II. Much like the American M2 4.2 inch mortar it was intended to deliver chemical munitions, such as gas and smoke shells. Unlike the American weapon it appears to have had an ordinary high-explosive shell from the...
or 40
10 cm Nebelwerfer 40
The 10 cm Nebelwerfer 40 was a heavy mortar used by Germany during the Second World War. Much like the American M2 4.2 inch mortar it was intended to deliver chemical munitions, such as gas and smoke shells, as well as ordinary high-explosive shells...
mortar. The ammunition compartment had racks to hold the shells and their propellant with side-opening doors.
Sd.Kfz. 11/2
According to a reliable report the medium vehicle carries 760 kilograms (1,675 pounds) of bleach; a strip 1.7 meters (5 feet 7 inches) wide and 1.4 kilometers (just over a mile) long can be decontaminated by using a density of 300 grams (0.66 lb) of bleach per square meter. The density at which the vehicle distributes decontaminant is independent of the vehicle speed, the maximum potential density is 600 grams (1.32 lb) per square meter. In addition to this, each vehicle carries 16 decontamination canisters, each holding 22 pounds (10 kg) of decontaminant, for use by hand on isolated areas.
Sd.Kfz. 11/3
The Sd.Kfz. 11/3 was equipped with a 500 litres (132.1 US gal) tank and spray system to lay down poison gas barriers. The spray nozzle swung back and forth to cover a width of 16 metres (52.5 ft). 125 were built in 1937.Sd.Kfz. 11/4
The Sd.Kfz. 11/4 was an ammunition vehicle for units using the 15 cm Nebelwerfer 4115 cm Nebelwerfer 41
The 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 was a German multiple rocket launcher used in the Second World War. It served with units of the Nebeltruppen, the German equivalent of the U.S. Army's Chemical Corps...
multiple rocket launcher
Multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher is a type of unguided rocket artillery system. Like other rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers are less accurate and have a much lower rate of fire than batteries of traditional artillery guns...
. Its ammunition racks could carry 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) mortar shells, 15 centimetres (5.9 in) or 21 centimetres (8.3 in) rockets. It could carry thirty-six 15 cm or ten 21 cm rockets as well as the six man crew of the launcher.
Sd.Kfz. 11/5
The Sd.Kfz. 11/5 was an ammunition vehicle for units using the NebelwerferNebelwerfer
The Nebelwerfer was a World War II German series of weapons originally designed to deliver chemical weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's so-called Chemical Troops ...
multiple rocket launcher
Multiple rocket launcher
A multiple rocket launcher is a type of unguided rocket artillery system. Like other rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers are less accurate and have a much lower rate of fire than batteries of traditional artillery guns...
. Unlike earlier Nebelwerfer ammunition vehicles it was given a wooden upper body with two compartments. The forward cargo compartment was open-topped and lacked the racks of earlier models. The rear crew compartment had a bench seat facing the rear of the vehicle with rifle racks on each side of the seat.