The German ordnance department issued requirements for a lightly
armoured personnel carrier, with good cross country performance
and a high road speed, the
Sd.Kfz.
10 was chosen which was built by
Demag.
The
Sd.Kfz. 10 chassis
had to be shortened. This was achieved by removing the last
axle from the trackwork. In 1939 after successful trials it
was named Leicther Mannschaftstransportwagen but was soon
redesignated Leicther Schützenpanzerwagen.
The Sd.Kfz. 250 was used for the first time during the French
campaign, the Sd.Kfz. 250 was made in large numbers, and was
found at all German theatres of war. There were 13 different
variants of the Sd.Kfz. 250, and most famously the 250/3 used
by Erwin Rommel in the North African campaign,and the basic
design did not change until 1943, after which the armoured
body underwent a complete redesign to save on materials, and
speed up production time. Manufacturers involved in the production
of the Sd.Kfz. 250 were
Büssing-NAG,
Demag,
Ritscher,
Wegmann,
Weserhütte,
Wumag.
German Military Vehicles.
ISBN-10: 087349783X
Armoured Fighting Vehicles of Germany World War II.
ISBN-10: 0214203077
Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World Two.
ISBN-10: 1854095188
For a complete list of
sources
