German surveillance vehicle 2SV with a crew The Sd.Kfz.251 medium semi-tracked armored personnel carrier was created by the Hanomag company in 1938 on the basis of the Sd.Kfz.11 artillery tractor. The car was fully armored, the combat compartment was open on top, and there were double doors in the rear. The main weapons were MG 34 machine guns. The production of the armored personnel carrier began before the beginning of the Second World War, the first model was the Ausf A version, and the production of later modifications continued until the spring of 1945. During the Second World War, the Sd.Kfz.251 was the main armored personnel carrier of Germany, it also became the basis for combat vehicles of various purposes. The Sd.Kfz.251/18 (mittlerer Beobachtungspanzerwagen) variant is an armored personnel carrier for observation and communication, distinguished by a map table that was mounted on the roof of the control room. Some of these combat vehicles remained armed with an MG 34 machine gun with a shield. Some of these armored personnel carriers were also equipped with S.F.14Z rangefinders for observation, targeting and determining distances.
