Sd . Kfz . 11 The Sd . Kfz . 11 ( Sonderkraftfahrzeug - special motorized vehicle ) 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 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 . Description . The " Sd . Kfz . 11 " used a conventional ladder frame . Power was provided by a front - mounted Maybach six - cylinder , water - cooled , " HL 42 TRKM " gasoline engine of . It had a Hanomag " U 50 " transmission with four forward and one reverse gears . Maximum speed was and it could ford water 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 , overlapping and interleaved in the " Schachtellaufwerk " system , 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 . 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 towing vehicle with the first " HL . kl . 2 " prototype produced in 1933 . It had a six - cylinder , , 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 . 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 and could carry a payload of while towing a 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 . The vehicle weight climbed to , but the payload also increased to . Production . Borgward and Hanomag initially built the " Sd . Kfz . 11 " chassis , but later Adlerwerke of Frankfurt - am - Main , Horch 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 . Variants . Sd . Kfz . 11 / 1 . This was an ammunition carrier for the 10 cm Nebelwerfer 35 or 40 mortar . The ammunition compartment had racks to hold the shells and their propellant with side - opening doors . Sd . Kfz . 11 / 2 . The " Sd . Kfz . 11 / 2 " was a chemical decontamination vehicle fitted with a 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 . 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 tank and spray system to lay down poison gas barriers . The spray nozzle swung back and forth to cover a width of . 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 41 " multiple rocket launcher . Its ammunition racks could carry mortar shells , or 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 Nebelwerfer 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 .