Sd . Kfz . 10 The Sd . Kfz . 10 ( 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 small towed guns such as the " 2 cm FlaK 30 " , the " 7 . 5 cm leIG " , or the " 3 . 7 cm PaK 36 " anti - tank gun . 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 . Demag was chosen to develop the smallest of the German half - tracks and spent the years between 1934 and 1938 perfecting the design through a series of prototypes . The chassis formed the basis for the " Sd . Kfz . 250 " light armored personnel carrier . Approximately 14 , 000 were produced between 1938 and 1945 , making it one of the most widely produced 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 . 10 " was unique among German half - track designs as it used a hull rather than a frame . Power was provided by a Maybach 6 - cylinder , water - cooled , " NL 38 TRKM " gasoline engine of . It had a semi - automatic Maybach Variorex - transmission " SRG 102128H " ( Schaltreglergetriebe 102128H ) with seven forward and three reverse gears . The driver selected the desired gear and initiated the shift by depressing the clutch . It could attain , but the driver was cautioned not to exceed . In 1942 the Luftwaffe limited its vehicles to a non - tactical speed of only to extend the life of the rubber track pads ( " Gummipolster " ) . Both tracks and wheels were used for steering . The steering system was set up so that gentle turns used just the steerable front wheels , but brakes would be applied to the tracks the farther the steering wheel was turned . The drive sprocket had the track - saving but more complicated rollers rather than the more common teeth . The rear suspension consisted of five double roadwheels , overlapping and interleaved in the " Schachtellaufwerk " layout , 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 had transversely mounted leaf springs and shock absorbers , the only ones on the vehicle , to dampen impacts . The upper body had a baggage compartment separating the driver ' s compartment from the crew compartment . Bench seats on the sides of the vehicle , with under - seat storage , could accommodate six men . The windshield could fold forward and was also removable . A convertible canvas top was mounted at the upper part of the rear body . It fastened to the windshield when erected . Four side pieces could be mounted to protect the crew from the weather . 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 . Demag was assigned to develop the " Liliput " " Kleinster geländegängiger Kettenschlepper ( smallest cross - country tracked towing vehicle ) " with the first " D ll 1 " prototype produced in 1934 . It had a six - cylinder , BMW " Type 315 " engine mounted in the rear and only had three roadwheels per side . The " D ll 2 " followed in 1935 and kept the same engine , but added an extra roadwheel . It weighed . While the first two vehicles were only automotive prototypes , the " D ll 3 " had a BMW " Type 316 " engine mounted in the front , 5 roadwheels and a troop compartment that could fit six . The " D 4 " prototype never left the drawing board . There was no " D 5 " . It was succeeded by eight trial series " ( Versuchs - Serie ) " " D 6 " prototypes in 1937 . This weighed , had a Maybach " NL 38 TRK " engine and a different transmission , but otherwise differed only in detail from the " D ll 3 " . Several " D 6s " and the " D ll 3 " were used as prototypes for the models intended for service with the " Chemical Troops ( Nebeltruppen ) " and the " Air Defense Troops ( Luftschutztruppen ) " . A series of 60 pre - production ( " 0 - serie " ) D 6s were ordered in 1937 from Demag , Adler and Mechanische Werke Cottbus ( MWC ) which differed only in details from the trial series . They were all delivered by November 1938 . On 17 March 1937 the vehicle was renamed as the " leichter Zugkraftwagen 1 to ( Sd . Kfz . 10 ) ( light 1 ton semi - tracked towing vehicle ) " . The " D 7 " was the mass - production model and differed mainly from the " D 6 " by having different tracks and a " NL 38 TRKM " engine . The " NL 38 TRK " had proven to have too much compression for the 74 octane ( " OZ 74 " ) gasoline decreed for use after 1 October 1938 and had to be modified with new cylinder heads and shorter pistons than the " TRKM " , but this did not change the engine ' s power . Deliveries began in October 1938 with one of the first machines off the production line demonstrated for the army on 11 October 1938 . Early machines had two fuel tanks , one of and the other of , but they were replaced by a single tank early in the production run . The " NL 38 TRKM " engine was replaced in late 1939 by the " HL 42 TRKM " which differed little other than it had been bored out to to increase its power to . During 1940 the hull rear was reinforced to allow the vehicle to tow heavier loads like the " 7 . 5 cm PaK 40 " anti - tank gun , " 15 cm sIG 33 " infantry gun and the " 10 . 5 cm leFH 18 " howitzer . An air compressor was added later for loads equipped with air brakes . These were designated as " Model ( Ausführung - Ausf . ) B " . In 1943 the semi - automatic transmission was replaced by a manual transmission . During 1943 – 44 the original metal upper bodies were replaced with wood to conserve steel . The " D 7p " chassis for the " Sd . Kfz . 250 " light armored personnel carrier was based on that of the " D 7 " with a shortened suspension , but actually shared very few components with it other than the engine . Demag was contracted to design a new version of the " Sd . Kfz . 10 " in 1944 with ten road wheels , a strengthened front axle , a strengthened idler crank arm , an improved track tensioner and increased ground clearance . Three prototypes were completed ; two were delivered in September 1944 , but the third was retained at the factory . Development , however , did not proceed any further . Yet another new version of the " Sd . Kfz . 10 " was proposed in the Emergency Development Program " ( Entwicklungs - Notprogramm ) " of 20 February 1945 with armored engine and driver ' s compartments that was to have had its development completed in June 1945 . Production . Seven factories assembled the various models of the " Sd . Kfz . 10 " . Demag built approximately 1 , 075 from 1938 to November 1942 . Adlerwerke completed 3 , 414 between 1938 and December 1943 . Büssing - NAG built 750 between 1938 and December 1942 . MWC assembled 4750 between 1939 and November 1944 . Mühlenbau - Industrie A . G . ( MIAG ) completed 324 between 1939 and 1941 . Maschinenfabrik Niedersachsen Hannover ( MNH ) built about 600 between 1939 and November 1942 . Osterreicher Saurerwerke completed about 3 , 075 from 1940 to December 1943 . Both Demag and MWC were producing the " D 7p " chassis for the Sd . Kfz . 250 light APC in 1945 when a shortage of armored bodies meant that 276 had to be completed with wooden upper bodies . Eighty of these are known to have been delivered by 1 March 1945 . These numbers may include 310 chassis built for " Sd . Kfz . 252 " armored ammunition carriers and " Sd . Kfz . 253 " oberservation vehicles . Variants . Sd . Kfz . 10 / 1 . The " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 1 " was a chemical detection vehicle . Before the outbreak of World War II only ninety were intended to be delivered in 1940 – 42 to equip the " Chemical Troops ( Nebeltruppen ) " , but the 3 May 1940 production plan mentions that was to be produced at a rate of thirty per month until a total of 400 have been built and thereafter at ten per month . The last mention is a report that MWC was to complete ten vehicles by 15 January 1943 . Production may have continued after that , but definitely not after 1943 . Sd . Kfz . 10 / 2 . The " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 2 " was a chemical decontamination vehicle fitted with a capacity spreader and space for eight barrels of decontamination chemicals . This left room for only two crewmen who had a bench seat between the barrels in front of the rear chassis wall . Each barrel could cover an area . The barrels were stowed on platforms over the tracks with foldable outer rails . The 10 / 2 had a significant number of differences from the standard model , including two fuel tanks totaling , one of which had a tunnel to accommodate the auxiliary driveshaft which powered the spreader . This reduced the road range to only . The 10 / 2 was long , wide , and high , depending if the top was up or down . It weighed empty and loaded . While spreading its top speed was only . Sixty to seventy were built in 1938 – 39 . Sd . Kfz . 10 / 3 . The " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 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 . Approximately 67 were built in 1938 – 39 . On 15 April 1942 the " Army High Command ( Oberkommando des Heeres - OKH ) " ordered the tanks on the 65 vehicles in storage dismounted , the spray system disabled and the vehicles modified to carry 216 rounds of anti - tank ammunition . The vehicles were to be issued to rebuilding " Nebeltruppen " units . By this stage of the war they were equipped with " Nebelwerfer " rocket launchers and had organic anti - tank guns . Sd . Kfz . 10 / 4 and 10 / 5 . The " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 4 " carried the " 2 cm FlaK 30 " mount on a special platform with fold - down side and rear panels . This platform was specifically designed for the " Flak 30 " mount and could not readily accept a " Flak 38 " mount or vice versa . To accommodate the gun mount the vehicle was both wider and taller than normal , namely wide and and weighed empty . Four folding seats were fitted on the platform for the crew . Some of these gun mounts had a gun shield fitted . The ready ammunition bins fastened to the side and rear panels ( four on each side and two in the rear ) contained one 20 - round magazine each . It usually towed an ammunition trailer ( " Sd . Ah . 51 - Sonderanhänger " — special single - axle trailer ) with 640 more rounds , the gun ' s sights and its rangefinder . Vehicles built in 1940 ( only ) were fitted with removable loading ramps , cable rollers to act as pulleys , and a reinforced tail gate to allow a " Flak 30 " , mounted on a " Sd . Ah . 51 " trailer , to be quickly dismounted . From 1940 they were fitted with rifle racks over the front fenders and from 1942 these were given sheet metal covers as protection from the weather . " Flak 38s " were mounted on " 10 / 4s " beginning in 1941 although the platform wasn ' t widened until later . As the war progressed the guns were more often fitted with gun shields . The " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 5 " carried the " 2 cm FlaK 38 " whose mount was wider , and lighter , than that of the " Flak 30 " , and the platform was enlarged to accommodate it from 1942 . Vehicle width increased to , but the height returned to that of the normal vehicle . Initially , vehicles modified with the wider platform for the " Flak 38 " did not have a special designation , but they were given one sometime in 1943 . The earliest known use is 1 September 1943 , but the older name lingered until 1 December 1944 . The Luftwaffe ordered 293 sets of armor plate ( " Behelfspanzerung " ) for its vehicles in 1943 . These plates covered the radiator , windshield and both sides of the driver ' s compartment and were fitted to both versions . Production began in 1939 for deliveries to the Army and Luftwaffe , although the exact numbers will never be known as they were often not broken out separately in the production reports . At any rate Adler built 1054 between 1939 and February 1943 , although some of these were completed as " 10 / 5s " beginning in 1942 . MWC was awarded two contracts for 975 " 10 / 5s " to be delivered in 1943 – 44 , but 13 of these were delivered as ordinary " Sd . Kfz . 10s " in 1944 . Field modifications . Some vehicles were fitted with a " 3 . 7 cm PaK 36 " or " 5 cm PaK 38 " anti - tank gun . Sometimes they had the cab and engine compartment armored as well . The " Pak 36 " was usually carried complete , but the " Pak 38 " was usually mounted without its wheels on a pivot mount . In the end of the war some vehicles were equipped with a triple - mount ( " Drilling " in German ) of MG151 autocannon on a conical pivot . It was the same mount as was used in Sd . Kfz . 251 / 21 . Deployment and use . Initially it was planned to use the " Sd . Kfz . 10 " as a towing vehicle for various light guns and trailers , but it was authorized as a substitute for the " Sd . Kfz . 250 " light armored personnel carrier in 1939 . The " Ausf . B " model saw its use broadened to tow heavier weapons like the " 5 cm PaK 38 " as well as their ammunition trailers . They also served in the maintenance and supply companies of motorized and tank units . Nine were delivered to Romania in 1942 as tractors for anti - tank guns . For the " Chemical Troops ( Nebeltruppen ) " each decontamination battery ( " Entgiftungs - Batterie " ) was authorized six " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 1 " and six " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 2 " . Eighteen " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 3 " were held at the battalion level for issue to the batteries in lieu of their " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 2s " if needed . If necessary they could be substituted for " Sd . Kfz . 11 s " of the appropriate type . When the decontamination units were authorized to be re - equipped with heavy rocket launchers in November 1941 seven " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 1s " were used to tow the " 28 / 32 cm Nebelwerfer 41 " launchers and another was used by the platoon leader to tow an anti - tank gun . Similarly decontamination units usually retained their " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 2s " and used them just like the " 10 / 1s " after removing their special equipment . However , it seems that the " 10 / 3s " were turned in when the unit was reorganized . An early - war Army anti - aircraft company ( " Flugabwehr - Kompanie " ) was organized in three platoons with a total of eighteen " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 4s " , twelve with guns and six carrying ammunition . When the four - barrel " 2 cm Flakvierling 38 " was fielded in 1941 each platoon had four " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 4s " towing the guns and another for ammunition . Later these companies were reorganized with a total of eight " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 4s " carrying guns , two towing " Flakvierlings " and three carrying ammunition . These are just examples of some of the Army organizations which differed depending on the unit and the period . " Sd . Kfz . 10 / 5s " were substituted for " 10 / 4s " on a one for one basis . Detailed records do not survive for the Luftwaffe light anti - aircraft units , but they appear to have been organized into batteries of nine or twelve guns .