The light armored halftrack Sd.Kfz. 251/5 was the Pioneer version of the Hanomag Sd.Kfz. 251 Medium Armored Personnel Carrier Halftrack. This version was specially made for the Pioneer units, Assault Engineers, who supported other Wehrmacht units during an attack. These sapper or combat engineer units were motorized to keep up with the motorized infantry or other units who needed the pioneers in front positions during assaults like the Blitzkrieg or other troop movements.
There were two version of this vehicle. The Sd.Kfz 251/5, an Assault Engineer Vehicle with inflatable boats stored inside in the vehicles lockers and light assault bridges, dismantlable, inside the halftrack. Early versions had a 37mm PaK 36 anti-tank gun fitted on top, later versions carried MG 34 or MG 42 machineguns.
The other version, the Sd.Kfz 251/7 carried 8 tons assault bridges on its sides. The construction used for carrying the bridge parts was used as extra storage by the crew. As with the base Sd.Kfz 251 Armored Halftrack there was a machine gun for close defense fitted just above the drivers compartment. It armor was between 2 to 12 mm thick and it had only one entrance at the back of the vehicle.
The Sd.Kfz 251/7 on the photos is based on a Sd.Kfz. 251 Ausfuhrung D halftrack and is in running condition.
