text: 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 , 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 , 3 . 791 litres ( 231 . 3 cu in ) nl 38 trkm gasoline engine of 90 horsepower ( 91 ps ) . it had a semi - automatic maybach - transmission srg ( ) with seven forward and three reverse gears . the driver selected the desired gear and initiated the shift by depressing the clutch . it could attain 75 km / h ( 47 mph ) , but the driver was cautioned not to exceed 65 km / h ( 40 mph ) . in 1942 the luftwaffe limited its vehicles to a non - tactical speed of only 30 km / h ( 19 mph ) to extend the life of the rubber track pads ( ) . 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 " " ( smallest cross - country tracked towing vehicle ) with the first d ll 1 prototype produced in 1934 . it had a six - cylinder , 28 horsepower ( 28 ps ) 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 2 . 56 tonnes ( 2 . 52 long tons ; 2 . 82 short tons ) . while the first two vehicles were only automotive prototypes , the 3 . 4 tonnes ( 3 . 3 long tons ; 3 . 7 short tons ) d ll 3 had a 42 horsepower ( 43 ps ) 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 ( - serie ) d 6 prototypes in 1937 . this weighed 3 . 85 tonnes ( 3 . 79 long tons ; 4 . 24 short tons ) , had a 83 horsepower ( 84 ps ) maybach nl 38 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 ( ) . a series of 60 pre - production ( 0 - serie ) d 6s were ordered in 1937 from demag , adler and 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 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 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 58 litres ( 15 us gal ) and the other of 31 litres ( 8 . 2 us gal ) , but they were replaced by a single 110 litres ( 29 us gal ) 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 4 . 192 litres ( 255 . 8 cu in ) to increase its power to 100 horsepower ( 100 ps ) . 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 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 ( - 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 ( - ) 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 . completed 3 , 414 between 1938 and december 1943 . - built 750 between 1938 and december 1942 . mwc assembled 4750 between 1939 and november 1944 . - industrie a.g. ( ) completed 324 between 1939 and 1941 . maschinenfabrik hannover ( ) built about 600 between 1939 and november 1942 . 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 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 200 kg ( 440 lb ) capacity spreader and space for eight 50 kg ( 110 lb ) 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 1 by 160 metres ( 1 . 1 by 175 . 0 yd ) . 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 86 litres ( 23 us gal ) , one of which had a tunnel to accommodate the auxiliary driveshaft which powered the spreader . this reduced the road range to only 250 kilometres ( 160 mi ) . the 10 / 2 was 4 . 83 metres ( 15 . 8 ft ) long , 1 . 9 metres ( 6 . 2 ft ) wide , and 1 . 95 – 1 . 7 metres ( 6 . 4 – 5 . 6 ft ) high , depending if the top was up or down . it weighed 3 , 890 kilograms ( 8 , 580 lb ) empty and 4 , 900 kilograms ( 10 , 800 lb ) loaded . while spreading its top speed was only 10 – 20 km / h ( 6 . 2 – 12 . 4 mph ) . sixty to seventy were built in 1938 – 39 . sd.kfz. 10 / 3 the sd.kfz. 10 / 3 was equipped with a 500 litres ( 130 us gal ) tank and spray system to lay down poison gas barriers . the spray nozzle swung back and forth to cover a width of 16 metres ( 52 ft ) . 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 2 . 02 metres ( 6 . 6 ft ) wide and 2 metres ( 6 . 6 ft ) and weighed 4 , 075 kilograms ( 8 , 984 lb ) 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 ( 51 - — 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 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 2 . 156 metres ( 7 . 07 ft ) , 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 ( ) 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 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 ( - 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. 11s 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 ( - 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 . usage in sweden when war broke out in september 1939 , sweden maintained a policy of neutrality . to support this policy a rapid upgrade of aging military equipment was necessary . guns , vehicles and aircraft was both manufactured domestically and purchased abroad . artillery guns , 10 . 5 cm lefh 18 and towing vehicles was purchased from germany in the winter of 1939 / 1940 and deliveries started in 1940 . the towing vehicles were partly klöckner - deutz a330 4x4 trucks and partly demag d7 halftracks . the halftracks were would be used in sub - arctic climate and all twelve were , in the autumn of 1940 , delivered along with twelve guns to the 8th artillery regiment ( a8 ) in the northern city of boden , close to the arctic . noteworthy is that the 10 . 5 cm lefh 18 ( " m / 39 " in swedish terms ) is a significantly heavier gun than the ones the german army towed with this vehicle . in sweden the demag was called " m / 40 " or " m / 40 " for short . already in 1941 sweden tried to purchase more , but the ongoing war made this impossible . orders then went to volvo to make a " copy " ( the " m / 43 " or " volvo hbt " ) , were the only specific requirement from the swedish army was that the track links had to be interchangeable with the demag . this volvo was never in use at a8 . after the war another twelve sdkfz 10 , bought as surplus from norway and elsewhere , were delivered to a8 . the total of 24 sdkfz 10 were used in training gun crews all through the 1950s and early 1960s . 1966 all were sold to the highest bidders at airfield and they ended up in the villages surrounding and boden . in the mid 1970s they were traced down and sold abroad . the last known one left sweden in 1992 . of the 24 sold in 1966 , as of 2014 fourteen have known locations with collectors and in museums all over the world .