Sd.Kfz. 251 – a Working Replica at Stalin Line - Stalin Line Historical and Cultural Complex

Work has begun at Stalin Line on a working replica of the German Sd.Kfz. 251 armoured personnel carrier.

The Sd.Kfz. 251 was developed by the German company Hanomag in 1938, based on the Sd.Kfz. 11 artillery tractor, and was mass-produced from June 1939 to March 1945. A total of 15,600 of these armoured personnel carriers were built.

During the Second World War, the Sd.Kfz. 251, alongside the light Sd.Kfz. 250, was one of Germany’s principal armoured personnel carriers. It served as the basis for an entire family of armoured vehicles designed for various roles, ranging from combat engineering to anti-tank vehicles.

The replica built at Stalin Line used the engine, gearbox and chassis frame from a Soviet ZiL-157 lorry. Its torsion bars came from a Soviet AT-P artillery tractor, while the wheels, tracks and road wheels were sourced from various tracked vehicles.