The most widely produced German half-track, Sd. Kfz. 251 was introduced in 1939 and remained in production throughout the war, with at least 15,252 units produced. The popular Hanomag, as it was called by both Allied and Axis soldiers, was distinguished by its heavily angled armored hull and a very large track area with no return rollers, providing good traction and performance. The use of Schachtellaufwerk, overlapping and interleaved road wheels, contributed to it, at the cost of increased maintenance and severe vulnerability to Soviet winters and mud seasons, where they could be frozen solid.
Model 251/16 was equipped with flame projectors and issued to each Panzergrenadier regiment or Pioneer battalion. Though unarmored, the 251/16 was very effective in operations against isolated infantry without proper anti-armour weapons.
In the Panzergrenadier regiment's 10th Engineer Company has a platoon of 6 Sd.Kfz. 251/16.
Strategy[ | ]
The Flammpz. Sd.Kfz. 251/16 is a useful tool for clearing out towns and forests, and its mobility allows it to quickly attack and possibly run down retreating units. In addition to the flamethrowers, the Flammpz. Sd.Kfz. 251/16 is also equipped with MG-42s. allowing it provide fire at range. However, it has several disadvantages compared to infantry flamethrower squads. It is vulnerable to infantry anti-tank weapons, and cannot go through forests, which can limit its use to towns on some maps. When combined with supporting tanks and infantry, though, it will usually inflict massive damage, and is an ideal tool for clearing out defensive positions when supported properly.
Flammpz. Sd.Kfz. 251/16 does indeed have two flame projectors, one on each side. They can be aimed and fired independently from one another. Each one points perpendicular to the front (at about 90° and 270°) and can be aimed about 100° towards the front and another 100° towards the back relative to the resting position. This means, that when a target is in front of the vehicle, and not to near to it, both flame projectors might be able to fire at this target!
