The Sd.Kfz. 11 (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 medium towed guns ranging from the 3.7 cm FlaK 43 anti-aircraft gun up to the 10.5 cm leFH 18 field howitzer. 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. Borgward[Notes 1] was chosen to develop the second smallest of the German half-tracks and built a series of prototypes between 1934 and 1937. However development was taken over in 1938 by Hanomag who designed the main production version, H kl 6.

The chassis formed the basis for the Sd.Kfz. 251 medium armored personnel carrier. Approximately 9,000 were produced between 1938 and 1945, making it one of the more numerous 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.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a German Sd. Kfz. 11 3-Ton Personnel Carrier / Prime Mover that was attached to an unidentified unit participating in the invasion of Poland during September 1939. Sold Out!

Dimensions
Length: 4-1/2-inches
Width: 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: March 2012

Historical Account: "Moving the Wehrmacht" - 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 Prf 6) before the Nazis took power in 1933. His designs were then turned over to commercial firms for development and testing. Borgward was assigned to develop the 3 tonnes (3.0 long tons; 3.3 short tons) towing vehicle with the first HL. kl. 2 prototype produced in 1933. It had a six-cylinder, 3.485 litres (212.7 cu in), 71 horsepower (72 PS) Hansa-Lloyd Type 3500 L engine mounted in the front, a four-speed Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission, had only four roadwheels per side and weighed 5 tonnes (4.9 long tons; 5.5 short tons). The improved HL. kl. 3 prototype followed in 1936, but differed only in details from the earlier prototype.

The first production model was the HL.kl.5 which still used the Type 3500 L engine and the Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission, but was lengthened by two roadwheels per side. It weighed 6.5 tonnes (6.4 long tons; 7.2 short tons) and could carry a payload of 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) while towing a 3 tonnes (3.0 long tons; 3.3 short tons) load. 505 were made by Borgward between 193638 at the price of 20,000 Reichsmarks each.

Hanomag took over development of the vehicle in 1938 and designed the H kl 6 which initially used a Maybach HL 38 TUKR engine that was superseded early in the production run by a HL 42 TUKRM. Hanomag replaced the Hansa-Lloyd-Goliath transmission with their own four-speed U 50 transmission and enlarged the fuel tank to 110 litres (29 US gal). The vehicle weight climbed to 7,200 kilograms (16,000 lb), but the payload also increased to 1,800 kilograms (4,000 lb).