Production changes of the SdKfz 250-series by Tor Riley

This is an article about said changes and gives a lot of information about them. It is from Track-link.
http://www.track-link.net/articles/77

Here's the actual article. I hope I don't violate any rules or such nor do I want to offend anyone!
The full credits go to the author!


Production Changes of the Sd. kfz. 250 Series Half-tracks

Article by Tor Riley
Germany's light armoured personnel carrier, the Sd. Kfz. 250, is commonly recognised as two types: the old "Alte" pre-1943 body and the new model "Neu" post-1943 body.

Like its larger cousin the Sd. Kfz. 251 half-track, the Sd. Kfz. 250 body was redesigned in 1943 with a less angular shape to improve production time and to minimise costs. The pre-1943 "Alte" body itself underwent a variety of changes, with many features found on the early Sd. Kfz. 252 and 253 being carried over to the early production Sd. Kfz. 250 vehicles.

The Early Vehicles
The Sd. Kfz. 253 Observation Vehicle was the first armoured body built on the chassis and was used by Sturmgeschutz unit commanders and by artillery units. It saw service with most StuG units during the first part of the war, and 285 units were produced from March 1940 to June 1941. Many survived to the end of the war.

The Sd. Kfz. 252 Ammunition Carrier used by Sturmgeschutz units was the second armoured vehicle built on the Demag D7 chassis and was easily recognised by its steeply sloping rear plate. They had early style road wheels with six holes slightly different from all later versions, and were designed to carry the short 7.5cm rounds for the early StuG's with the L/24 barrel. By the time the later StuG's with the longer L/43-L/48 guns arrived with the longer round, the SdKfz 252 had been replaced by the SdKfz 260/6 A and B. The 252 usually towed a 1 ton Sd.Anh.32 ammunition trailer. 413 SdKfz 252's were produced between January to September 1941.

Following the development of the Sd. Kfz. 252 and Sd. Kfz. 253, the Sd. Kfz. 250 series was developed to provide transport for half platoons of reconnaissance infantry, and was expanded to 12 official variants. 4250 examples were produced from June 1941 to October 1943. The obvious exterior detail differences that occurred during production are listed below.

Early Pre-1943 Body Features


Sharp-edged vertical-sided track guards without a rim on the outer edge.
Lifting hooks on the corners of the engine deck and roof (Sd. Kfz. 252, 253, 250/3 "Greif").
A vision port in the rear door (included in Tamiya's "Grief" but lacking any interior detail).
Headlights attached to the front side engine compartment armour.
Pick stowed on the left upper hull side.
Vision ports for the drivers' had two slits.
Bolt detail around all vision ports and rain guards above the drivers' vision ports.
Indicator stalks were carried on the upper hull sides, just in front of the side vision ports (Sd. Kfz. 252, 253 only).

Along with the SdKfz 252 and 253, very early Sd. Kfz. 250 vehicles such as Rommel's "Greif"still featured the hull side tool stowage, double - slit vision ports with bolt detail, rimless track guards, side positioned headlights, lifting hooks on the engine deck, and vision port in the rear door.

Bruce Culver in his book Schutzenpanzer identifies Rommel's Sd. Kfz. 250/3 "Greif" as a Sd. Kfz. 250/5 observation and command vehicle (P 122). I am not entirely convinced of this. Photographs of "Greif" show the frame antenna and a two metre rod antenna, but lacks the securing mount for the scissors telescope featured on the 250/5, and suggests that there is a bench seat along the left interior floor, indicative of a 250/3.

The Sd. Kfz. 250/3 shown on page 27 of Panzer Colours repays close study, as does the vehicles on page 42. All are of early pre-1943 bodies. Note the curved front belly plate under the nose armour of the top photo on page 42. This is incorrectly portrayed on Tamiya's models as angular armour plate.

Later Pre-1943 Body Features


Lifting hooks deleted.
Headlights repositioned to sockets on inner edge of track guards as on the Sd. Kfz. 251.
Vision port in rear door deleted.
Bolt detail around front vision ports and rain guards deleted.
Tools repositioned to both front track-guards.
Tarpaulin clips added around crew compartment.
Front vision ports had single slits.
Indicator stalks were repositioned to the track-guards.
Rimmed track-guards with rounded corners.

The Sd. Kfz. 250 on page 58 of Panzer Colours shows a later pattern pre-1943 body, with tools moved to the track guards, repositioned headlights, later pattern vision slits and rimmed track guards.

The Post-1943 "Neu" Body
This is recognizable by its slab-sided appearance similar to the Sd. Kfz. 251 D half - track. This redesign provided speedier production and greater interior space with no loss of ballistic protection.

The major changes were; a single nose plate instead of two; the engine deck was widened to almost the entire width of the body; the angled body sides were replaced by vertical sides which greatly increased interior room; mudguards were simplified; integrated stowage bins were added to the lower sides. 2378 were built from October 1943 to spring 1945.They were used for a variety of roles just like the earlier type.

Conversion Potentials
The Tamiya kits of the SdKfz 250/9 and 250/3 are now both showing their age like all of their older moulds. Details are too heavy, poorly represented or missing altogether. The tracks are appalling, being too thin and under detailed. The rear idler wheel is too low, and must be raised about 2mm to get the correct profile. This entails carefully shaving off the rear idler arms and repositioning them. The under-nourished tracks are better replaced by after-market products such as Model Kasten, which are accurate, quick to construct and articulated. Correct inner idler wheels are also provided in the set.

Despite these faults, by using good research references and after-market conversion sets, it is quite possible to build an excellent model of a SdKfz 250. I hope Tamiya will soon produce a new mould of the SdKfz 250 "Alte".

Dragon has recently released a Sd. Kfz. 250/1 "Neu" which should be available soon. It has attracted good reviews overseas and will hopefully see a number of conversions, either by Dragon or by other manufacturers.

Scale Model Accessories of the United Kingdom produce four excellent resin/white metal ammunition trailers, often seen being towed by the earlier SdKfz 250 series vehicles.

The German company MR Models, available through Accurate Armour in the UK, produce resin/white metal conversions for the Tamiya kit of the SdKfz 250/6 ausf A and B, with complete interiors. These two variants carried either the short or long 7.5cm ammunition for the StuG's, and replaced the earlier SdKfz 252.

The Czech company Plus Model produces both the SdKfz 252 and 253 conversions in resin with brass accessories for the Tamiya kit, and they appear to be excellent, featuring the correct early track guards, separate hatches etc.