German Sd.Kfz. 251 half track taken at El Adem, near Tobruk, 1942 (c)

Photograph by Private Kenneth Hardy, Royal Army Service Corps, World War Two, North Africa (1940-1943), 1942 (c).

The Sd.Kfz. 251 was the most widely produced German half-track of the war, with over 15,000 vehicles manufactured. They were primarily intended for carrying panzer grenadiers (tank supporting infantry) into action. The latter were protected from small arms fire and afforded some protection from artillery fire by the armoured sides. Once the soldiers had dismounted the half-track could offer fire-support with its mounted machine-gun.

From a collection of photographs and associated negatives taken by Private Kenneth Charles Albert Hardy, Royal Army Service Corps and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 1941-1943.