Sd.Kfz.251 – hanomag halftrack
Presumably the halftrack that private Ryan destroyed that was part of the reconnaissance unit of the 2nd SS was a Sd.Kfz 251 or possibly a shorter version the Sd.Kfz 250 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug which means a half track in German).
The Sd.Kfz.251 was more known as the Hanomag after its manufacturer the Hanomag company. Halftracks were vehicles that would have an ordinary wheel and a track that could enable it to have both speed while crossing rough terrain off roads.
In other words, it meant in some instances, the half-track would be inefficient in both speed and maneuverability.
The Sd.Kfz.251 was designed to ship troops protected with its armor to the battlefield alongside with the tanks quickly. It would also serve as transport or recognizance as well. The hanomag did have armor but a M1 bazooka’s penetration was enough to destroy it in one shot.
Kettenkrad
The small German motorcycle that private Reiben used to lure the Waffen SS forces was called a kettenkrad. The kettenkrad or the Sd.Kfz.2, Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK101(Ketten means chain tracks, Kraftrad means motorcycle in German) was initially used as a scout, tractor to pull anti-tank weapons or towed weapons for the German paratroopers, the fallschirmjäger.
The kettenkrad could fit into the German cargo plane the Junkers Ju52 so it was initially developed to support airborne operations of Germany.
However, the kettenkrad unlike its small size and somewhat funny looks could operate in rough terrains while easily towing towed weapons such as 20mm guns, anti-tank guns.
It could also carry up to 770 pounds(350kgs) with the trailer often attached. Many kettenkrads were produced to support the German military operations.
Tiger Tank
The Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf.E (Sd.Kfz.181) Tiger I was one of the most notorious heavy tank of the German military. It used a powerful 88mm gun that could take out almost every tank that the Soviet Union and the Allied forces use with a single shot.
The Tiger Tank first saw action at the North African front and the Eastern front at 1942 and it was developed before the Panther tank as well.
Despite its notorious reputation, only 1300~1400 Tiger Tanks were produced during the whole war by Germany but its reputation created fear among the Allied Forces and the Red Army.
The 2nd SS panzer division Das Reich wasn’t equipped with the Tiger tank but two tiger tanks appear in Saving Private Ryan. The Das Reich Waffen SS division would have been equipped with panthers to be more historically accurate.
During the Normandy landings, there weren’t many tiger tanks deployed, however legends of Michael Wittmann at Villers-Bocage put the allies into fear.
Michael Wittmann from the 1st SS panzer Division LSSAH, part of the 101st ss heavy tank battalion destroyed 10 tanks, 3 light tanks, 13 armored vehicles single handedly at the French village Villers-Bocage.
Marder III
There weren’t any medium German tanks or panzer models that could be called a panzer. Like most wars, not all the soldiers would exactly identify nor have knowledge of the enemy equipment.
The tanks that appeared in Saving Private Ryan were not panzers nor tanks but they were tank destroyers that were vehicles modified from older tank models to carry a heavier gun. Most tank destroyers didn’t have a rotatable turret as the tank destroyer wouldn’t properly balance if the gun rotated.
The tank destroyer Marder III M variant and the Marder III H variant were featured in the Saving Private Ryan movie.
The tank destroyer Marder III or the Panzerjäger Marder III were made from the chassis of the 38(t) tank or the LT vz 38 tank manufactured form Czech. Armed with the 7.5 cm pak 40 anti-tank gun, the Marder III was capable of punching a hole into the medium tanks of the Allied forces.
However, it was very vulnerable to mortar fire, grenades and infantry attack as well as any armored guns as well. The tank destroyers were designed to conceal themselves attack and run away and they were more of recycling outdated tanks to make usage instead of scrapping outdated tanks.
The Marder III H variant was taken out by flame bottles. Marder III M variant was taken out by sergeant Horvath’s bazooka round.
Why did the troopers call the tanks panzers
Panzers more referred to the medium panzer 4 tanks while the Panthers had their own name as well. However, most soldiers at the front didn’t have much knowledge of all the equipment that the enemy had.
However, there would be rumors of powerful enemy weapons and most of the troopers would have just perceived any form of tank destroyer, tanks as panzers.
Panzerschreck
Panzer meant tank in German and Schreck meant fear so combined it meant a fear to tanks. After examining the M1 bazooka, the Germans developed the Panzerschreck as an anti-tank weapon for infantry. The Panzerschreck itself was 20 pounds about 9kgs while a single rocket itself weighed 7.3 pounds about 3.3kgs.
The caliber of the Panzerschreck rocket was 8.8 cm, 88mm (3.5 inches) significantly larger than the M1 bazooka’s 60mm. The Panzerschreck could penetrate a maximum of 210 mm(8.3 inches) thus it could have penetrated any kind of tank that the Allied Forces used during the Normandy Landings. The extreme firepower of the Panzerschreck
MP40
The MP40 or the Maschinenpistole 40 was a submachine gun that had a 9x19mm ammunition used by the German military. Although the 9x19 mm small ammunition did lack the great punch of a gun, the MP40 could spray bullets at a high rate of fire. Not many countries were aware of the significance of having a high rate of fire for the standard rifles.
The German military would use the MG42 and the MG34 as the main firepower of an infantry squad. However, as the range of battle significantly became shorter, the importance of submachine guns and higher rate of fire increased.
The American infantry squad held much firepower than any outer country thanks to the M1 Garand’s semi-automatic fire. MP40’s were usually given to officers or non-commissioned officers that had to lead the squads.
Although the MP40 is frequently featured in many movies and media, there were only about 1 MP40 supplied per 6~7 Kar 98K rifles to the German military so it wasn’t as abundant as it is perceived.
