| Sd.Kfz.2 Kettenkrad HK 101 | |
|---|---|
 Kettenkrad in Russia, winter of 1943/1944. | |
| Type | Light half-trackedgun tractor |
| Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1941–1945 |
| Used by | Nazi Germany |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | NSU |
| Designed | 1939 |
| Manufacturer | NSU Motorenwerke |
| Produced | 1939–1948 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1,560 kg (3,440 lb) |
| Length | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Width | 1 m (3 ft 3 in) |
| Height | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
| Crew | 1 driver |
| Passengers | 2 passengers |
| Engine | Opelwatercooledfour-cylinderinline engine 36 bhp (26 kW) |
| Transmission | 3 forward/1 reverse × 2 range |
| Maximum speed | 70 km/h (44 mph) |
TheSd.Kfz.2 (German:Sonderkraftfahrzeug 2) is ahalf-trackmotorcycle with a single front wheel, better known as theKleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101 (from German klein 'small' Ketten 'chains/tracks' and Kraftrad 'motorcycle'), shortened toKettenkrad (pl.Kettenkräder). It was used bythe military ofNazi Germany during theSecond World War.
TheKettenkrad started its life as a light tractor for airborne troops. The vehicle was designed to be delivered byJunkers Ju 52 aircraft, though not by parachute. The vehicle had the advantage of being the only gun tractor small enough to fit inside the hold of the Ju 52, and was the lightest mass-produced German military vehicle to use the complexSchachtellaufwerk overlapped and interleaved road wheels used on almost all German military half-tracked vehicles of World War II.
Steering theKettenkrad was accomplished by turning the handlebars: Up to a certain point, only the front wheel would steer the vehicle. A motion of the handlebars beyond that point would engage the track brakes to help make turns sharper. It was also possible to run the vehicle without the front wheel installed and this was recommended in extreme off-road conditions where speed would be kept low.[1]
TheSd.Kfz.2 was designed and built by theNSU Werke AG atNeckarsulm, Germany. Patented in June 1939, it was first used in the Invasion of Crete in 1941. Later in the warStoewer fromStettin also producedKettenkrads under license, accounting for about 10% of the total production.[2]
TheKettenkrad came with a special trailerSonderanhänger 1 (Sd.Anh.1) that could be attached to it to improve its cargo capacity. The trailer carried 350 kg (770 lb).
Being a tracked vehicle, theKettenkrad could climb up to 24° in sand and even more on hard ground.[3]
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MostKettenkräder saw service on theEastern Front, where they were used to lay communication cables, pull heavy loads and carry soldiers through thedeep Russian mud. Later in the war,Kettenkräder were used as runway tugs for aircraft, especially for theMesserschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, and sometimes theArado Ar 234 jet reconnaissance-bomber. In order to save aviation fuel, German jet aircraft were towed to the runway, rather than taxiing under their own power.
The vehicle was also used in theNorth African theater and on theWestern Front.
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Only two significant sub-variations of theKettenkrad were constructed. The mittlerer Ladungsträger Springer (Sd.Kfz. 304) was a remotely controlled demolition vehicle. Also an enlarged five-seat version of the Kettenkrad was developed but only prototypes were built.
Production of the Kettenkrad was stopped in 1944, at which time 8,345 had been built. After the war, production resumed at NSU. Around 550Kettenkräder were built for agricultural use, with production ending in 1948 or 1949 (sources vary).
| Tanks |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-propelled artillery | ||
| Assault guns | ||
| Tank destroyers (Panzerjäger, Jagdpanzer) | ||
| Half-tracks | ||
| Armored cars | ||
| Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns | ||
| Demolition vehicles | ||
| Experimental/prototype vehicles | ||
| Proposed designs | ||
| Designations | ||