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Ot-810/sdk251d roars to live

Ragnarok

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Pittsburgh, PA
That is a sweet ride.

KILLER restoration.

What is the story on the outboard track "sprockets" (unsure of the correct terminology here) being commonly elevated on WWII German armor (see attached):

- Was there a functional reason (like D9: keep drive sprocket out of the grit)?

- Or maybe just signature profile by designer?


View attachment 470487

I have no idea either, but I would guess could be to keep them out of the muck as you said, and/or maybe ease of construction/maintenance while I am FAR from any kind of mechanical or tracked vehicle expert, it seems to me they just wanted the most basic of axle designs. Possibly could help soldiers in the field do track maintenance? I have no idea if the rear axle had any kind of adjustable position for track tension or not, but IF it does/did might be easier to "compress" it forward instead of straight-up to work on the treads.
Found this pic on another site, maybe ultra-high res size will help discern the raised rear characteristic other than simply following the frame that is slightly "humped" in the rear. (brings to mind, which came first? the frame hump or the raised rear wheel?)

http://sdkfz.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/SAM_1518.jpg





and yes this is a simple AMAZING restoration, so bravo for work, can't wait to see it progress more
 

panzerwillie

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miami florida
paint

That picture is of a original 251 you can tell by the drive sprocket , also the track adjustment is on the rear wheel as far as the yellow is Mustard Yellow or close to as we can come to it....
20131229_170833.jpg
 

vettes

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Wow you know that is the first pic i have even seen with the whole engine cover lifted, I always wondered how the got the engine out of those 2 lil flaps at the top lol
 

panzerwillie

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If your talking about the 2 hooks in the front section towards the the top , there is 4 of then 2 in the front 2 in the rear to lift it of the ground with a crane
willie
 

Another Ahab

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Alexandria, VA
If you want to see a lot of photos on OT-810 conversions to SdKfz251s and use in reenactments go to www.sdkfz251.com
Germany used infra-red technology?

I'm no major historian or anything, but I don't recall hearing about anyone using that during WWII:

a version with an infra-red search light
used to spot potential targets for associated Panther tanks equipped with infra-red detectors.


Did the Allies use infra-red anywhere?

Anybody know? Maybe I should ask the pretty lady.
 
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panzerwillie

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Location
miami florida
They look good maybe one day i will do the complete D model change over its a lot of work after setting for 14 years i just want it to get it running so i can move to other projects like the Ferret thank you for the pictures....
 
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