Survivors

No document on surviving sd.Kfz. 251 is complete without mentioning the best report ever: the.shadock. - Surviving_Sdkfz_251

By the nature of the vehicle and the black past of the regime, it's a wonder any survived. A tank is much more suited as a war trophy or monument. It's a tractor, and farmers and contractors lacked everything after the war. Out of 16.000 produced, only a handful authentic vehicles survive. Over the last decade some have been added. Rosi was coughed up by a Polish river. Others are marriages of many odds and ends scattered over half the globe or sorry basketcases discovered. What is genuine?
When I sat on one of the crisp new wooden benches of the painstakingly restored 251/7 D in Münster, I could not help thinking of the 1980's picture from it's outdoors Fort Knox period. Battered, rusty and thorn, but original. Like Rosi and the survivor of the Graz scrapyard it restored to driving conditions. Before that they where sorry heaps of debris. Some survivors are lacking several parts or are so rotten, that replacing parts is not only very costly, but it will also erase a piece of it's authenticity.
These vehicles have history. Not only the brief battle history, but also the later years. It's a delicate balance between conservation, value and impressing the public. Is a reconstructed vehicle, that combines parts from several vehicles with replacement parts less real?
Not to me. As long as the owner is honest about his vehicle.
Reconstructing a 251 today is a hell of a job. A wooden mock-up body in an exhibition to show the magnificent suspension can be good enough, if it's accurate. Many OT has been modified beyond believe. The borders of what is a genuine 251 and what is an OT or a prop are very vague.
Ownership is often kept a mystery, locations change. I respect privacy, I just love to hear from them. Please help me by reporting your visits and encounters. Pictures are very much appreciated.

On the list to the left they're sorted by version, below by location

Main | | last revised: November 12 2017