The Sd.Kfz. 1/1 Ausf. D or Hanomags was a German half-tracked armored personnel carrier designed to allow infantry to be transported into battle under armor protection. Its half-tracked design allowed the vehicle to keep up with tanks in terrain that trucks could not traverse.

At least 23 different variants of the Sd.Kfz. 251 were produced during the war, including ambulances, self-propelled guns, and mortar carriers. The Sd.Kfz. 251 series saw action with the German military on all fronts beginning with the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and continued in service until the end of the war. The Sd.Kfz 251 was the most produced German armored vehicle of WWII, but the one  at the AHM is one of just two on display in the United States.