What made an Sd.Kfz.251 in gun-towing mode different from a regular vehicle? Were there special bins for stowing ammo? A big-assed trailer hitch?

Hi,

From the same source officialy the Sd Kfz was authorized to tow:
10.5cm le.FH18 in one load
10.5cm leFH 30(t) in one load
15cm Nbl. W. 41 [rocket launcher] in one load
21cm Nbl. W. 42 [rocket launcher] in one load
30cm Nbl. W. 42 [rocket launcher] in one load
28cm/32cm Nbl. W. 41 [rocket launcher] in one load

But again this is officialy, what happened in the field one can only judge from photographs.

(By the way, my source is a very usefull list I found on the internet made by Ron Klages (Feldgrau website) based on 1942 and 1943 KSTN.s of prime movers and their authorized tows)

Cheers,
Pascal

What was the weight?

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It was also used to tow the 10,5-cm leichte Feldhaubitze 18.

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Yes, of course, what WAS I thinking? AFV Club has that 2 in 1 set.

Does anyone know if the mechanized towed version of the sIG 33 was even in existence prior to the war?

This was done on all four marks (A to D).

The mechanised version would have appeared concurrently with the horse drawn version as these weapons were issues to Panzergrenadier regiments in Panzer divisions which would not have had horse drawn equipment. What the towing vehicle would have been to begin with is open to speculation, I would suspect the intended vehicle would have been the Sdkfz 11 from the beginning as all the unarmoured half tracks were designed and introduced in the 30's. Where there was a shortage a 3 ton truck or Maultier may have been pressed into service. I suspect that the SIG 33 may be too heavy for the Sdkfz 10 except in emergencies. What was the weight? If it's over 1 tonne it exceed the towing weight of the Sdkfz 10 (rated 1 tonne).
Later in the war the one Panzergrenadier regiment in a Panzer division labelled "gepanzerte" which usually meant that one battalion was in Sdkfz 251s rather than lorries, received SP SIG33s (usually on the 38T chassis). The other regiment retained towed guns.

Actually the hull rear was reinforced so it was able to tow the sIG 33 and it was the official designated towing vehicle for this gun from 1942 at least.