War History Online has an article about one of Rico's favorite vehicles, even if it was built by the Nazis:
The SdKfz 2, better known as the Kettenkrad, started its life as a light tractor for airborne troops. The vehicle was designed to be delivered by Junkers 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 complex Schachtellaufwerk overlapped and interleaved road wheels used on almost all German military half-track vehicles of World War Two. Steering the Kettenkrad 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. Most Kettenkrads saw service on the Eastern Front, where they were used to lay communication cables, pull heavy loads, and carry soldiers through the deep Russian mud. Later in the war, Kettenkrads were used as runway tugs for aircraft, especially for the Me 262 jet fighter. In order to save aviation fuel, a German jet aircraft would be towed to the runway, rather than taxiing under their own power. The vehicle was also used in the North African theater and on the Western Front. The Kettenkrad came with a special trailer (Sd.Anh.1) that could be attached to it to improve its cargo capacity. Being a tracked vehicle, the Kettenkrad could climb up to 24° in sand and even more on hard ground. Production of the vehicle was stopped in 1944, at which time just over eight thousand had been built. After the war, production resumed at NSU. Around five hundred Kettenkräder were built for agricultural use, with production ending in 1948 (some sources say 1949).
Rico says his friend Kelley, also a military vehicle junkie, said he always wanted one, too...
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