This was one area in which the Germans did not appear, to me, to be following an evolutionary dead end.
The 251 strikes me as the only vehicle that was intentionally designed to do the job that APCs are supposed to do. Despite the lack of a roof it at least protected the men inside quite well from small arms and blast and, importantly, due to the gradually improved rear doors could dump them out of the back in an efficient and protected manner.
M2/M3/M5 half-tracks, despite being able to carry a squad don't seem to offer as much protection to the occupants, and the rear door must have been a nightmare for all to bail out of, making the rather more exposed route of jumping over the sides more likely. Something about them in the troop role looks extemporised, but as a carrier for equipment or weapons it seems to make far more sense. An armoured lorry rather than an APC.
The Kangaroos were also heading in the right direction, but perhaps too much of a (necessary) compromise to really compete with the 251 as a finished and purpose built design. The armour may have been thicker by a large factor but entry, exit, and kit stowage looks like a nightmare. I'd rather be inside one under fire though so perhaps that's the primary criteria? Much better off-road than either of the other two as well.
The 251 has flaws of it's own, particularly I'm told by those that have driven them (confirming what an examination of the mechanicals implies) in the difficulty of steering, but it served well past the war (as, of course, did the US half-tracks, though not so much as troop carriers) in OT810 format and, in my opinion, feeds directly into the future development of IFVs and APCs (hmmm, maybe it's more of an IFV than an APC... or are they essentially the same thing blurring into one concept
).
The half or semi track may have died out in a military sense but there's wheeled vehicles that now carry a similar torch. The Kangaroos may most closely mirror M113s, FV432s etc. with full tracks and all round protection but during the war perhaps hadn't quite reached maturity?
Blah.
I'll have a time-travelling Merkava please.
Cheers,
Adam.
Edit: sorry, cross-posted with TA above... must stop popping off for a drink while posting.