Comparing: T-54 ltwt. vs. Spähpanzer Ru 251

A proposed lightweight version of the T-54 medium tank. Development was started in May 1949. Compared to its series-produced predecessor, the tank had better performance and maneuverability. Therefore, the tank was planned to replace the T-54 in accomplishing complicated missions. However, the T-54 tank of 1949 was improved and mass produced, and the lightweight version was canceled while still in the design phase.

The vehicle was developed on the basis of the Kanonenjagdpanzer 4-5 tank destroyer by the Henschel company in 1964. The tank was planned to replace the obsolete M41 Walker Bulldog vehicles used by the reconnaissance battalions of the armored divisions in the German Army. The tank never saw mass production, but some technical innovations were applied later in the development of other vehicles. The total number of prototypes built is unknown.