WW2 GERMAN LIGHT TANKS BLITZKRIEG POLAND FRANCE BALKANS EASTERN FRONT RUSSIA Pz.

Description: WW2 GERMAN LIGHT TANKS BLITZKRIEG POLAND FRANCE BALKANS EASTERN FRONT RUSSIA Pz. WW2 GERMAN LIGHT TANKS BLITZKRIEG POLAND FRANCE BALKANS EASTERN FRONT RUSSIA Pz.Kpfw.I sIG 33 Pz.Kpfw 35(t) Pz.Kpfw 38(t) Pz.Kpfw.II Sd.Kfz.124 WESPE HETZER 38(t) PANZERJAGER MARDER BISON IMAGES OF SOFTBOUND BOOK in ENGLISH by PAUL THOMAS RARE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM WARTIME ARCHIVES ------------------------------------------------------------- Additional Information from Internet Encyclopedia The Panzer I was a light tank produced in Germany in the 1930s. The name is short for the German Panzerkampfwagen I ("armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated PzKpfw I. The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was SdKfz 101 ("special purpose vehicle 101"). Design of the Panzer I began in 1932 and mass production began in 1934. Intended only as a training tank to introduce the concept of armored warfare to the German Army, the Panzer I saw combat in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, in Poland, France, the Soviet Union and North Africa during the Second World War, and in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Experiences with the Panzer I during the Spanish Civil War helped shape the German Panzerwaffes' invasion of Poland in 1939 and France in 1940. By 1941, the Panzer I chassis design was used as the basis of tank destroyers and assault guns. There were attempts to upgrade the Panzer I throughout its service history, including by foreign nations, to extend the design's lifespan. It continued to serve in the Spanish Armed Forces until 1954. The Panzer I's performance in combat was limited by its thin armour and light armament of two machine guns. As a design intended for training, the Panzer I was not as capable as other light tanks of the era, such as the Soviet T-26. Although weak in combat, it formed a large part of Germany's tank forces and was used in all major campaigns between September 1939 and December 1941. The small, vulnerable light tank would be surpassed in importance by other German tanks, such as the Panzer IV, Panther, and Tiger; nevertheless, the Panzer I's contribution to the early victories of Nazi Germany during World War II was significant. Later in that war the turrets of the then obsolete PzKpfw Is and PzKpfw IIs were repurposed as gun turrets on specially built defensive bunkers, particularly on the Atlantic Wall. The Panzer I's design history can be traced to the British Carden Loyd tankette of which it borrowed much of its track and suspension design. After six prototype Kleintraktor were produced the cover name was changed to Krupp-Traktor whereas the development codename was changed to Landwirtschaftlicher Schlepper (La S) (Agricultural Tractor). The La S was intended not just to train Germany's panzer troops, but to prepare Germany's industry for the mass production of tanks in the near future; a difficult engineering feat for the time. The armament of production versions was to be two 7.92 mm MG 13 machine guns in a rotating turret. Machine guns were known to be largely useless against even the lightest tank armour of the time, restricting the Panzer I to a training and anti-infantry role by design. The final official designation, assigned in 1938, was Panzerkampfwagen I (M.G.) with special ordnance number Sd.Kfz. 101. The first 150 tanks (1./LaS, 1st series LaS, Krupp-Traktor), produced in 1934, did not include the rotating turret and were used for crew training. Following these, production was switched to the combat version of the tank. The Ausf. A was under-armoured, with steel plate of only 13 millimeters (0.51 in) at its thickest. The tank had several design flaws, including suspension problems, which made the vehicle pitch at high velocities, and engine overheating. The driver was positioned inside the chassis and used conventional steering levers to control the tank, while the commander was positioned in the turret where he also acted as gunner. The two crewmen could communicate by means of a voice tube. Machine gun ammunition was stowed in five bins, containing various numbers of 25-round magazines.[20] 1,190 of the Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf. A were built in three series (2.-4./LaS). Further 25 were built as command tanks. Many of the problems in the Ausf. A were corrected with the introduction of the Ausf. B. The air-cooled engine (producing just 60 metric horsepower (44 kW) was replaced by a water-cooled, six-cylinder Maybach NL 38 TR, developing 100 metric horsepower (74 kW), and the gearbox was changed to a more reliable model. The larger engine required the extension of the vehicle's chassis by 40 cm (16 in), and this allowed the improvement of the tank's suspension, adding another bogie wheel and raising the tensioner. The tank's weight increased by 0.4 tons. Production of the Ausf. B began in August 1936 and finished in summer 1937 after 399 had been built in two series (5a-6a/LaS).[1] Further 159 were built as command tanks in two series, 295 chassis were built as turretless training tanks. 147 more training tanks were built as convertible chassis with hardened armour with option to upgrade them to full combat status by adding superstructure and turret. Two more combat versions of the Panzer I were designed and produced between 1939 and 1942. By this stage, the design concept had been superseded by medium and heavy tanks and neither variant was produced in sufficient numbers to have a real impact on the progress of the war. These new tanks had nothing in common with either the Ausf. A or B except name. One of these, the Panzer I Ausf. C, was designed jointly between Krauss-Maffei and Daimler-Benz in 1939 to provide an amply armoured and armed reconnaissance light tank. The Ausf. C boasted a completely new chassis and turret, a modern torsion-bar suspension and five Schachtellaufwerk-style interleaved roadwheels. It also had a maximum armor thickness of 30 millimeters (1.18 in), over twice that of either the Ausf. A or B, and was armed with an EW 141 semi autocannon, with a 50-round drum, firing 7.92mm anti-tank shells. Forty of these tanks were produced, along with six prototypes. Two tanks were deployed to 1st Panzer Division in 1943, and the other thirty-eight were deployed to the LVIII Panzer Reserve Corps during the Normandy landings. The second vehicle, the Ausf. F, was as different from the Ausf. C as it was from the Ausf. A and B. Intended as an infantry support tank, the Panzer I Ausf. F had a maximum armour thickness of 80 millimeters (3.15 in) and weighed between 18 and 21 tonnes.[28] The Ausf. F was armed with two 7.92-millimeter MG-34s. Thirty were produced in 1940, and a second order of 100 was later canceled. In order to compensate for the increased weight, a new 150 horsepower (110 kW) Maybach HL45 Otto engine was used, allowing a maximum road speed of 25 kilometers per hour (15.5 mph) and used five overlapping road wheels per side, dropping the Ausf. C's interleaved units. Eight of the thirty tanks produced were sent to the 1st Panzer Division in 1943 and saw combat at the Battle of Kursk. The rest were given to several army schools for training and evaluation purposes. --------------------------------------------- The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated PzKpfw II). Although the vehicle had originally been designed as a stopgap while larger, more advanced tanks were developed, it nonetheless went on to play an important role in the early years of World War II, during the Polish and French campaigns. The Panzer II was the most numerous tank in the German Panzer divisions at the beginning of the war. It was used both in North Africa against the Western Allies and on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union. The Panzer II was supplanted by the Panzer III and IV medium tanks by 1940/1941. By the end of 1942, it had been largely removed from front line service and it was used for training and on secondary fronts. The turrets of the then-obsolete Panzer Is and Panzer IIs were reused as gun turrets on specially built defensive bunkers, particularly on the Atlantic Wall. Production of the tank itself ceased by January 1944, but its chassis remained in use as the basis of several other armoured vehicles, chiefly self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers such as the Wespe and Marder II respectively. ---------------------------------------- The Panzerkampfwagen 35(t), commonly shortened to Panzer 35(t) or abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. 35(t), was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. The letter (t) stood for tschechisch (German for "Czech"). In Czechoslovak service, it had the formal designation Lehký tank vzor 35 (Light Tank Model 35), but was commonly referred to as the LT vz. 35 or LT-35. A total of 434 were built; of these, the Germans seized 244 when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939 and the Slovaks acquired 52 when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. Others were exported to Bulgaria and Romania. In German service, it saw combat during the early years of World War II, notably the invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and the invasion of the Soviet Union before being retired or sold off in 1942. It was used for the remainder of the war by other countries and as a training tank in Bulgaria into the 1950s. ------------------------------------------ The Panzerkampfwagen 38(t), originally known as the KD LT vz. 38, was a tank designed during the 1930s, which saw extensive service during World War II. Developed in Czechoslovakia by KD, the type was adopted by Nazi Germany following the annexation of Czechoslovakia. With the German Army and other Axis forces, the type saw service in the invasions of Poland, France and the USSR. Production ended in 1942, when its main armament was deemed inadequate. In all, over 1,400 Pz. 38(t)s were manufactured. The chassis of the Pz. 38(t) continued to be produced for the Marder III (19421944) with some of its components used in the later Jagdpanzer 38 (19441945) tank destroyer and its derivative vehicles. The (t) stands for tschechisch, the German word for Czech; the Czechoslovak military designation was LT vz. 38 (Lehký tank vzor 38, Light Tank model 38). Manufacturer's designations included TNH series, TNHPS, LTP and LTH. The special vehicle (Sonderkraftfahrzeug) designation for the tank in Germany was Sd. Kfz. 140. ------------------------------------------ The Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe (German for "wasp"), also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf.) ("Light field howitzer 18 on Panzer II chassis (self-propelled)"), is a German self-propelled gun developed and used during the Second World War. It was based on a modified Panzer II chassis. During the Battle of France in 1940 it became apparent that the intermediate tank of the German forces, the Panzer II, was unsuitable as a main battle tank. Though mechanically sound, it was both under-gunned and under-armoured. The chassis, however, proved serviceable for providing mobility to the 10.5 cm field howitzer. Existing chassis were converted to self-propelled artillery vehicles, such as the Marder II conversion providing mobility to the PaK 40/7.5 cm anti-tank gun. The design for the Wespe was produced by Alkett, based on the Panzer II Ausf. F chassis. Alkett had earlier worked with Alfred Becker to convert captured French armoured vehicles into self-propelled artillery carriers. Among other modifications the Panzer II's engine was moved forward and the chassis slightly lengthened to accommodate the rear-mounted 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. The superstructure was lightly armored, with 10 mm armor plate (enough to stop small arms fire) left open at the top and rear. The vehicles were produced by FAMO's Ursus plant in Warsaw. The Wespe was in production from February 1943 until June 1944, when Soviet forces approached the frontier. By that time, 676 had been produced. An additional 159 gun-less Wespe were produced to serve as mobile artillery ammunition carriers. --------------------------------------- The Jagdpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2), originally the leichter Panzerjäger 38(t), known mostly post-war as Hetzer, was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis. German armored forces in World War II created a variety of vehicles by mounting anti-tank guns on the chassis of obsolete tanks. These machines performed even better than expected, yet were still vulnerable due to high vehicle profiles and open-topped turrets. Allied bombings took a heavy toll on German production facilities, and further increased the need for an easily produced yet effective light tank destroyer to replace vehicles like the StuG III and Marder series (Marder I, II and III. Prototypes of the Jagdpanzer 38 were ready by 1944 and mass production began in April of that year. The Jagdpanzer 38 was covered entirely with sloped armor, and possessed a compact form and low silhouette, giving it much improved defensive ability over other self-propelled guns. Armament consisted of a 7.5 cm Pak 39 L/48 gun and a remote-controlled MG 34. It featured a wide body to accommodate the four-man crew, as well as strengthened lower hull with enlarged wheels, guide rollers and tracks. Jagdpanzer 38s first entered service in July 1944, and would eventually be assigned to a number of units, including infantry, Panzerjäger and Volksgrenadier divisions. BMM and koda continually modified and improved the Jagdpanzer 38 during production of the more than 2,800 vehicles built. Owing to the ease of production and high operating rates, the Jagdpanzer 38 came to serve as Germany's main tank destroyer in the latter period of the war, making an important contribution on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager.Make your listings stand out with FREE Vendio custom templates! FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. Over 100,000,000 served. Get FREE counters from Vendio today!

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