PANZERWRECKS 4: GERMAN ARMOUR 1944-45 PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Lee Archer,William Auerbach | 96 pages | 31 May 2007 | Panzerwrecks | 9780955594007 | English | Heathfield, Download Free Panzerwrecks German Armour 45 Ebook PDF Free | saraliveitwell

In the background there is a Panther in the middle is a late version of the panzer IV with extra armor fitted But its not just books, we have unit histories, campaign books and Littered with Panzer Wrecks Military. In the dark days of the Cold War, communist Bulgaria fortified its border with , The book follows the same format as in the earlier four PanzerWreck books, WWII Stug wreck recovered from a river bed Normally the Panzer IV tank has 4 Returnroller on the upper section of the track but both 3 and 4 Returnroller Panzer Wrecks in Bulgaria Panzer Picture 48, views. Panzerwrecks 19 : Lee Archer : Panzerwrecks 19 by Lee Archer, , available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide. Panzerwrecks 20 Ostfront 3, as is all of the Panzerwrecks Series of books, been produced in the highest quality. Panzerwreck Forum Announcements. Special Upgrade 4 Tech Tips 12 27 Hi all! Now that Upgrade 4 is out and about in large quantities we have now discovered a Panzer IV Wreck Normandy 2. Email to friends Share on Facebook opens in a new window or tab Share on Twitter Review: Panzerwrecks Bulge This bulge was more than we expected Issue sixteen of Panzerwrecks sees the covered. Photographs of Panzer wrecks. Panther wreck being inspected by U. Soldiers in Normandy. Shop with confidence. Type: Single Release date The Wreck of This Single School Bus wreck. Rhino and Panzer II lookalikes. Also seen are numerous missiles. Verified Purchase. Another great release by Panzerwrecks. What sets this series apart from other tank books is the level of research the authors have put into finding out as much as possible about each picture. This one covers the Western Front from They have also begun adding color illustrations of a few of the pictures. An extra special is photos and an American technical report on a remote controlled demolition vehicle. A must for the WWII armor lovers and modelers alike. One person found this helpful. Always a great addition to the series when they appear. Large photo format is my attraction. Another awesome Panzerwrecks. Go to Amazon. Discover the best of shopping and entertainment with Amazon Prime. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery on millions of eligible domestic and international items, in addition to exclusive access to movies, TV shows, and more. Panzerwrecks German Armour by Archer, Lee, Neely, Darren, Rodna, Felipe -

If you are interested in either, or both, of these titles, here is your chance to grab them, at a great price. We have several copies of each title. In both cases the damage consists of one crushed corner of the cover. Below, we have provided photographs of the damage so you know what you are getting. If you are interested in any of the above-listed, discounted books please email us at: jjfpub jjfpub. First come, first served!! For those that have been asking for a copy of Panzers in Berlin , it has been reprinted and we will be placing an order for them soon. Please e-mail us and let us know that you want a copy. If you have not ordered, remember that these high-quality books will not be in print for long. We have 3 new items for you to consider. From Wing Leader, we have the 4 volume set of Aces. If you want to order this set, or any of the other titles or sets we listed in our update from August 20th , we will be placing our next order early next week. Do not delay! This book will arrive at the end of September. Previous volumes have been selling out very quickly, so reserve your copy now! This book is also scheduled to arrive at the end of September. As promised, here are a number of titles from Wing Leader. We offer, and have in stock, 3 series, and several individual titles. A few more will be offered in the near future. Due to ordering and shipping intricacies, we offer the first three series as complete sets. We display the covers of the individual books within the sets, as well as a sampling of pages. Click on the links to examine the particulars. Number of copies on hand is limited, so put your order in as soon as you can. If you miss out on this batch, we will be putting in another order shortly, but will not charge your card until we ship. We still expect to receive them by end of September, unless Covid delays the shipment. You can order either one, or both, and we will not charge your card until they are sent. For those who pre-ordered, we are happy to announce that they have already been shipped out to you. Next, we have just received copies of German Armor in Normandy. Lastly, mid next week we will be listing a plethora of Luftwaffe books from Wing Leader Aviation books. They are absolutely fantastic; and we can say that because we have most in stock now! From Panzerwrecks, we offer Forgotten Archives 3. We are putting in an order for them by the end of the week, so please reserve your copies, by clicking the links above, before Friday, July 31, ! Tomorrow, the price will change. The pictures are extremely interesting and even more rare. Pictures needed for us nerd modelers. Almost all the vehicles in Panzerwrecks 4 came from the Western Front. At the end there are pictures from the Henschel factory with Tiger II hulls and turrets on the assembly line. Another excellent product from Panzerwrecks. The 4 edition of Panzerwrecks is very hard to come by these days. These magazines offer the German Panzer Tank enthusiast the best source for historical photographic reference. Written by two of the most well known authors in the field, Lee Archer and William Auerbach, you'll find each edition full of pictures. From my experience there is no finer reference material available today. Go to Amazon. Discover the best of shopping and entertainment with Amazon Prime. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery on millions of eligible domestic and international items, in addition to exclusive access to movies, TV shows, and more. Back to top. Primarily a photo book, the pages are printed on high quality glossy paper and the photo quality is excellent. The black and white photos, of which there are , are generally printed one to a page making it very easy to see the details contained in the images. There are also a small number of nicely done color illustrations by artist Felipe Rodna. This ground has been covered extensively over the years by numerous authors and publishers. Probably everyone with an interest in WWII armor has had the experience of getting a new book on WWII and upon cracking it open, finding the same familiar photos that get recycled year after year. Fear not, this is not the case with Forgotten Archives 2. Each photo is accompanied by the original caption written by the wartime photographer as well as a caption by the author, noting any errors or discrepancies in the original captions. In organizing the book this way, each chapter tells the story of that particular photographer, marking the places they passed through and the things they saw and experienced. Being presented in this way, the book becomes a tribute not just to the fighting men captured in the images, but also to the men who risked their lives behind the camera. For those looking for original, never before seen photos of US and German armor in the ETO, we highly recommend this book. Both the content and the presentation are top notch and should prove a valuable reference for both tank historians and model builders. News – J. J. F. Publishing The secondary weapon used was the 7. Unlike most other German vehicles, a ball mount was not used on this vehicle. Instead, the could be fired from two front gun ports located on the left and right of the main gun , which were 13 cm wide. These two machine gun ports were protected with hemispherical-shaped armored covers. After March , the left machine gun port was removed because it was difficult to use. An additional machine gun mount Rundumsfeuer could be placed on top of the superstructure. It could be fired from inside the vehicle. However, the use of the Rundumsfeuer machine gun mount was also deleted early in the production run. The IV was also equipped with the close defense grenade launcher , with some 16 rounds of ammunition high explosive and smoke rounds , located on the vehicle top. But, due to the general lack of resources, not all vehicles were provided with this weapon. In such cases, the Nahverteidigungswaffe opening hole was closed off with a round plate. The commander had a small additional hatch door for the use of a retractable Sf. The commander was also responsible for providing the loader with the ammunition located on the left sidewall. He operated the radio Fu 5 radio set which was located to the right rear and he also doubled as the 7. There was a small opening located above the machine gun which provided the gun operator with a limited view of the front. In this case, the machine gun port could be closed by pivoting the armor cover. The use of this machine gun type is strange, as the usual hull- mounted machine gun in all German armored vehicles was the 7. Nearly all periscopes were protected with an armored flap cover. The crew could enter the vehicle through two hatches located on the top of the vehicle. There was an additional floor escape hatch door in the center of the vehicle that could be used in the case of an emergency. In order to remove any extra weight from the front, most spare parts and auxiliary equipment were moved to the rear engine compartment later during the production. An unknown number of Jagdpanzer IV were modified to be used as Befehlswagen command vehicles. These vehicles had an additional FuG 8 radio station installed in addition to one extra crew member. The Befehlswagen can be easily identified by the added second radio antenna located on the rear left side. From the very start, the new Jagdpanzer IV project was intended to be armed with the longer 7. As these were not available in sufficient numbers, this was initially not possible. Once the 7. After a period of modification and testing in the first half of , production of a new Jagdpanzer IV version armed with the long 7. Due to the obsolescence of the Panzer IV, further attempts were made to find a way of arming it with the long 7. As installation in the turret was not possible, the only practical and real solution was a self-propelled configuration. While intended to be easily constructed, by the end of the war only were actually built. The production of the Jagdpanzer IV was meant to commence with the first 10 vehicles in September The planned production numbers were then meant to be gradually increased by 10 more vehicles each month. The estimated serial production for was to be 10 in September, 20 in October, 30 in November and 40 in December. However, due to many delays, mostly due to the poor quality of the supplied armored superstructures by Witkowitz and the lack of gun mounts, only 10 vehicles were completed in December By the end of January , only 30 were completed and issued to the German Army. By the time the production of the Jagdpanzer IV stopped in November , some vehicles had been built by Vomag. Monthly production besides the first 30 vehicles was 45 in February, 75 in March, in April, 90 in May, in June, in July, 92 in August, 19 in September, 46 in October and the last two in November The sudden drop in numbers in September was due to the Allied bombing of the Vomag factory. Of course, like many other German vehicles, the exact production numbers are different depending on the author. The previously mentioned numbers are according to T. Jentz and H. Doyle Panzer Tracts No. Author T. This number is confirmed by P. Authors K. Mucha and G. Author P. For example, the Panzer Lehr Abteilung had around 31 vehicles. The Jagdpanzer IV had all the characteristics needed to be an excellent tank hunter good speed, armor protection, firepower, small size. It would see action on nearly all fronts the German Army fought on at the time, in the East, in the West and on the Italian front. During the Allied landings in Normandy in June , there were only 62 Jagdpanzer ready for operational service. The was actually the first German unit to be equipped with these vehicles. The 12th SS Panzer Division was to be equipped with 11 additional vehicles, but these did not reach the front until 22nd June. The fighting in was taking a heavy toll on the few Jagdpanzer IV and, for example, by 1st July, the Panzer Lehr Division still had 28 vehicles, but only 9 were fully operational. While Jagdpanzer IV saw extensive service during the Liberation of France, their impact was minimal due to the small numbers available. The 3rd and the 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions were equipped with 31 vehicles each. The majority of the produced Jagdpanzer IVs were deployed on the Eastern Front in an attempt to stop the Soviet advance. They saw heavy action there, but also be used in the role of tanks or assault guns, roles for which it was not designed for. By the end of , there were some operational Jagdpanzer IVs on the Eastern Front, 87 59 operational on the Western Front and only 8 6 operational on the Italian Front. Strangely, the Jagdpanzer IV would see limited combat action after the war. Around five vehicles were given to in by the French, though depending on the sources, it is possible that the Soviets supplied them with these vehicles. During the combat with the Israeli forces in during the 6 Days War, one Jagdpanzer IV was lost when it was hit by a tank round. The remaining were withdrawn from the front and probably placed in reserve or even stored. These IV were still listed in the Syrian army inventory during What became of them is, unfortunately, it is not known. During the Cold War Bulgaria was now part of the Eastern Communist Bloc in order to protect its border with Turkey, the older German supplied armored vehicles were used as static bunkers including the Jagdpanzer IV. After the collapse of the these vehicles were abandoned by the Bulgarian army. They would remain there until when the Bulgarian army made extensive recovering operation in order to salvage these vehicles. One of the salvaged vehicles was a Jagdpanzer IV. The wrecks recovered by the Bulgarian Army can be seen on this video. Today, several vehicles have survived the war around the world. There were three vehicles, including one of the 0-series located in France, at the Saumur Armor Museum. The 0-series vehicle was given to and can be seen in the Panzermuseum Munster together with another Jagdpanzer IV that was already there. One more can be seen in Switzerland at the Panzermuseum Thun. There is also one located in Syria. FHH surrenders and a trip to the Tiger factory. Notable highlights in this book are: a Kfz. IV Ausf. D powered by Triebgas and a full set of Sd. Read more Read less. No customer reviews. How are ratings calculated? Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness. Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon. Verified Purchase. Super interesting subject that has almost nothing previously printed. I hope there will more titles in the future. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery on millions of eligible domestic and international items, in addition to exclusive access to movies, TV shows, and more. Back to top. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping. Sell on Souq. Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers. Audible Download Audio Books. Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web. Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands.

WW2 German Tank Destroyers Archives - Tank Encyclopedia

Their use by this unit was problematic from the start due to a lack of radio operators and mechanics. Additional problems were created by the inexperience of the driver with such fully tracked vehicles. The height of some of these drivers was also problematic, as they had issues entering their positions inside the hull. What was interesting was the fact that the driver would go out of the vehicle during the firing of the main gun. The capacity of the inboard batteries was too weak. For example, they would usually be discharged after only one hour of using the radio with the engine off. This would result in the batteries having no power to start the engine. Then, it had to be manually started by two crew members by using a hand crank, which in practice proved to be difficult to do. One more big flaw was noted during a long off-road marches, with the accumulating mud and earth that could lead to the loss of the rear idler wheels. At least two vehicles were reported to have lost the rear idler. The th Infantry Division operated an anti-tank company with 9 Marder I vehicles after late July One command vehicle based on the and six ammunition transport vehicles based on the Panzer I were also available. In late February , the th Infantry Division was repositioned to the Eastern Front and the Marder I vehicles of the anti-tank company were replaced with 9 towed 7. When it was sent to the Eastern Front in late February , all the Marder Is were replaced with 9 towed 7. By the end of , the 1st Panzer Division was repositioned to France for recuperation and refitting with new weapons and equipment. At this time, it was reinforced with one Marder I company. During , many more units stationed in France would also be reinforced with Marder I vehicles before they were relocated to other fronts. The number of supplied Marder I vehicles varied between each division. For example, the 94th Infantry Division received 14, while the th Infantry Division received only 5. By the end of , there were 94 Marder Is with 83 operational vehicles in Western Europe. In total, at the start of , there were Marder Is available. The last known unit that received a company of 10 vehicles was the th Infantry Division on 13th May While they managed to achieve some success, nearly all were lost with the German defeat in France. The th Infantry Division was the last unit to still possess 7 with 3 operational Marder Is on 27th January Interestingly, at the end of the war, the Belgian resistance managed to capture one Marder I vehicle. As stated previously, OKH plans for the Marder I stated that it was to be used to equip units stationed in France in order to ease maintenance and procurement of spare parts. But, as the demand for such vehicles on the Eastern Front was great, the original plans had to be changed. Through direct orders from the OKH dated from the 9th August , six divisions from Heeresgruppe Mitte were to be equipped with Marder I anti-tank companies. The 31st Infantry Division was reinforced with a Marder I anti-tank company on the 27th of August Due to harsh conditions and strong Soviet resistance, by the end of June , this unit had only 4 Marder I left. By the end of October, the last three Marder I was given to Pz. At the start of , none of these were still operational, with two requiring extensive repairs, while the third could not be repaired. By the end of , only two non-operational vehicles were available. The 36th Motorized Infantry Division was to be reinforced with a Marder I company that was initially attached to the 2nd Panzer Division. By the start of December , all 9 vehicles were operational. The last Marder I vehicle was lost in July The 72nd Infantry Division received 9 Marder I vehicles together with 6 Muni-Anhaenger ammunition and supply wheel trailers on 3rd September When the vehicles arrived, it was noted that there were issues with the breech block mechanism which had to be repaired. Additional problems with breakdowns were also noted. What is interesting is that the Marder I company also had a Panzer 38 t that probably acted as a command vehicle. By the end of June , there were 7 Marder Is operational with the last vehicle being lost by the end of the year. One Marder I company was to be allocated to the th Infantry Division, but this company was instead given to the 72nd Infantry Division. This caused a delay in the delivery of the first five Marder I vehicles up to the end of , with the remaining arriving in January the following year. By the end of June, there were 8 vehicles with 5 operational. By the end of , there were still 7 vehicles with only five operational. Initially, it had eight Marder I vehicles in its inventory, dated from 3rd November At the start of , there were 9 Marder Is with eight operational. By the end of the year, the number of vehicles was reduced to 7 Marder Is, with only three operational. The th Infantry Division would be reinforced with three additional Marder Is vehicles in early This can be seen in a combat report made by Pz. In another report made by Pz. Due to bad weather, low numbers, problems with spare parts and others, not many Marder Is would be used on the Eastern Front and they would be replaced with Marder II and III vehicles which were built on more reliable chassis. While the majority of the Marder Is would be used on the Western and Eastern fronts, few would also be found in . The th Infantry Division was to be resupplied with a Marder I company and, for this reason, the crewmen necessary to operate these vehicles were to be sent to the Sprember training center at the start of December After the completion of the crew training, which lasted two weeks, this company with 9 Marder I and 6 ammunition transport vehicles were to be transported from Naples to Tunisia by using the large Me transport planes. By 1st March , there were 8 vehicles operational with 4 under repair. Due to losses, this company was reinforced with Marder III vehicles based on the Panzer 38 t chassis in early April The Marder I tank hunter was an attempt to solve the problem of the low mobility of towed anti-tank guns, but it failed in many other aspects. The most obvious was the fact that it was built on a captured chassis which led to logistical problems, as spare parts for it would be difficult to find. The low armor thickness meant that, while it could engage enemy tanks at range, any kind of return fire would likely mean the destruction of this vehicle. Its speed and operational range were also not too impressive. The suspension and the running gear were not adequate for the weather condition present on the Eastern Front. In conclusion, the Marder I vehicle was far from perfect, but gave the German a means to increase the mobility of the effective PaK 40 anti-, thus giving them a chance to fight back against enemy armored formations. Marder I on the Eastern Front, winter Marder I in France, September Notice the camouflage nets. Inspiration for the illustrations : RPM, Ironsides model kits. Walter J. Chamberlain and H. Doyle German military Vehicles, Krause Publications. Doyle German Army S. Weapons , M. Almark Publishing Co. During the invasion of the Soviet Union, the encountered the T and KV series tanks , which they had trouble dealing with effectively. Fortunately for the Germans, they also managed to capture large numbers of the 7. This gun was immediately put to use by the German ground forces, but mobility was an issue, so an idea appeared to install this gun on the Panzer II tank chassis in order to increase its mobility. See more videos on our channel. Initially, the lighty protected early Soviet tanks like the BT series and the T proved to be easy prey for the advancing German Panzers. However, the Panzer crews were shocked to discover that their guns were mostly ineffective against the armor of the newer T, KV-1 and KV The stronger 5 cm PaK 38 towed anti-tank gun was only effective at shorter distances and it had not been produced in great numbers by that time. Luckily for the Germans, the new Soviet tanks were immature designs, plagued by inexperienced crews, a lack of spare parts, ammunition and poor operational use. In North Africa, the Germans also faced increasing numbers of Matilda tanks , which also proved to be hard to knock out. This was first issued in very limited numbers at the end of and the start of While it would eventually become the standard German anti-tank gun used until the end of the war, its initial production was slow and thus a temporary solution was needed. During , the German ground forces managed to capture large numbers of field guns of different calibers. One of the guns captured was the After a brief assessment of the characteristics of this gun, the Germans were satisfied with its performance. The gun was given to the army for use under the name Feldkanone FK r. It was at first used as a field gun, but very soon it became clear that it possessed great anti-tank capabilities. For this reason, the 7. The changes involved adding a muzzle brake but not all guns were equipped with it , cutting the gun shield in half the upper part was welded to the lower part of the shield in a similar fashion to the PaK 40 two-part shield , rechambering the gun to 7. After these changes, the gun was renamed 7. D and E tank chassis. The designers and engineers threw themselves into the work of designing and building the first prototype. The prototype was built quickly, mainly due to its relatively simple construction. The Panzer II Flamm chassis was unchanged, but the majority of the superstructure except for the front plate and the turret were removed. On the back of the engine compartment a gun mount with the 7. Additionally, the front and the sides were protected by extended armored plates. Its armor was designed to protect against small-caliber fire and shrapnel. As its primary mission was to engage enemy tanks and to act as fire support at long range from carefully selected combat positions, thick armor was not necessary, at least in theory. The first German tank that was produced in great numbers was the Panzer I. As it was armed with only two machine guns and was lightly protected, its combat potential was quite limited. For these reasons, the Panzer II was developed to overcome the many shortcomings of the previous Panzer I model. Its main armament consisted of one 20 mm and one machine gun. The maximum armor protection was initially only During , new versions of the Panzer II, the Ausf. D and E, were developed and adopted for service. They had the same armament and turret but with a modified superstructure and most importantly used a new which ran on four larger road wheels without any return rollers. While the Panzer II Ausf. D and E did see combat action in , due to their poor suspension performance, less than 50 vehicles would be built. In , the German army was interested in the development of a flame-throwing Panzer to be used as an anti-bunker weapon. As the Panzer II Ausf. D and E were rejected from service, their chassis were chosen for this modification. By March , around had been produced, but their performance was deemed inadequate mostly due to weak armor and the poor performance of the flame projector system. As these Panzer II flamm were returned from the front lines and due to the high demand for mobile anti-tank vehicles, the Germans once again reused the chassis for this new role. Starting from April , all available Panzer II flamm chassis would be reused for this purpose. Upon its adoption on 1st April , it was designated 7. II F Sfl. In June , this was changed to Pz. II Ausf. D1 und D2. In September , a much simpler name was given: 7. For the sake of simplicity, this article will use the Marder II designation. Care should be taken not to mistake this vehicle with the other Marder II, the Pz. II als Sfl. Due to the inadequate combat performance of the Panzer II flamm, the production of the second series of vehicles was canceled. However, M. N which was responsible for its production was tasked with delivering these chassis to Alkett for the construction of new Marder II vehicles. Alkett was ordered to produce the first 45 vehicles in April, followed by 75 in May and the last 30 in June Somewhat unusually for German production standards, all vehicles were completed before the deadline, with 60 in April and the remaining 90 by mid-May. The completion of this production order was slow, as it was dependent on the available Panzer II flamm chassis. In , 8 more Marder II vehicles would be built. These conversions would be carried out by Wegmann from Kassel. It should be noted that the Marder II utilized both the Ausf. D1 and Ausf. D2 chassis. These had only minor differences, the main one being the drive sprocket, which had 11 spokes on the Ausf. D1 and 8 spokes on the Ausf. It appears to be the case that all of the new-build Marder IIs utilized the Ausf. D2 chassis, while those converted from older Panzer II flamm chassis were based upon the Ausf. D1 chassis. D and E. This version used a torsion bar suspension in contrast to the leaf spring suspension used on the majority of the Panzer IIs. In some sources like Z. Borawski and J. This is false. The Christie suspension used large helical springs placed vertically or diagonally in the side of the hull, not torsion bars. The larger wheels had a diameter of mm. There was also a front-drive sprocket and a rear positioned idler on each side, but no return rollers. This produced hp rpm. The operational range was km on good roads and km cross country. The total fuel capacity for this vehicle was liters. The Marder II crew compartment was separated from the engine by a 12 mm thick protective firewall. These armored plates were slightly angled, for extra protection. To the rear, initially, a wire mesh frame was added, possibly to make the construction easier and to reduce weight. Its main purpose was to serve as a storage area for equipment and spent ammo cartridges. During the production run, this was replaced with armor plates. An extended armored shield was added around the gun, the design of which would be slightly changed during the production. The Marder II was an open-top vehicle and, for this reason, a canvas cover was provided to protect the crew from bad weather. It appears that some vehicles had a metal frame added to the gun compartment, possibly used to help hold down the canvas cover. Another possibility was that it served as an extra security measure for the crews lest they accidentally fall out of the vehicle. The armor thickness of the Marder II hull was relatively thin by the standards of The maximum front hull armor was 35 mm, while the sides and rear were only The new superstructure was also only lightly protected, with The gun was protected by a standard armor shield which was extended to cover the sides. Spare tracks could be added on the front armor plate to act as extra protection, but in reality, this offered only a limited improvement. The main gun chosen for the Marder II was the modified ex-Soviet 7. The total ammunition load consisted of only 30 rounds, placed in ammunition bins located just below the gun, inside the Marder II hull. In order to relieve the stress on the elevation and traverse mechanisms during long drives, two travel locks were added, one at the front and one to the rear. While most 7. They were possibly either discarded by their crews, damaged or more likely never fitted due to the urgent need for such vehicles. The Marder II had a crew of four men, which, according to T. Doyle in Panzer Tracts No. Ledwoch, in their Marder II book, mentions that the crew consisted of the commander, radio operator, loader, and driver. Taking T. On the other hand, according to Z. Ledwoch, the crew positioning would be different, with the commander serving as the gunner and placed left of the main gun. While sources cite only four crew members, interestingly, Marder II photographs often show one more crew member present. On his right side was the radio operator. The radio equipment used was the FuG Spr d transmitter and receiver. For observing the surroundings, the crew positioned in the hull had two standard front vision ports. One of these two men would also have the task of releasing the forward travel lock. In addition, the crew positioned in the hull could also supply the gun operators with the ammunition rounds which were stored inside the hull. In the rear gun compartment were the positions for the gunner and the loader. The gunner was positioned on the left and the loader to the right. The loader also operated the MG 34 used against enemy infantry and soft skin targets. To avoid being hit by enemy fire, crew in the gun compartment were sometimes provided with movable periscopes for observation. For crew communication, an internal telephone was used. These were divided into 3 vehicle-strong platoons Zuge. Each platoon was to have one Sd. Of course, due to a general lack of such supply vehicles, it is likely that this was never truly implemented. Interestingly, despite the fact that each anti-tank company was meant to have 9 vehicles, some were instead only equipped with 6. By the time of the German campaign on the Eastern Front, nearly all available Marder II vehicles in total were ready for service. In July , there were plans to equip the 14th and 16th Panzer Divisions with Marder I based on captured French fully tracked chassis vehicles. Due to logistical problems, these were instead each issued with 6 Marder II. Due to the disastrous German losses suffered by the end of , the majority of Marder II tank destroyers would be lost, either to enemy fire or just being abandoned due to a lack of fuel or spare parts. Due to extensive losses suffered the previous year, there were only small numbers available during the Operation Zidatelle in June of The units that still possessed operational Marder IIs were the 31st Infantry Division with 4, 4th and 6th Panzer Divisions with 1 each, the th self-propelled anti-tank battalion with 4, the th self-propelled anti-tank battalion with 3 1 in repair , the 16th Panzer Grenadier Division with 7 and the Leibstandarte SS Division and the SS Panzer Division Wiking with 1 vehicle each. In total, there were only 23 vehicles left on the Eastern Front. In the West, there were 7 vehicles with 1 in repair, operated by the Ersatz und Ausbildungs Regiment H. By August , there were only two units equipped with the Marder II. These were the 1st self-propelled anti-tank battalion with 10 and the 8th self-propelled anti-tank battalion with 5 vehicles. By March , the number of Marder IIs had dropped to only 6 vehicles. The th self-propelled anti-tank battalion reported similar successes up to mid-July , with 17 T, 4 KV-1 and 1 tank marked only as a T 8 possibly a misprint for the loss of only one Marder II. This unit also gave reports about the distances from which the Soviet tanks were destroyed. The T were mainly engaged at ranges from to meters, with the 7. Two Ts were destroyed by side hits at ranges of 1. One KV-1 was reportedly destroyed when hit from the side at a range of 1. In this report, the effectiveness of the 7. The high-explosive rounds were also effective against enemy machine gun nests and even against earthen bunkers. However, firing the gun could create large dust clouds which made finding targets difficult. The Marder II was provided with two travel locks. While the rear one performed well, the front one was prone to malfunctions. Cooperation with infantry formations proved to be problematic. The infantry commanders would often call for the Marder II to engage enemy tanks offensively in unfavorable situations, for example if the enemy tanks were dug in or on higher ground. Interestingly, on some vehicles, the gun sunk down a bit, meaning that the gun could not be traversed. To solve this problem, a few millimeters of the side armor had to be cut off. The low ammunition load and the lack of more mobile machine gun mounts were another issue. The gas pedals were too weak and prone to malfunctions, so spare gas pedals were in great demand. Radio equipment was also of poor quality and improved models were requested. The Marder II also lacked space for the storage of spare parts and other equipment. Ingenious crews would often add wooden boxes to the rear. The lack of a command vehicle for the company commander was deemed problematic. Adding a fifth crew member to direct the operational employment was proven to have merit. The Marder II was an attempt to solve the problem of the low mobility of towed anti-tank guns but, unfortunately for the Germans, it failed in many other aspects. The low armor thickness coupled with its large silhouette meant that, while it could engage enemy tanks at range, any kind of return fire would likely mean the destruction of this vehicle. The small ammunition load was also problematic for its crew. Even so, while the Marder II vehicles were not perfect, they gave the Germans a means to increase the mobility of the effective 7. Marder II Ausf. D-1, Russia, fall E, Russia, fall D-2, Kursk, summer Ledwoch Marder II, Militaria. Oswald Kraftfahrzeuge und Panzer, Motorbuch Verlag. Hutchins Tanks and other fighting vehicles, Bounty Book. I ohne turm, which was in essence just a 4. Initially, the lightly protected Soviet early tanks like the BT series and the T proved to be easy prey for the advancing German Panzers. However, the Panzer crews were shocked to discover that their guns were mostly ineffective against the armor of the newer T, the KV-1 and KV Luckily for the Germans, the new Soviets tanks were immature designs, plagued by inexperienced crews, a lack of spare parts, ammunition and poor operational use. It was an excellent anti-tank gun, but the main problem with it was its heavy weight, making it somewhat difficult to deploy and hard to manhandle. Notwithstanding these limitations, they were armed with an effective anti-tank gun, and usually with one machine gun. On 13th May , he informed Adolf Hitler about the current state of Panzer II production and the possibility of using this tank for the purpose of an anti-tank modification. Hitler was generally interested in this modification and gave a green light for its implementation. F by arming it with the 7. There was also a second version of the Marder II development earlier in April, but this version was based on the Panzer Ausf. D chassis and armed with the captured Soviet 7. N for this task. -Borsig was charged with adapting the main gun, Alkett with constructing and designing the main superstructure and M. N was responsible for modifying the Panzer II chassis. The prototype was to be built by mid-June On 20th June , a prototype vehicle was presented to the OKH, which proved to be satisfactory and thus it was adopted for production. As it was armed only with two machine guns and was lightly protected, its combat potential was quite limited. Its main armament consisted of one 20 mm main gun and one machine gun. It would be produced in several versions with some differences like armor thickness and different suspension, but the armament would remain mostly the same. While its own combat potential was not that great, it was nevertheless used in great numbers some were ready in July , as the Germans were still struggling to mass-produce the better Panzer III and IV. By , due to attrition and obsolescence, Panzer II numbers began to dwindle and the surviving vehicles were allocated to be reused for other purposes, most notably for the Marder II and self-propelled gun. On 20th June , it was known as the Pz. The next month, this was changed to 7. In December , this became 7. In March , the name was changed to Panz. II fuer 7. This would then be followed up by 50 in August and September, 57 in October and November, 67 in December, January and February and the last 68 in March Actual production numbers were much different: 18 in July , 50 in August, 55 in September, 59 in October, 62 in November, 83 in December, 80 in January and 45 in February. In addition, there was a decision to increase the production of Marder III vehicles based on the Panzer 38 t. For these reasons, the production of Marder II was delayed by a few months. Production resumed in May at a reduced pace with 46 being built and with the last 33 being completed in June N companies were contracted to convert any available vehicle even older versions into the Marder II. The conversion could be relatively easily carried out by simply removing the Panzer II turret and superstructure. How many were actually built this way is hard to say. The first converted vehicles were not recorded in these registries, as these were included in the standard monthly production. Interestingly, a small number of Marder II were actually built by front units. Some new Marder II tank destroyers were produced, 68 were converted from older vehicles and at least 10 were field conversions. In total, according to T. The number of newly built Marder IIs is also supported by Z. Ledwoch Marder II, Militaria , but they state that 75 vehicles were converted. Other sources, like D. Doyle German military Vehicles mention that new vehicles and 75 converted vehicles were built. It consisted of five large x 98x mm road wheels on each side which had rubber rims. Above each wheel, on a rocker arm, a quarter elliptical leaf spring unit with a movable roller was placed. The added gun, ammunition, armor and other changes lead to an increase of weight from 9. To successfully cope with this extra weight, the Panzer II suspension was additionally strengthened by widening the leaf springs above the wheels. In addition, vertical volute shock absorbers were added on the first, second, and last road wheels on each side. There was also a front drive sprocket with a diameter of mm , a rear positioned idler mm diameter and four return rollers mm x mm on each side. The track had a width of mm with a length of mm. The total track weight was kg. The driveshaft went from the engine through the right side of the crew compartment and was connected to the forward-mounted transmission system. Around the gun, an armored superstructure with a relatively simple design was added for the crew protection. These armored plates were slightly angled, but the armor thickness was quite low. To avoid being hit by enemy fire, the crews were sometimes provided with movable periscopes for observation. Extra equipment like shovels, cables, and spare tracks were usually stored outside the superstructure. Additional storage wooden boxes were often added by the crew for extra equipment. The front hull armor was 35 mm, sides and rear were only 15 mm and the bottom was 10 mm thick. The new superstructure was also only lightly protected, with a 10 mm thick front and side armor. The gun was protected by a standard armor shield which consisted of two 4 mm thick separated armored plates. The main gun chosen for the Marder II was the standard 7. This gun, with its modified mount, was placed directly on the left side of the Panzer II hull. This was done in order to provide the loader with more working space. The total ammunition load consisted of 37 rounds placed in three ammunition bins located above the engine compartment. The largest, with 24 rounds, was placed on the left side. In the middle, there was space for 7 and the last 6 were in the right ammunition bin. In order to relieve the stress on the elevation and traverse mechanisms during long drives, two travel locks were added, one at the front to support the barrel and one in the crew compartment. Other sources, for example W. Davies Panzerjager, German anti-tank battalions of World War Two , give a number of four crew members. Oswald Kraftfahrzeuge und Panzer also noted that the crew count was four. Author R. The reason why authors state different numbers of crew members is not clear. To complicate matters further, photographs of the Marder II with both two and three crew members in the rear fighting compartment exist besides the driver, who was in his own compartment at the front. He was the only crew member that was fully protected. For observing the surroundings, he was provided with a standard front vision port with two additional smaller ones on each side. The driver could close the visor in combat situations. In this case, he could use the small twin periscope type K. This periscope was completely removed from January on. Some vehicles were provided with a dummy front visor which was added right of the driver. Its purpose was to fool enemy gunners. The driver could enter his position from the crew compartment or through a small rectangular hatch door in front of him. The driver was also the radio operator but, according to authors Z. Ledwoch Marder II, Militaria , this task was reassigned to the gunner during the war. The Marder II was provided with a transmitter and receiver radio set and, in addition, with an intercom set. The last but maybe the most important task of the driver was to manually release the forward travel lock. In an unexpected combat situation, this would mean that he had to expose himself to potential enemy fire. For driving at night, initially, two front-mounted headlights were used. Later in production, only one was kept. The commander, who was also the gunner if the crew was only composed of 3 soldiers, was positioned to the left of the main gun. To his right was the loader. The commander and the driver communicated by using an internal telephone. By the end of , the number of vehicles per company had increased by one more vehicle. This was the case for normal companies attached to Infantry or Panzer Divisions. At the same time, the independent army anti-tank battalions received one more command vehicle and the overall strength was to reach 45 operational vehicles in theory. Of course, in reality, due to high demand, insufficient numbers built, and combat losses these numbers were never fully achieved. Due to increased losses and as more advanced anti-tank vehicles were introduced for service, the surviving Marder IIs were mostly allocated to Infantry and Grenadier Divisions in the later stages of the war. With the production of first Marder II, the OKH ordered the formation of the first anti-tank companies which were to be given to the 3rd, 9th, 13th and 24th Panzer Divisions during the period of July to August These plans would not materialize as planned and there were some delays in deliveries. While intended to be easily constructed, by the end of the war only were actually built. The production of the Jagdpanzer IV was meant to commence with the first 10 vehicles in September The planned production numbers were then meant to be gradually increased by 10 more vehicles each month. The estimated serial production for was to be 10 in September, 20 in October, 30 in November and 40 in December. However, due to many delays, mostly due to the poor quality of the supplied armored superstructures by Witkowitz and the lack of gun mounts, only 10 vehicles were completed in December By the end of January , only 30 were completed and issued to the German Army. By the time the production of the Jagdpanzer IV stopped in November , some vehicles had been built by Vomag. Monthly production besides the first 30 vehicles was 45 in February, 75 in March, in April, 90 in May, in June, in July, 92 in August, 19 in September, 46 in October and the last two in November The sudden drop in numbers in September was due to the Allied bombing of the Vomag factory. Of course, like many other German vehicles, the exact production numbers are different depending on the author. The previously mentioned numbers are according to T. Jentz and H. Doyle Panzer Tracts No. Author T. This number is confirmed by P. Authors K. Mucha and G. Author P. For example, the Panzer Lehr Abteilung had around 31 vehicles. The Jagdpanzer IV had all the characteristics needed to be an excellent tank hunter good speed, armor protection, firepower, small size. It would see action on nearly all fronts the German Army fought on at the time, in the East, in the West and on the Italian front. During the Allied landings in Normandy in June , there were only 62 Jagdpanzer ready for operational service. The Panzer Lehr Division was actually the first German unit to be equipped with these vehicles. The 12th SS Panzer Division was to be equipped with 11 additional vehicles, but these did not reach the front until 22nd June. The fighting in France was taking a heavy toll on the few Jagdpanzer IV and, for example, by 1st July, the Panzer Lehr Division still had 28 vehicles, but only 9 were fully operational. While Jagdpanzer IV saw extensive service during the Liberation of France, their impact was minimal due to the small numbers available. The 3rd and the 15th Panzer Grenadier Divisions were equipped with 31 vehicles each. The majority of the produced Jagdpanzer IVs were deployed on the Eastern Front in an attempt to stop the Soviet advance. They saw heavy action there, but also be used in the role of tanks or assault guns, roles for which it was not designed for. By the end of , there were some operational Jagdpanzer IVs on the Eastern Front, 87 59 operational on the Western Front and only 8 6 operational on the Italian Front. Strangely, the Jagdpanzer IV would see limited combat action after the war. Around five vehicles were given to Syria in by the French, though depending on the sources, it is possible that the Soviets supplied them with these vehicles. During the combat with the Israeli forces in during the 6 Days War, one Jagdpanzer IV was lost when it was hit by a tank round. The remaining were withdrawn from the front and probably placed in reserve or even stored. These Jagdpanzers IV were still listed in the Syrian army inventory during What became of them is, unfortunately, it is not known. During the Cold War Bulgaria was now part of the Eastern Communist Bloc in order to protect its border with Turkey, the older German supplied armored vehicles were used as static bunkers including the Jagdpanzer IV. After the collapse of the Soviet Union these vehicles were abandoned by the Bulgarian army. They would remain there until when the Bulgarian army made extensive recovering operation in order to salvage these vehicles. One of the salvaged vehicles was a Jagdpanzer IV. The wrecks recovered by the Bulgarian Army can be seen on this video. Today, several vehicles have survived the war around the world. There were three vehicles, including one of the 0-series located in France, at the Saumur Armor Museum. The 0-series vehicle was given to Germany and can be seen in the Panzermuseum Munster together with another Jagdpanzer IV that was already there. One more can be seen in Switzerland at the Panzermuseum Thun. There is also one located in Syria. This was never implemented and, instead of Sturmartillerie units, it was allocated to Panzer units. Both had the same gun, but the Jagdpanzer IV had a more effective and much simpler armor design. While an effective tank destroyer, it could be considered a waste of time and resources as the Panzer IV was already in production, had the same gun but mounted in a turret, increasing its effectiveness. It was built too late and in too few numbers to really have any impact on the whole war. Early production Jagdpanzer IV. Chamberlain and H. Chamberlain and T. Doyle German Military Vehicles, Krause Publications. Pen and Sword Military. Spielberger Ledwoch Bulgaria , Militaria. Germans Tanks of ww2. Your 3rd colour plate is wrong, 15th panzer division was destroyed in Tunisia in Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Close Menu WW1 Tanks. German Empire. Kingdom of Italy. United Kingdom. WW2 Tanks. Soviet Union. The Netherlands. New Zealand. Cold War Tanks. Panzerwrecks Books Military Modelling Panzerwrecks By Robin Buckland Number 18 in the series of Panzerwreck books is the latest release, The lost Panzer Division and the wreck of Marburg Recent Interesting Timeline. Panzer Tank wreck, somewhere in the woods Tank wreck, somewhere in the woods Panzerwrecks author William Auerbach passes away Tank Panzerwrecks author William Auerbach passes away. Post a Comment. All Rights Reserved saraliveitwell. RSS Feed Login. Labels: NEW. Newer Post Older Post Home. Search This Blog. About Me elisamollie25 View my complete profile. Powered by Blogger.

https://files8.webydo.com/9590989/UploadedFiles/C23CB0F1-EC4B-2E26-5448-2A17033F5A09.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9587808/UploadedFiles/259806AE-E217-9520-9743-B6174DCFCCF0.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/25ce3f34-5088-4e4a-bb73-f5b02f966103/geschichte-der-vormals-kaiserlichen-freien-reichsstadt-goslar- am-harze-432.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/c0207827-2a00-42d9-93d8-1e92adcb1b5a/die-ikonoklastische-synode-von-hiereia-754-text- uebersetzung-und-kommentar-ihres-horos-522.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/a66663e2-6f3a-47c8-98d9-4f0546c11f91/ausgewahlte-briefe-aus-ciceronischer-zeit-vol-1-text-classic- reprint-607.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9589960/UploadedFiles/7FE4AA97-ADF9-D755-DF1D-2290AC87B769.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/bb1bc40f-f281-47b6-b464-b3c17ef0df19/ardbeg-das-juwel-von-islay-245.pdf