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Panzerkampfwagen II light tank |
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To bridge the gap until the arrival ofthe PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV tanks, adecision was made in 1934 to order aninterim model which became knownas the Panzerkampfwagen II.Development contracts were awardedto Henschel, Krupp and MAN underthe designation Industrial Tractor 100(LaS 100) to conceal its true role. Afterevaluation of these prototypes theMAN model was selected for furtherdevelopment, MAN being responsiblefor the chassis and Daimler-Benz forthe superstructure. Production waseventually undertaken also by Famo,MIAO and Wegmann, and the tankformed the backbone of the Germanarmoured divisions during the invasionof France, about 1,000 being in frontline service. The tank was also used inthe invasion of the USSR in thefollowing year although by that time itwas obsolete, had inadequate armourprotection and lacked firepower. Itwas in fact intended primarily as atraining machine rather than for actualcombat.The first production PzKpfw II AusfA vehicles were delivered in 1935, andwere armed with a 20-mm cannon and7.92-mm (0.31-in) co-axial machinegun.There was a three-man crew, andcombat weight was 7,2 tonnes. Testswith the early production modelsshowed that the vehicle was underpoweredwith its 130-hp (97-kW) engine,so the PzKpfw II Ausf B was introducedwith a 140-hp (104-kW) engineand other improvements (notablythicker frontal armour) which pushedup its weight to just under 8 tonnes, ThePzKpfw II Ausf C was introduced in1937, and had better armour protection.Additionally, the small bogiewheels were replaced by five independently-sprung bogies with leafsprings on each side, and this was toremain the basic suspension for all remainingproduction vehicles. In 1938the PzKpfw II Ausf D and PzKpfw IIAusf E were introduced, with new torsion-bar suspensison which gave thema much increased road speed of55 km/h (34 mph), although crosscountryspeed was slower than that ofthe earlier models. The final productionmodel of the series was thePzKpfw II Ausf F, which appeared in1940-1 and which was uparmoured to35 mm (1.38 in) on the front and 20 mm(0.79 in) on the sides, this pushing upthe total weight to just under 10 tonnesand consequently reducing the speedof the vehicle, which was felt to beacceptable because of the greaterprotection provided.The hull and turret of the PzKpfw IIwas of welded steel construction, withthe driver at the front, two-man turretin the centre offset to the left, and theengine at the rear. Armament consistedof a 20-mm cannon (for which180 rounds were provided) on the leftside of the turret, and a 7.92-mm (0.31-m) machine-gun (for which 1,425rounds were carried) on the right ofthe turret.The PzKpfw II was also used as thebasis for a number of fast reconnaissancetanks called the Luchs (thisname was subsequently adopted bythe new West German Army in the1970s for its 8x8 reconnaissance vehicle)but these and similar vehicleswere not built in large numbers.One of the more interesting vehicleswas the special amphibious model developedfor the invasion of England in1940. This model was propelled in thewater at a speed of 10 km/h (6 mph) bya propeller run off the main engine. Amodel with two flamethrowers wasalso produced as the Flammpanzer II;100 of these were in service by 1942.When the basic tank was obsoletethe chassis was quickly adopted formany other roles, One of the first ofthese was a self-propelled anti-tankgun using captured Soviet 76.2-mm (3-in) guns and called the Marder I. Thiswas followed by a model called theMarder II with a 7.5-cm (2,95-m) Germananti-tank gun, and some 1,200 ofthese were converted or built, TheWespe was a self-propelled gun fittedwith a 10.5-cm howitzer and was producedin Poland until 1944.Armed with a 20-mm cannon, some1000 PzKpfw IIs were used duringthe Polish campaign.SpecificationPzKpfw II Ausf FCrew: 3Weight: 10000 kg (22,046 lb)Dimensions: length 4.64 m (15 ft 3 in);width2.30 m (7 ft 6.5 in); height 2.02 m(6 ft 7.5 in)Powerplant: one Maybach sixcylinderpetrol engine developing140hp(104kW)Performance: maximum road speed55 km/h (34 mph); maximum roadrange 200 km (125 miles); fording0.85 m (2 ft 10 in); gradient 50 per cent;vertical obstacle 0.42 m ( 1 ft 5 in); trf-nrh 1 VRmrR ftQ ini
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