- For the Steel Division II unit see SD2:Marder II
Marder II is a German Anti-tank unit.
Overview[ | ]
Sd.Kfz. 121 (VK 6.22 before adoption) was intended to be a stop-gap tank, to give Germany's fledgling panzer units proper fighting tanks immediately, due to delays in Panzer III and Panzer IV production. It was an evolution of the Panzer I, equipped with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 autocannon (KwK 38 in later versions) and a coaxial MG 34, light armor (later severely thickened due to the experiences of the Spanish Civil War), decent mobility and range. Though intended to be a stopgap model, it eventually became the principal light tank of the Reich for most of World War II, with production ceasing in 1943. Nearly 1 900 tanks were manufactured by that point, and the Panzer II together with its various conversions remained in service until the end of the war.
A practical solution to the problem of fighting Soviet tanks, the Marder II (Marten II) combined the reliable Panzer II chassis with a powerful anti-tank gun in a tall, casemate mounting. The early versions (Sd.Kfz. 132) were pressed into service rapidly in 1942, and mounted captured F-22 obr. 1936 field guns on Ausf. D and E chassis, providing much needed firepower against T-34 and KV-1 tanks. The second generation of Marders used the PaK 40 75mm gun on an Ausf. F chassis. This version, the Sd.Kfz. 131, was more thought out, shorter by 40 cm and with a more spacious interior. 202 early and 130 late model Marder IIs were manufactured between 1942 and 1943.
First Company of the 352. Panzerjäger Abteilung had 14 Marder II and Marder III.
Strategy[ | ]
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