Tag Archives: german

Vehicles and equipment from Germany

German Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger I, Ausf. E (Early version) (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 216-4000 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger I, Ausf E – Early version’.

German Panzerkampfwagen VI, Tiger I, Ausf E - Early version

History

It was the end of 1942 when a German heavy tank with extra thick armor and a powerful main gun first appeared on the North African front. The new tank, long-desired by the German soldiers who had hard-fought battles against the allies, became known as the Tiger I Ausf. E.

Development of the Tiger I began at the end of May 1941. The German Army Weapons Branch ordered the Henschel firm to vie with Porsche in producing a prototype. The first prototypes underwent trials on April 1942. The result of these and subsequent trial showed the superiority of the Henschel vehicle to the Porsche’s, and thus production orders were placed for it. The Henschel’s prototype had thick armor of 100mm at the front and 80mm on both sides, and the main gun was the then most potent, the 8.8cm KwK 36 L/56. The powerplant was Maybach’s HL 210 P45, yielding 650 horsepower.

Mass production started already in August 1942 with little alteration from the prototype. Starting from November 1942, air pre-cleaners were added on the rear hull plate. The mantlet was partly strengthened and “S” mine dischargers were fitted on five mounting points around the hull roof beginning from December. Moreover, a loader’s periscope was fitted from January 1943. The Tiger I produced from November 1942 to July 1943 featured these modifications, are referred to as the early production. About 200 units of these early production versions were produced.

Source: Tamiya website

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German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 215-2600 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L’.

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. L

History

The German Pz.Kpfw.III, along with the IV, played an active part in the early stages of WWII as their mainstrength tanks. However when they encountered the Russian KV and T-34 tanks on the Eastern Front, the weakness of the Pz.Kpfw.III was revealed and the balance of power tipped in favor of the Russians. Thus the Pz.Kpfw.III underwent constant improvement throughout its career to maintain an advantage. The Pz.Kpfw.III had a number of types, from the A to N. Among them, the Ausf. L was produced from July 1942.

As it was manufactured at the existing tank factory, the basic performance and structure were the same as previous versions with a few modifications. Armament consisted of an improved, long barreled Kwk50 L/60 tank gun, which was effective against the Russian T34 tanks up to a range of 600m, plus two 7.92mm MG34 machine guns. The armor of the front superstructure was increased to 57mm in thickness, and a 20mm thick spaced armor was added to the gun mantlet as well, which increased the tank’s weight by 200kg.

To cope with the added weight, the suspension system was also strengthened. The powerplant was a Maybach HL120TRM, V-12, water cooled engine producing 300 horsepower. In total 635 Ausf. L’s were produced by the end of 1942, and many of them saw active service on the Eastern Front and the North African Front. Although its roll was shortly replaced by the Tiger I and the Panther, the durable chassis of the Pz.Kpfw.III was used for self-propelled guns till the end of the war.

Source: Tamiya website

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German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track Famo and Tank Transporter (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 246 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track Famo and Tank Transporter’.

German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track Famo and Tank Transporter

History

As World War II progressed, the vehicles used on the battlefields became larger and larger. When these mammoth machines broke down or became damaged, the task of bringing them back from the front lines was not an easy one. This need was especially felt by the German Wehrmacht, who were fighting on a wide range of battlegrounds: from the scorching desert of North Africa to the railroad lacking plains of Russia. Bringing damaged vehicles back from these difficult conditions was indispensable to replenishing fighting strength to the army.

The German 18 Ton Heavy Half-Track “FAMO” and Tank Transporter Sd.Ah.116 was one of the vehicles that contributed to this task. Including all variations, over 2500 18 ton half-tracks were produced by the end of the WWII. One of the major types was the tank recovery half-track, which was a mighty towing vehicle equipped with two rows of seats and a flatbed in back for the storage of equipment such as a draw-bar and spare wire rope. Tool storage compartments were found on each of the outer sides of the flatbed. In addition, the underside of a vehicle was equipped with a winch.

Its powerplant was a Maybach HL 108 12-cylinder engine, which put out 270hp. Tank transporting was conducted by either direct towing with a draw bar, or by loading the tank atop a massive trailer. Officially known as “Sd.Ah.116”, the Type 116 Trailer connected with the 18ton heavy half track, which allowed for the transportation of 22-23 ton class tanks such as the Pz.Kpfw.III, Pz.Kpfw.IV and other heavy artillery.

Source: Tamiya website

Manufacturer

German 6×4 Truck, Krupp Protze, Personnel Carrier (Tamiya)

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This is the Tamiya 35 317-2000 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German 6×4 Truck, Krupp Protze, Personnel Carrier’.

German 6x4 Truck, Krupp Protze, Personnel Carrier

History

German’s Early-WWII Best Partner – The Sd.Kfz.70 was widely used by the German Army to transport troops and supplies during the early stages of the WWII.

It featured a sloped hood that housed a compact air-cooled inline 4-cylinder engine as well as rear double wishbone independent suspension which offered a superb off-road capability. The large cargo area was fitted with bench seats.

The Sd.Kfz.70s were produced from 1993 to 1942 and were widely deployed with infantry units, etc. Many of them deployed to frontlines were equipped with a tripod-mounted MG34 machine gun.

Source: Tamiya website

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  • Hobbymesse 2012

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. F (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6632 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. F’.

Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. F

History

Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III Sd Kfz. 141 (abbreviated PzKpfw III) translating as “armoured fighting vehicle”.

It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside the infantry-supporting Panzer IV. However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, stronger anti-tank guns were needed. Since the Panzer IV had a bigger turret ring, the role was reversed. The Panzer IV mounted the long barreled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and engaged in tank-to-tank battles.

The Panzer III became obsolete in this role and for most purposes was supplanted by the Panzer IV. From 1942, the last version of Panzer III mounted the 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24, better suited for infantry support. Production of the Panzer III ended in 1943. However, the Panzer III’s capable chassis provided hulls for the Sturmgeschütz III until the end of the war.

Source: Wikipedia

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German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. C (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6291 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. C’.

German Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. C

History

The Panzerkampfwagen IV (Pz.Kpfw.IV), more commonly referred to as the Panzer IV, was a tank developed by Germany and used extensively in World War II. It was designed initially as an infantry-support medium tank, to work in conjunction with the anti-tank Pzkpfw III. Later in the war, it was up-gunned and up-armored, and took over the tank-fighting role.

The Panzer IV was the most common German tank of World War II, and was used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, such as tank destroyers and self-propelled antiaircraft gun.

The Panzer IV has the distinction of being the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout all of WWII, with over 9,000 produced since 1939. Only 138 “C” versions were made between 1938 and 1939.

Source: Dragon website

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German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. J (Initial production) (Dragon)

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This is the Dragon 6463 kit in 1/35 scale, of the ‘German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. J – Initial production’.

German Panzerkampfwagen III, Ausf. J - Initial production

History

The Panzer III was Germany’s main battle tank for the first couple of years of WWII, with earlier Panzer IV variants serving primarily as close-support weapons. However, after Pz.Kpfw.III tanks began encountering more heavily armored T-34 and KV-1 tanks during the invasion of Russia, existing Panzer III models were found to be inadequate for the task.

One solution was to up-gun the tank with a longer and more powerful 5cm KwK 38 L/42 cannon, and to add more armor to the vehicle. Thus the Panzer III Ausf. J was born. It featured 50mm-thick solid armor plates on the front and rear of the hull, an increase from the previous 30mm-thick armor plates.

Among other modifications, the new armor resulted in a ball-mount MG being fitted on the front superstructure and a redesigned driver’s visor.

Source: Dragon website

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