to favorites to favorites from favorites 0

By the beginning of World War II, specialists from the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army (GABTU KA) had a rather vague idea of ​​​​what the armored vehicles of a potential enemy were. Approximately the same, however, can be said about their colleagues from the allied countries of the USSR in the not yet created anti-Hitler coalition. For quite objective reasons, there was little available information about the tanks of Germany and its allies. Basically, it was limited to reference books, which sinned with inaccuracies. A full-fledged study of foreign technology became possible only after the outbreak of hostilities. In this sense, the USSR was almost ahead of the rest. The first trophies began to arrive from Spain, they were German Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf.A and Italian L3 / 35. In the summer of 1939, a Japanese Ha-Go light tank was captured in the Far East. The beginning of World War II significantly expanded the list of trophies, among which was the German light tank Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C.

Quietly took out and left - is called "found"

Despite the fact that the Pz.Kpfw.II was absent from the Soviet reference books of 1939, this tank became known even before the start of the war. Here it is worth dwelling separately on how this vehicle was designated in the USSR - a rather important question, since it explains the legend that the Pz.Kpfw.II was allegedly used in Spain. In some materials, even the year of the combat debut is called - 1938, despite the fact that the Germans themselves "do not admit" this. There are no Pz.Kpfw.II tanks in the list of tanks supplied to the Francoists.

The answer lies in the notation used in the Soviet Union. In 1939, a “light tank type II” appears in Soviet documents, which, apparently, became the source of the myth. The piquancy of what is happening is that under the "light tank type II" was meant ... Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf.B. This is how this tank was designated on information posters issued in October 1939. Moreover, in some reference books of the war period, this tank continues to be designated in the same way - despite the fact that at the same time it was also designated as the "German light tank T-Ia". Such confusion probably gave birth to the myth about the use of the Pz.Kpfw.II in Spain.

​A clear demonstration of what exactly in Soviet reference books was referred to as the "German T-II tank"

Meanwhile, along with the “light tank Type II”, or T-II, even before the start of the war, it was known about another vehicle - the “light tank Type IIa”, or T-IIa. The description of this tank unambiguously indicates that by it the Soviet specialists meant the Pz.Kpfw.II in the Ausf.a or Ausf.b modification. This is evidenced by the description of the undercarriage: 6 road wheels of small diameter interlocked into bogies.

When exactly this tank became known, history is silent, but you can be sure that this is not a Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf.B. It is possible that information about him came from foreign intelligence, especially since the Germans did not particularly hide these vehicles, and they participated in various events.

So Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C arrived at the NIIBT training ground

For the first time, the Red Army encountered the Pz.Kpfw.II in the autumn of 1939. On September 17, 1939, hostilities began, which went down in history as the Polish campaign of the Red Army. By two o'clock in the morning on September 19, 1939, Soviet tanks broke into Lvov. A week earlier, battles began in the Lvov region between the Polish army and German troops, among which was the 2nd Panzer Division under the command of Lieutenant General Rudolf Fayel. The division operated northwest of Lvov, in particular, it took part in the battle with the Polish army for the city of Tomaszow-Lubelsky.

To begin studying the machine, first it was necessary to put it in order

As a result of the battles, the Polish army lost three and a half dozen armored vehicles in this area, including 7TP tanks, Vickers Mk.E tanks and TK-S tankettes. Some of these vehicles belonged to the 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade under the command of Stanisław Maczek. A significant part of the brigade managed to escape to the Polish-Hungarian border. However, the Germans also got it here: at the SPAM (collection point for emergency vehicles), organized in Tomaszow-Lubelski, there were not only Polish, but also German tanks.

The same tank after restoration. The large cross on the front of the turret is clearly visible, which was an excellent target for Polish anti-tank gun crews.

For the first week, the 24th light tank brigade under the command of Colonel P. S. Fotchenkov, which occupied Lvov, settled in a new base. It is possible that from one of the captured Polish soldiers it became known about a large accumulation of Polish armored vehicles. At that time, the finally new borders between the USSR and Germany were not defined, which the Soviet tankers took advantage of:

“By order of the Military Council of the Ukrainian Front on October 6, a detachment of 152 people was organized with the necessary number of combat and transport vehicles to evacuate captured property from the Krasnobrod, Uzefov, Tomashov area, already occupied by German units.

Working selflessly, the detachment removed a lot of valuable property, including two German tanks, two German anti-tank guns, 9 Polish tanks, 10 tankettes and up to 30 guns; returned without loss.

Since there were no German lighting equipment, domestic-made lights were put on the tank

By the way, this list could also include a third German tank. According to the memoirs of A.V. Egorov, who served in the 24th light tank brigade, Senior Lieutenant Tkachenko stole a Pz.Kpfw.III, but the tank was quickly returned to its owners. Nevertheless, among the vehicles, information about which was prepared in the form of posters with performance characteristics and vulnerabilities, was the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.D. This is the same machine that, according to some historians, the Red Army captured in the fall of 1939. Naturally, she did not go to any study, but she still managed to get minimal information about her.

A completely different situation developed with another vehicle, the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C. This tank, which a detachment of the 24th light tank brigade dragged from SPAM in Tomaszow Lubelski, was not going to be returned to the Germans. He became legal prey and went to study at the training ground of the Research Institute of Armored Vehicles (NIIBT) in Kubinka near Moscow. Also, another tank, Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.A., was brought to the USSR.

"Is a modern combat vehicle"

Captured tanks arrived at the training ground in 1940. In the documents Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C received the designation T-IIb. The tank did not end up on SPAM in Poland because of some kind of mechanical failure. According to the inspection report, the car received several hits. In particular, a shell from a Polish anti-tank gun hit one of the hatches in the frontal part of the hull, damaging the gearbox housing. As a result, the tank lost its course and was probably abandoned by the crew. Wear of the spring attachment points of two road wheels was also found. These damages were the result of the active operation of the tank, released in 1938.

The remaining damage was caused by other factors. Most likely, the car, deprived of a move and abandoned by the crew, was thrown into a ditch, and the troops passing nearby began to slowly dismantle it for spare parts. This was a common occurrence: there are many photographs of cars with similar damage that were "vandalized" by German repairmen. In especially severe cases, the hull and turret remained from the tank, as well as large components and assemblies that could not be removed without heavy crane equipment. At the same time, the tank, standing on stumps (all elements of the chassis had already been removed from it), continued to be listed as temporarily losing its combat capability.

From the point of view of attachments, the tank was almost empty

In fairness, the vast majority of such victims of vandalism then returned to service, but after they were sent to the factories. For this reason, it is quite difficult to get a more or less real picture of the losses of German armored vehicles. The tank “privatized” by the Soviet tankers formally had only a hit in the checkpoint, which could be relatively easily changed from serious combat damage. But during the time spent in the ditch and on SPAM, the tank received additional "damage". The homely Germans removed from him part of the electrical equipment and wiring, crew seats, a radio station with an antenna, an instrument panel, an ammunition rack, a coaxial machine gun, tow hooks, spare parts, tools and accessories.

Thrifty German soldiers even removed the antenna from the tank along with the lodgement

With such a large number of malfunctions, full-fledged tests, similar to those that the Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf.A passed, were out of the question. From the testers, the employees of the NIIBT test site had to retrain as restorers. In order to return at least one tank to a working condition, the landfill workers used the “buy three shawarma and collect a kitten” method. The Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.A was used as a spare parts donor: the gearbox, the hatch on the front plate and a number of other parts were removed from it.

The Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C itself was completely dismantled. During the assembly process, the site employees described the components and assemblies of the tank in parallel, and also made their drawings. The result was a technical description, in some places even more detailed than the original manual for the tank.

It was not possible to fully assemble the restored car from "native" German parts. Headlights, battery, part of the instruments and tow hooks had to be taken from domestic cars. As a result, the tank was still able to be restored to running condition, but due to the lack of spare parts, there was no full-fledged test program for it. The maximum that could be done was to conduct a test run over a distance of 100 kilometers. Its purpose was to determine the performance characteristics of the T-IIb.

View of the engine room. One could only guess that there was a radio operator's hatch on the left side here.

It was not possible to get any documents for the tank, for this reason some design features of the Pz.Kpfw.II remained outside the field of view of Soviet specialists. This is especially true for very specific elements, which, for example, included the way the radio operator left the tank. The fact that for this at the same time served as an access hatch to the engine compartment, our experts did not know. However, this is not surprising: few people could guess that you can get out of the tank in such an exotic way.

Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C booking scheme

Soviet specialists did not pay much attention to the tank engine, since this engine was already known by the autumn of 1940. In Germany, the USSR quite officially acquired three Sd.Kfz.7 half-track tractors, which also used Maybach HL 62 engines. The ZF SSG 46 gearbox aroused more interest. The testers noted the high level of accuracy in the manufacture of the gearbox. Its advantage was the use of helical ground gears: their use increased wear resistance and reduced noise during operation. The experts also liked the use of a synchronizer and the layout of the rocker mechanism, devoid of long rods.

Gearbox ZF SSG 46, which pleasantly surprised by the high level of manufacturing precision

At the same time, the difficulty of removing the gearbox from the tank was indicated, for which it was necessary to remove the turret and turret box. The Pz.Kpfw.I and other German tanks had similar problems. Such was the fee for the layout with the front transmission.

The planetary turning mechanism, reliable and durable, received a positive assessment. But the Soviet specialists did not like the brakes, since they turned out to be difficult to regulate. The general conclusion about the transmission was the following: reliable in operation, easy to operate and can be attributed to one of the best types of mechanical transmissions.

Kinematic diagram of the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C transmission

The undercarriage of the tank aroused considerable interest among the testers. According to the specialists of the NIIBT test site, despite its low weight, it provided a smooth ride and rapid damping of oscillations. The spring suspension turned out to be compact and light, and the track rollers made of aluminum alloy were also light. The track tensioning mechanism was also praised. Somewhat difficult to manufacture, it proved to be simple and reliable in operation.

However, for Soviet tank building, spring suspension was already yesterday. After a series of experiments, it became clear that the future belongs to the torsion bar, which by the time the Pz.Kpfw.II was tested was serially installed on the T-40 reconnaissance amphibious tank.

Chassis diagram. The spring suspension was praised, but torsion bars were already used on Soviet light tanks by that time.

The hull and turret of the tank did not surprise the Soviet specialists. Their design seemed to be a completely logical development of the hull and turret of the Pz.Kpfw.I, which was partly the correct conclusion. The design of the driver's hatch was not liked, as it turned out to be inconvenient to use. However, the testers made the correct conclusion, assuming that the crew mainly used the turret hatch to climb into the tank.

The tactical and technical characteristics of the trophy indicated that its crew consisted of three people, but at the same time, the description of the fighting compartment said that only the commander was there. The fact is that all the seats were removed from the tank, so exactly where the radio operator was located remained a mystery. Moreover, there was no radio with an antenna on the tank either.

Viewing devices of the driver. They were only partially preserved: the German repairmen who passed by the wrecked tank “tried”

Surveillance devices aroused much more interest. On the one hand, according to the principle of placement, viewing devices differed little from those of the Pz.Kpfw.I. At the same time, the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C had upgraded viewing hatches with thicker glass. Our specialists were also interested in the fact that the same binocular viewing device was installed on the tank as on the Pz.Kpfw.III. The device itself was not preserved (cunning German mechanics took it out along with the glass block of the driver's viewing device), but the exact same one was on the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G, which was bought in Germany in 1940. For testing, the device was removed from the Pz.Kpfw.III and placed in a light tank. In general, the visibility of the tank was found to be quite satisfactory.

Tower scheme

Based on the results of studying the captured German car, the following conclusions were made:

“The German captured tank T-2b (conditional name) 1938 represents a further development and modernization of type IIa tanks.

Comparing these tanks, it can be seen that the modernization took place along the line of changing the chassis of the tank.

1. The armament of the IIa and T-2b tanks is completely identical and consists of a twenty-millimeter automatic cannon coaxial with a normal-caliber machine gun and a submachine gun.

The armor of both vehicles is 6-15 mm, designed to protect only from rifle-machine-gun-armor-piercing fire of normal caliber.

The external shape of the hull is quite successful and provides a good layout of the chassis of the tank.

In terms of weapons and instruments, the following deserves the attention of designers of the domestic industry:

  • a) The turning mechanism of the tower.
  • b) Lifting mechanism of twin installation.
  • c) Installation and fastening of the machine gun in the tower.
  • d) Backup device for monitoring the driver.

2. As the engine on the tank, a serial Maybach automobile engine is installed (the same engine is installed on the Krauss-Maffei half-track tractors). The engine has been worked out well and is quite reliable in operation.

Starting the engine is provided, in addition to the electric starter, by an inertial starter.

3. On tanks II-a, the undercarriage is made on six small-diameter rollers (from each side), connected to 3 carriages.

On the T-2b tank, the suspension is independent and there are five road wheels of increased diameter on each side. The suspension is original in design, easy to manufacture and ensures constant contact of the rollers with the caterpillar. The suspension in its compactness and damping properties has an advantage over torsion bar suspensions.

The caterpillar is melkozvenchaty, lantern gearing with a small lateral clearance on the drive wheel, which guarantees the caterpillar from falling off.

4. The transmission scheme of the T-2b tank is similar to the T-2a, and is typical for German tank building. The presence of a six-speed gearbox with synchronizers provides the tank with good maneuverability and ease of control.

The planetary turning mechanism is large in size and weight, and difficult to manufacture. Its advantage is reliability in operation and the absence of the need for adjustment.

5. Access to units subject to frequent inspection and adjustment is good. The dismantling of the tank units is difficult (for example, the removal of the turret is required to remove the gearbox). The latter can be explained by the fact that the quality of the produced tanks is of high quality, which eliminates the need for frequent removal of units from the tank.

A common feature of the light tank T-2b is that, like all German tanks, it is made according to a single scheme adopted in Germany for tanks.

The use of a single scheme and common standard parts in the production of tanks significantly reduces the cost and speeds up the production of tanks, and facilitates the training of combat and repair personnel.

In terms of design and production design, the T-2b tank is a modern combat vehicle.

Of no interest

Despite the rather flattering assessment of the training ground specialists, the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C did not really impress the Soviet tank builders. In 1939-40, Soviet tank building took a big step forward. An analogue of the Pz.Kpfw.II in the USSR was to be the SP-126 infantry escort tank, which later turned into the T-50. Even at an early stage of design, the German car was inferior to him in everything.

Designers were much more interested not in the light German tank, but in the medium Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.G, which really had a noticeable impact on Soviet tank building. This also applies to Soviet light tanks. At the same time, it was decided to bring Soviet light vehicles as close as possible to a medium tank in a number of characteristics.

General visibility scheme Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C

The second tank, Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.A, was sent for study to Leningrad, at NII-48. There, the car was included in the program for studying the quality of foreign armor. It's funny, but this car, according to the report, passes as "Polish tank of German production of welded structure" . The car was dismantled, and later the hull with the turret was shot, and a report was made. It was noted that the details of the hull were carefully made, and the welds after the shelling did not have cracks. The armor itself was considered fragile.

The Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C restored at the NIIBT test site as of April 1, 1941 was supposed to be placed in the museum at the test site. But after the start of the Great Patriotic War, traces of the tank are lost.

Dismantled "Polish German-made tank" Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.A under study in Leningrad

Already during the war, several Pz.Kpfw.IIs hit Kubinka. After the war, one tank remained here - Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F, turret number 28384. Most likely, it was made at the Ursus factory in Warsaw. It should be noted that during the Great Patriotic War, no research work on the study of the Pz.Kpfw.II was carried out in the USSR. By this time, for our tank building, it was yesterday.

"Tiger" or what?

Many are still concerned about the question of which tank was the best tank of the Second World War. They carefully compare the TTX tables, talk about the thickness of the armor, the armor penetration of shells, and many other figures from the TTX tables. Different sources give different figures, so disputes begin about the reliability of the sources. Behind these disputes, it is forgotten that the numbers in the tables themselves do not mean anything ...

Aviation of the USSR

Remember that MiG

The I-200 fighter (hereinafter - the MiG-1 and MiG-3) can be called a distant descendant of the I-16, which differed in many respects from it, but nevertheless retained certain "generic features". .

The first of the new generation fighters in January1940 of the year, the aircraft of the aircraft designer A.S. went to the test,Yakovlev I-26, later renamed Yak-1.

The most prominent representative of the "wooden style" in the Soviet fighter aviation during the war was the aircraft of aircraft designers S.A. Lavochkina, V.P. Gorbunova and M.I. Gudkov I-301, which received the designation LaGG-3 at the launch of the series, as well as its further development - La-5 and La-7

Aircraft of the Luftwaffe

Here is such a thing

The disdainful assessment of the Yu-87 dive bomber was in our literature as commonplace as the praise of the Il-2 attack aircraft ...

CITY DESTROYERS

It is possible to give the most reliable assessment of the effectiveness of the actions of German bomber aviation based only on evidence of the side that suffered losses from its influence. That is, according to the reports and reports of the commanders of different levels of the Red Army. And these reports testify to the high performance of German pilots ...

The tank was developed by MAN in cooperation with Daimler-Benz. Serial production of the tank began in 1937 and ended in 1942. The tank was produced in five modifications (A-F), differing from each other in the undercarriage, armament and armor, but the general layout remained unchanged: the power plant is located at the rear, the fighting compartment and the control compartment are in the middle, and the power transmission and drive wheels are in front . The armament of most modifications consisted of a 20 mm automatic cannon and a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in a single turret.

A telescopic sight was used to control fire from this weapon. The hull of the tank was welded from rolled armor plates, located without their rational inclination. The experience of using the tank in the battles of the initial period of the Second World War showed that its armament and armor were insufficient. The production of the tank was discontinued after the release of more than 1800 tanks of all modifications. Some of the tanks were converted into flamethrowers with the installation of two flamethrowers on each tank with a flamethrowing range of 50 meters. On the basis of the tank, self-propelled artillery mounts, artillery tractors and ammunition transporters were also created.

From the history of the creation and modernization of tanks Pz.Kpfw II

Work on new types of medium and heavy tanks in the middle of 1934 "Panzerkampfwagen" III and IV progressed relatively slowly, and the 6th Department of the Ministry of Armaments of the Ground Forces issued a technical assignment for the development of a tank weighing 10,000 kg, armed with a 20-mm cannon.
The new machine received the designation LaS 100 (LaS - "Landwirtschaftlicher Schlepper" - agricultural tractor). From the very beginning, it was supposed to use the LaS 100 tank only for training the personnel of tank units. In the future, these tanks were to give way to the new PzKpfw III and IV. Prototypes of the LaS 100 were ordered by the firms: Friedrich Krupp AG, Henschel & Son AG, and MAN (Mashinenfabrik Augsburg-Nuremberg). In the spring of 1935, prototypes were shown to the military commission.
The further development of the LKA tank - PzKpfw I - the LKA 2 tank - was developed by the Krupp company. The enlarged turret of the LKA 2 made it possible to place a 20-mm cannon. Henschel and MAN developed only the chassis. The undercarriage of the Henschel tank consisted (in relation to one side) of six road wheels grouped into three carts. The design of the company "MAN" was made on the basis of the chassis, created by the company "Carden-Loyd". The track rollers, grouped into three bogies, were shock-absorbed by elliptical springs, which were attached to a common carrier frame. The upper section of the caterpillar was supported by three small rollers.

The prototype of the Krupp LaS 100 tank - LKA 2

The chassis of the MAN company was adopted for serial production, and the body was developed by the Daimler-Benz AG company (Berlin-Marienfelde). The LaS 100 tanks were to be produced by the MAN, Daimler-Benz, Farzeug und Motorenwerke (FAMO) plants in Breslau (Wroclaw), Wegmann and Co. in Kassel and Mühlenbau und Industri AG Amme-Werk ( MIAG) in Braunschweig.

At the end of 1935, the MAN company in Nuremberg produced the first ten LaS 100 tanks, which by this time had received the new designation 2 cm MG-3 (In Germany, guns up to 20 mm caliber were considered machine guns (Maschinengewehr - MG), not cannons (Maschinenkanone - MK) Panzerwagen (VsKfz 622- VsKfz - Versuchkraftfahrzeuge - prototype). The tanks were driven by a Maybach HL57TR liquid-cooled carburetor engine with a power of 95 kW / 130 hp. and a working volume of 5698 cm3. The tanks used a ZF Aphon SSG45 gearbox (six gears forward and one reverse), maximum speed - 40 km / h, cruising range - 210 km (on the highway) and 160 km (on rough terrain). Armor thickness from 8 mm to 14.5 mm. The tank was armed with a 20-mm KwK30 cannon (ammunition 180 rounds - 10 magazines) and a Rheinmetall-Borzing MG-34 7.92-mm machine gun (ammunition - 1425 rounds).

Factory drawings of the Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.a tank chassis

In 1936, a new military equipment designation system was introduced - "Kraftfahrzeuge Nummern System der Wehrmacht". Each car received a number and a name ("- a special military vehicle).

  • So the LaS 100 tank became Sd.Kfz.121.
    Modifications (Ausfuehrung - Ausf.) were designated by a letter. The first LaS 100 tanks received the designation. Serial numbers 20001-20010. The crew - three people: the commander, who was also a gunner, loader, who also served as a radio operator and a driver. The length of the tank PzKpfw II Ausf. a1 - 4382 mm, width - 2140 mm, and height - 1945 mm.
  • On the following tanks (serial numbers 20011-20025), the cooling system of the Bosch RKC 130 12-825LS44 generator was changed and the ventilation of the fighting compartment was improved. Machines of this series received the designation.
  • Further improvements were made to the design of the tanks. The power and fighting compartments were separated by a removable partition. A wide hatch appeared at the bottom of the hull, facilitating access to the fuel pump and oil filter. 25 tanks of this series were manufactured (serial numbers 20026-20050).

Tanks PzKpfw Ausf. and I and a2 on the road wheels did not have a rubber bandage. The next 50 PzKpfw II Ausf. a3 (serial numbers 20050-20100) the radiator was moved 158 mm aft. Fuel tanks (front with a capacity of 102 liters, rear - 68 liters) were equipped with pin-type fuel level meters.

In 1936-1937, a series of 25 tanks 2 LaS 100 - PzKpfw II Ausf. b, which have been further modified. These changes affected primarily the chassis - the diameter of the supporting rollers was reduced and the drive wheels were modified - they became wider. The length of the tank is 4760 mm, the cruising range is 190 km on the highway and 125 km on rough terrain. The tanks of this series were equipped with Maybach HL62TR engines.

Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.b (Sd.Kfz.121)

Testing tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. a and b showed that the undercarriage of the vehicle is prone to frequent breakdowns and the depreciation of the tank is insufficient. In 1937, a fundamentally new type of suspension was developed. For the first time, the new suspension was used on tanks 3 LaS 100 - PzKpfw II Ausf. c (serial numbers 21101-22000 and 22001-23000). It consisted of five large-diameter road wheels. Each roller was independently suspended on a semi-elliptical spring. The number of support rollers has been increased from three to four. On tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. with used driving and steering wheels of a larger diameter.

The new suspension significantly improved the tank's driving performance both on the highway and on rough terrain. The length of the tank PzKpfw II Ausf. s was 4810 mm, width - 2223 mm, height - 1990 mm. In some places, the thickness of the armor was increased (although the maximum thickness remained the same - 14.5 mm). The braking system has also been changed. All these design innovations resulted in an increase in the mass of the tank from 7900 to 8900 kg. On tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. with numbers 22020-22044, the armor was made of molybdenum steel.

Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.c (Sd.Kfz.121)

In the middle of 1937, the Ministry of Armaments of the Ground Forces (Heereswaffenamt) decided to complete the development of the PzKpfw II and begin large-scale production of tanks of this type. In 1937 (most likely in March 1937), the Henschel firm in Kassel was involved in the production of the Panzerkampfwagen II. The monthly output was 20 tanks. In March 1938, Henschel stopped producing tanks, but the production of PzKpfw II was launched at the Almerkischen Kettenfabrik GmbH (Alkett) - Berlin-Spandau. The Alkett company was supposed to produce up to 30 tanks per month, but in 1939 it switched to the production of PzKpfw III tanks. In the design of the PzKpfw II Ausf. And (serial numbers 23001-24000) several further changes were made: they used a new ZF Aphon SSG46 gearbox, a modified Maybach HL62TRM engine with an output of 103 kW / 140 hp. at 2600 min and a working volume of 6234 cm3 (the Maybach HL62TR engine was used on tanks of previous releases), the driver's seat was equipped with new viewing slots, and an ultrashort-wave radio was installed instead of a short-wave radio station.

Tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. B (serial numbers 24001-26000) differed little from the machines of the previous modification. The changes were mainly technological in nature, simplifying and accelerating serial production. PzKpiw II Ausf. B - the most numerous of the early modifications of the tank.

Cases when a more advanced tank, adopted for service, were replaced by a modification inferior to it in terms of characteristics, are extremely rare. In Soviet tank building, the KV-1s became such an example, which in many respects turned out to be a necessary measure. Less heavy than the KV-1, this vehicle also had less thick armor, but its reliability and mobility increased due to a reduction in weight and a more advanced gearbox. At the same time, the tank itself has undergone a lot of alterations and improvements.

In the case of the Germans, the most striking example of such a paradoxical rearmament waspz. Kpfw. II ausf. F . Here it was about the actual return, with minor modifications, to a less perfect modification of the "two" (ausf. C) than already adopted (ausf. D).

Back to springs

The question that the La.S.100 chassis is far from perfect was raised in the 6th Department of the Department of Armaments as early as January 1937. Despite the fact that MAN was working on a modernized version of the car with a new chassis, Heinrich Knimkamp insisted on starting work on a completely different chassis. It was supposed to have a torsion bar suspension and a slightly different layout of the units. The chassis received the designation La.S.138, its prospects were rated very highly. In correspondence, employees of the 6th department of the Department of Armaments La.S. was called devoid of a future and was looking forward to the launch of a new version of the Pz.Kpfw.II.

In fact, the situation was not at all as rosy as it was seen by German engineers. For starters, work on La.S.138 dragged on. In addition, on June 18, 1938, in the midst of preparations for production, the Ordnance Department (Waffenamt) authorized the development of a tank codenamed VK 9.01. Such a decision can definitely be considered a sign that a threat looms over La.S.138.

The new commander's cupola was one of the innovations of the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F. She migrated from the modernization of Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.c-C

And the tank itself, which received the designation Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.D, turned out to be not as ideal as it seemed to its creators. It turned out that simultaneously with the transition to a torsion bar suspension, the combat weight of the vehicle increased by two tons. Of course, far from one suspension was to blame for this. The designers strengthened the armor of the frontal part of the hull and the turret box, and the placement of internal components and assemblies was somewhat changed. Nevertheless, such an increase in mass did not at all please the 6th department of the Department of Armaments.

Finally, soon struck back and conditionally retired La.S.100. The Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.c built on this platform and the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.A-C following it turned out to be much more successful vehicles in terms of suspension reliability. It turned out that the designers gave up on the springs completely in vain. As a result, 43 Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.Ds, manufactured from October 1938 to April 1939, were simply lost in a much larger volume of Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C. As for the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.E, the seven chassis produced in this modification did not become "ordinary" tanks and were used as a base for the construction of flamethrower vehicles.


The driver's viewing device migrated from the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.D to the new vehicle

Against this background, it is not surprising that already at the beginning of 1939, the order department for tanks and tracked vehicles (Wa J Rü-WuG 6) planned the release of a new series of tanks - 9.Serie / La.S.100. According to the original plan, the first five tanks of the 9th series were supposed to be received in May 1940, the end of the production of a batch of 404 9.Serie / La.S.100 was expected in December of the same year. This meant that the release of the "bad" tank would continue.

On secondary production bases

The spring and summer of 1939 were a time of major changes in the German tank building program. The MAN company, the developer and main production site for the Pz.Kpfw.II, as well as a number of other enterprises, switched to the production of the Pz.Kpfw.III. For this reason, Pz.Kpfw.II production volumes were rapidly declining. From 81 tanks in March 1939 in May, they fell to 14 vehicles, and in the future, the monthly output never exceeded the figure of 10 tanks.


This copy was intended for military operations in Africa. The front mudguards quickly "left"

In the summer of 1939, the FAMO (Fahrzeug-und Motoren-Werke GmbH) plant in Breslau (now Polish Wroclaw) remained the only production site for this tank. Just in 1939, FAMO began to produce an 18-ton Sd.Kfz.9 half-track tractor. The mastery of this very difficult vehicle in terms of design significantly influenced the timing of the launch of the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C.

The order was small (35 tanks), but production problems led to the fact that in July FAMO managed to deliver only two tanks. In August, their number increased to five, the same number was handed over in September. But after the October growth (eight tanks), only two vehicles were delivered in November. This was followed by a long pause, only in April 1940 was it possible to release the last nine tanks.

This picture was connected with the high losses of Pz.Kpfw.II in the Polish campaign. With irretrievable losses of 83 tanks, there were much more damaged vehicles. To repair them, it was necessary to use spare parts that were intended, among other things, for assembling tanks at FAMO.


A fake viewing device, installed to the right of the real one, was the hallmark of this modification of the tank.

As of November 11, 1939, FAMO and Alkett were supposed to be used as assemblers of the new 9.Serie / La.S.100. The Waffenamt continued to consider May 1940 as the start date for production, but here new factors had already begun to interfere with the plans of the military. The Polish campaign showed that the armor of the Pz.Kpf.II needed to be strengthened. On the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.c-C, the issue was resolved by installing shielding, while on the new tanks, the frontal armor of the hull and turret was reinforced from the very beginning to 30 mm. This required alteration of the hull and turret blueprints, and as of 24 January 1940 the blueprints were still in progress.

Another design change was added on 7 March 1940. Instead of a double hatch, the commander received a turret with viewing devices, which significantly improved his visibility. At the same time, the innovation again shifted the start date for the release of 9.Serie/La.S.100. The tank and tracked vehicle orders department moved the start of production to June 1940. However, later it turned out that great optimists worked there.

The May-June 1940 campaign cost the German tank forces 240 Pz.Kpfw.II. Again, a large number of damaged cars accumulated. An additional factor hindering the release was the fact that now FAMO and Alkett were also involved in the release of Pz.Kpw.III. Soon the Alkett plant received the first order for the production of StuG III self-propelled guns. It became more and more obvious that 9.Serie/La.S.100 would not be produced in Spandau. The final decision on this issue was made on September 19, 1940. The contract was completely transferred to FAMO, but even there they were not ready to fulfill it. Another platform was needed for the production of long-suffering light tanks. And it was not found in Germany at all.


This tank was lost during the fighting in Africa. The new muffler and flue devices, covered with an armored casing, make it easy to distinguish pz. Kpfw. II ausf. F from earlier machines

As a result of the Polish campaign, Polish enterprises were at the disposal of the Germans. Among them was the Ursus plant, which was part of PZInż (Państwowe Zakłady Inżynierii). The tanks and armored vehicles produced by PZInż turned out to be of little interest to the Germans in terms of continuing their production. Ursus became part of FAMO, changing its name to Famo-Warschau. At the same time, the plant was often still referred to as Ursus in correspondence. It was here that it was decided to create an additional site for the production of tanks. So Ursus became the only factory in the territories captured by the Germans during the Second World War, which produced German tanks and self-propelled guns.


This tank was produced by the Ursus factory in the summer of 1941. He was part of the 31st Panzer Regiment of the 5th Panzer Division.

The first 10 tanks of the 9th series at the Polish plant were planned to be released in September 1940, by July 1941 they were going to reach the level of 40 vehicles per month. These plans also turned out to be far from the real picture. On October 1, 1940, they were corrected until the release of the first three cars in December 1940, but this also turned out to be an unrealizable dream. In December, the plans looked like this: the release of seven tanks in January 1941, the next ten - in February. On March 1, realizing that this could no longer continue, Alkett was connected to help in mastering production. Through the joint efforts of Alkett and Ursus, seven tanks were finally delivered in March 1941. As for the FAMO plant, the first tanks of the 9th series left Breslau only in August 1941.

Temporary long-liver

By the beginning of 1941, the 9.Serie/La.S.100 modification tank, designated Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F in the series, was in a rather delicate situation. In June 1940, the 6th Department of the Ordnance Department initiated work on the creation of the VK 9.03, a light tank of the 10-ton class. The MAN designers developed the car, while Heinrich Knipkamp took an active part in the work. With armament and armor similar to the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F, the vehicle should have become much faster. The 9.Serie/La.S.100 was supposed to be a temporary replacement for this promising light tank.


Weak armor forced tankers to experiment. In this case, tracks were used as additional armor.

In the two years that have passed since the decision was made to start production of the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F, the vehicle has changed little. Technically, the new tank repeated the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C. The main changes were made to the hull and turret. It was decided to abandon the complex frontal part of the hull. Instead, they made a much simpler design, similar in shape to the additional armor installed on the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.c-C.

The new modification can be easily distinguished by the shape of the frontal part of the turret box. The designers abandoned the bevel on the right side, and the driver received a viewing device similar to that installed on the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.D and Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.E. To the right of it was placed a mock-up viewing device made of aluminum. As planned by the authors, this was supposed to confuse enemy soldiers.

The shape of the left side of the engine plate has changed slightly, but the change in the muffler has become much more noticeable. In order to place a block of smoke devices on the aft plate, the muffler had to be made noticeably shorter. The turret also underwent minimal changes, almost no different from the modernization of the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C. In a word, if not for production problems, there were no obstacles to a quick transition to the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C.


The same tank from the other side

The first alterations to the design of the new tank began even before it was launched into mass production. They were connected with the fact that the first parts of the African Corps went to North Africa. In order for the tanks to work normally in the desert, it was necessary to strengthen their ventilation system. Thus, the very first production Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F had the possibility of a quick conversion to a tropical version. Armor kits were supplied by two factories: Deutsche Edelstahlwerke from Reimscheid, as well as Eisen und Hüttenwerke AG from Bochum.


Tank with serial number 28329, produced by Ursus in February 1942. The vehicle, which was part of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Viking", already has a turret box

Production unfolded rather slowly. After the release of seven tanks in March 1941, Ursus delivered no more than 15 vehicles per month during April - June. The plant reached its design capacity of 20 tanks per month only in July. As for FAMO, here the situation turned out to be absolutely awful. For the whole of 1941, Breslau never managed to overcome the bar of ten tanks per month. As a result, Warsaw was forced to speed up the pace so that the monthly shipment of both plants corresponded to the planned one. By the end of 1941, 233 Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F.


One of the tanks lost by the Germans in Tunisia in the winter of 1943

The arrival of new tanks to the troops began closer to the summer of 1941. At that time, a lot of questions had accumulated about the tanks of the Pz.Kpfw.II family. The fact that the 20-mm automatic gun clearly does not correspond to the realities of modern warfare was clearly shown by the campaign in France. Could not boast of Pz.Kpfw.II and high mobility. According to this indicator, he did not stand out against the background of medium tanks.

It is not surprising that there was no place in the promising rearmament program for the Pz.Kpfw.II. This program, dated May 30, 1941, was designed for five years and provided for the supply of 2592 VK 903 to tank units. They were planned to be used as reconnaissance vehicles.

But, as often happens, the plans did not always correspond to reality. The result of the VK 903 program turned out to be sad: this car was never built either in the series or even in metal. However, even if this tank had been born, it would most likely have shared the fate of its "younger brother", the VK 901, also known as the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.G. With sin in half, MAN built 45 of these tanks, which did not take root in the troops.

The reconnaissance tank VK 13.01 turned out to be a more promising direction. This vehicle was the first German light tank to have a two-man turret. Having evolved into VK 13.03, it eventually turned out to be a German reconnaissance tank with the most successful fate. True, even in 1941 there was still no certainty in this. Work on the tank was delayed, and the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) n.A. program was launched to secure it. and Škoda T-15.


One of the captured Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F at the Research Range of the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army (NIP GABTU KA). Kubinka, 1944

The delay in work on the creation of "full-fledged" reconnaissance tanks and the experience of fighting on the Eastern Front forced the 6th Department of the Armaments Department to look for alternatives. Beginning in November 1941, Pz.Kpfw.IIs began to be equipped with mounts for installing additional periscopes. The loss by this time of more than a third of the Pz.Kpfw.II of their original number in June 1941 gave the German military food for thought. More and more reports came from the units that light tanks poorly corresponded to the realities of hostilities.


Judging by the mark on the front sheet, the car was knocked out at least once

Despite this, the first half of 1942 saw the peak of production of the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F. The record was set in May - 56 tanks. At the same time, it was in May 1942 that an ax was raised over the Pz.Kpfw.II production program.

Back in March of 1942, the Pz.Kpfw.II (F) flamethrowers decided to be converted into self-propelled artillery mounts. The same thing happened with the Pz.Kpfw.38(t). The final decision to reduce the production of Pz.Kpfw.II was made in the summer of 1942. On June 7, Field Marshal Keitel proposed to completely switch to the production of self-propelled guns based on them. Hitler agreed to the production of half of the tanks in this form. On June 29, the share of self-propelled guns increased to 3/4, and on July 11 it was decided that this month would be the last for the Pz.Kpfw.II.


Same tank, left side view

In 1942, FAMO and Ursus produced 276 Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F. In total, 509 of them were made, that is, much more than was originally expected. Due to the fact that the contracts were repeatedly renegotiated, the numbering of the cars turned out to be a little torn. According to the research of Thomas Yentz and Hilary Doyle, the serial numbers were distributed as follows:

  • Ursus - 28001–28204;
  • FAMO - 28205–28304;
  • Ursus - 28305–28489;
  • FAMO - 28820–28839.

The cessation of production of the Pz.Kpfw.II did not mean at all that these tanks would quickly disappear from the units. As of September 1, 1942, there were 1039 tanks of this type in the troops. The statistics of losses, which in the second half of 1942 only once exceeded the figure of 40 tanks (43 in November 1942), clearly shows that these vehicles were slowly withdrawn from the first line. The surviving Pz.Kpfw.IIs were gradually transferred to other tasks: they were used for reconnaissance, as command vehicles and artillery observer vehicles.

Unlike the Pz.Kpfw.38(t), which were mostly converted into self-propelled guns or tractors, the Pz.Kpfw.II continued to serve. Most often they were used in units where there were self-propelled guns on the Pz.Kpfw.II chassis. As of October 1, 1944, the troops still had 386 tanks of this type.


As is often the case, the native "body kit" from the shelves completely disappeared, in some places along with the mounts

Periodically, the cars were sent to the factories, where they underwent major repairs, then again sent to the troops. Such a fate was, for example, the Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F, now located in the Patriot park. Unfortunately, its chassis number has not been preserved, but the turret number (28384) suggests that the tank was produced at the Ursus factory in March 1942. Not earlier than the spring of 1943, the tank underwent a major overhaul, during which the old paint was completely removed from it, repainted in dark yellow Dunkelgelb nach Muster. Judging by the surviving markings, the tank was used as a command vehicle of the second battalion.


Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F booking scheme compiled by Soviet specialists

Captured Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.Fs repeatedly fell into the hands of the Red Army. But they were almost of no interest to Soviet specialists. For Soviet tank building, this tank was yesterday back in 1941. The analogue of the German light tank was the Soviet T-70, against which the Pz.Kpfw.II had very little chance on the battlefield.

Sources and literature:

  • NARA materials.
  • Materials of TsAMO RF.
  • Panzer Tracts No. 2–3 - Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf.D, E, and F development and production from 1937 to 1942, Thomas L. Jentz, Hilary Louis Doyle, Darlington Publication, 2010.
  • Materials from the photo archive of the author.

Most likely, Pz Kpfw II owes its appearance to Guderian. It was he who wanted to see in the tank divisions a relatively light tank with anti-tank weapons. In July 1934, such a machine weighing 10 tons was ordered from MAN, Henschel and Krupp-Gruson. The tank with a 20 mm cannon was intended for use as a reconnaissance vehicle and was intended to replace the machine gun Pz Kpfw I. Until the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty were lifted, this tank was officially created as an agricultural tractor LaS 100.

In October 35, the first prototypes made of non-armored steel were ready. Not a single project of the customer was completely satisfied, and a combined machine was transferred to production: a chassis developed by MAN, a tower and a hull - Daimler-Benz. In the period from May 36 to February 37, 75 tanks were manufactured. The undercarriage of all machines consisted of six small-diameter road wheels, which were grouped into three bogies on one side. The combat weight of the tank is 7.6 tons.

German tanks near Rzhev, 1941. Left - light tank PzKpfw II, right - medium tanks PzKpfw III

German tank PzKpfw II on the road somewhere in the USSR

In turn, this batch of armored vehicles was divided into three submodifications a / 1, a / 2 and a / 3, each of which consisted of 25 vehicles. In general terms, the submodifications differed insignificantly from each other, but at the same time they served as a test bench for testing individual technical requirements. solutions. So, for example, Pz Kpfw II Ausf a / 2 received a welded one instead of a cast idler, as well as fire walls in the engine compartment. Pz Kpfw II Ausf a / 3 had reinforced suspension springs and an enlarged radiator in the cooling system.

In the spring of 1937, 25 Pz Kpfw II Ausf b were produced with an improved transmission and running gear (wide support rollers, road wheels and a new idler wheel). Along the way, a more powerful engine was installed, which was much better cooled and ventilated. The weight of the tank has increased to 7.9 tons.

The undercarriage, which later became classic for this type of tank, consisting of five medium-diameter road wheels mounted on an individual suspension and made in the form of quarter-elliptical springs, was tested on Henschel's 25 Pz Kpfw II Ausf.

Serial production of tanks began in March 1937. Until April 1940, 1088 tanks of modifications A, B and C were produced. All modifications had the same design, which had a rounded bow of the hull. The difference consisted only in the size and location of the viewing slots, as well as the sights used. As the campaign in Poland showed, the armor protection of tanks is rather weak. Even the frontal armor was easily pierced with a Polish-made Ur anti-tank rifle. The armor protection was hastily reinforced by the shielding method - an overlay of 20 mm additional plates.

German armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.251 of the 14th motorized corps drives past a column of Pz.Kpfw II tanks and a burning truck in the Serbian city of Nis, Yugoslavia

Destroyed and burned German light tank Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf.C

From May 1938 to August 1939, MAN and Daimler-Benz produced 143 Schnellkampfwagen (fast vehicles) for tank battalions of light divisions. In fact, the tanks were the following modifications - D and E. These vehicles differed significantly from previous modifications in the Christie undercarriage, which had four large road wheels each, in which there were no support rollers. Suspension rollers torsion individual. The hull has been significantly redesigned. The turret and armament remained unchanged. Maybach HL62TRM engine with 140 hp allowed to reach speeds up to 55 km / h. The combat weight was 10 tons, the cruising range was 200 kilometers. Reservations: forehead of the hull 30 mm thick, tower and sides of the hull - 14.5 mm.

In an effort to expand the capabilities of this type of machine, in 1940, on the basis of the manufactured chassis, they decided to create flamethrower tanks. Until the summer of 42, 112 machines were created, another 43 flamethrower machines were converted from linear ones during the overhaul. A 7.92 mm machine gun was mounted in a reduced turret. A pair of flamethrowers in armored heads were installed at the front corners of the hull. Flamethrowers in the horizontal plane were aimed in a 180 ° sector and produced 80 flame throws at a distance of 35 meters for a duration of 2-3 seconds.

The combat weight of Pz Kpfw II Flamm Ausf A and E (Sd Kfz 122), also known as Flamingo ("Flamingo"), was 12 tons. Power reserve - 250 km. The number of crew members did not change and amounted to three people. The thickness of the armor increased slightly: in the frontal parts of the hull and turret up to 30 mm, on the sides up to 20-25 mm. however, this was not enough: the short range of flamethrowing forced the flamethrowing tanks to come too close to the enemy’s combat positions and they suffered significant losses. Having received a baptism of fire on the Soviet-German front in June 1941, these vehicles were eventually converted into self-propelled guns.

Destroyed German light tank PzKpfw II

Destroyed by Soviet artillery, the German light tank Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. C

The Pz Kpfw II Ausf F tank is practically the last mass modification of the "twos". From March 1941 to December 1942, 524 vehicles were produced (in the future, only self-propelled guns were produced on the base chassis). The main difference (as well as the main advantage) from the previous samples was enhanced armor protection. Now the bow of the hull was made of a sheet 35 mm thick, the slope to the vertical was 13 °. The top sheet, 30 mm thick, had a slope of 70°. Changed the shape of the sloth and the design of the turret box. In the front sheet of the turret box, which was set at an angle of 10 °, a viewing slot was imitated with a groove on the right.

The commander's cupola had eight periscopes.

At the beginning of World War II, Pz Kpfw II light tanks accounted for about 38% of the entire Wehrmacht tank fleet. In battles, they turned out to be weaker in terms of armor and armament of almost all vehicles of a similar class: the French H35 and R35, the Polish 7TR, the Soviet BT and T-26. But at the same time, the production of Pz Kpfw II tanks, which decreased significantly in 1940, increased sharply in the next couple of years. Before the accumulation of the required number of Pz Kpfw III and Pz Kpfw VI, light vehicles remained the main equipment in tank units and units. Only in 1942, they were withdrawn from the tank regiments, they were partially used in assault artillery brigades, and on secondary sectors of the front. The tank chassis of these vehicles after repairs were transferred in large quantities for the installation of self-propelled guns.

On a few experimental machines (twenty-two VK1601, twelve VK901, four VK1301), the original tech. solutions. So, for example, in preparation for the invasion of England, German designers developed pontoons with propellers for the Pz Kpfw II. Experimental machines afloat developed a speed of 10 km / h, while the sea was 3-4 points. Attempts to radically strengthen the reservation and increase the speed did not end in anything.

Combat and technical characteristics of German light tanks Pz Kpfw II (Ausf A / Ausf F):
Year of issue 1937/1941;
Combat weight - 8900/9500 kg;
Crew - 3 people;
Body length - 4810 mm;
Width - 2220/2280 mm;
Height - 1990/2150 mm;
The thickness of the armor plates of the frontal part of the hull (angle of inclination to the vertical) - 14.5 mm (cyl.) / 35 mm (13 degrees);
The thickness of the armor plates of the sides of the hull is 14.5 mm (0 degrees) / 15 mm (0 degrees);
The thickness of the armor plates of the frontal part of the tower is 14.5 mm (cyl.) / 30 mm (cyl.);
The thickness of the armor plates of the roof and bottom of the hull - 15 and 15/15 and 5 mm;
Cannon - KwK30/KwK38;
Gun caliber - 20 mm (55 klb.);
Ammunition - 180 shots;
The number of machine guns - 1;
Machine gun caliber - 7.92 mm;
Ammunition - 2250/2700 rounds;
Engine type and brand - Maybach HL62TR;
Engine power - 140 liters. with.;
The maximum speed on the highway is 40 km / h;
Fuel supply - 200/175 l;
Power reserve on the highway - 200 km;
The average ground pressure is 0.76/0.66 kg/cm2.