A German Marder II.

The Germany Army saw it apparent that the existing 38 (t) chassis could not sustain the more powerful weapon systems found on the Panzer IV. With upgrading the 38(t) out of the question, the German Army found a work-around in melding existing the Czechoslovakian chassis with a plentiful bounty of captured Soviet 7.62 cm anti-tank guns. This new marriage of design of gun and hull/chassis became the staple of the Marder series of tanks.

In short, one can think of the entire Marder series as stop-gap approaches to anti-tank and self-propelled design. The Germans developed the Marder Is, Marder II's and Marder III's from this concept. The Marder I was built from a French Tracteur Blinde 37L and armed with a 75 mm main gun. The Marder II's were basically refitted and redesigned Panzer II tanks featuring the engine moved to the middle from the rear and sliding the gun mount to the rear of the chassis. Marder III's utilized the aforementioned 7.62 cm main gun on the Czech chassis.

The Marder series made a hard case for itself in terms of survivability, with limited crew protection (thin armor and at best a canvas top on the open-top turret). The vehicle was cursed with a high profile as well, giving away the position of tank and crew on several occasions. In spite of these drawbacks,, the German Army used the Marder to great efficiency, using it as a stop-gap measure between the older 38(t) models and the new up-gunned Panzer IV's. It was a mobile and highly effective anti-tank platform.

In the end, the Marder would give way to the Panzerjagers that were designed specifically with more power and mobility in mind. Regardless, the Marder served its crucial role up through and until the end of the war.

Nearly three thousand (2,812) Marders were produced.

Specifications for the German Marder I Tank:

Designation: Marder I
Service Date: 1941
Weight: 10.63 tons
Length: 20 feet, 3 inches
Height: 7 feet, 7 inches
Armor: 0.2 - 0.79 inches
Maximum Speed: 25 mph
Maximum Range: 118 miles
Crew: 3

Armament: 1 x 7.5 cm Main Gun; 1 x 7.92 mm Machine Gun.
Ammunition: 37 rounds (7.5 cm gun); 600 rounds (Machine Gun)

A German Marder III		Another German Marder III.