TAMIYA 300032570 - 1:48 WWII German tank II version ABC F.C. ‎TM32570

Tamiya 300032570 - 1:48 WWII German tank II version ABC F.C.In the mid 1930s the German military pushed the production of tanks. The Panzer I designed as atraining tank did not have the adequate performance so a light tank was needed to full the gap untilthe Panzer III could be introduced. Therefore the German Ordnance Department issued a request for anew training tank that could be used for combat. In the end MAN was chosen in 1934 to produce thePanzer II a compact 4.8m long 2.2m wide design with a three man crew. The 8.9 ton tank featured a2cm Kwk 30 L/55 cannon and 7.92mm machine gun in the turret 15mm armor protection for turretand hull front leaf spring suspension and a 140hp Maybach HL 62 TRM engine matched with aZF SSG46 transmission which gave it a 40km/h top speed. The Ausf. A was produced from 1937followed by the Ausf. B and C which were difficult to distinguish from each other visually. About1100 Panzer tanks were produced by April 1940 and due to delays with the Panzer III they wereimmediately issued as the Panzer divisions main tank for the invasion of Poland in September 1939.Based on lessons learned on the battlefields of Poland and in May 1940 France improvements suchas extra armor and a turret cupola were added and the Panzer II went on to serve in North Africa andRussia in front line and liaison and reconnaissance duties until the end of 1943. Afterwards they wereused to police occupied territories and the chassis was also adapted for use as the basis for various self-propelledgun designs.