SD.KFZ 131 MARDER II (7,5 CM PAK 40/2)

Marder II (Sd.Kfz 131 and 132) was a German tank destroyer from the Second World War. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in 1942, and serial production continued in the period 1942-1943, ending with the production of about 530 vehicles. The Marder II was powered by a single Maybach HL62 TRM engine producing 140hp. He was armed with 1 cannon 76.2 mm PaK36 (r) (Sd. Kfz. 132) or 1 PaK 40 gun cal. 75 mm (Sd. Kfz. 131) and 1 MG34 machine gun cal. 7.92 mm. The Marder II was created as a result of equipment shortages in the Wehrmacht related to the mobile anti-tank gun, capable of destroying the Soviet T-34 and KW-1. In order to minimize the time of testing and implementation into production, the chassis of the PzKpfw II tank, which was then decommissioned, was used to create the Marder II. In the course of serial production, two basic variants of this vehicle were created. The first was designated Sd.Kfz 131 Marder II and was armed with the aforementioned one 75mm PaK 40 gun and was based on the chassis of the tank PzKpfw II Ausf. A, B, C and F. Sd.Kfz 132 Marder II was created soon after, which was equipped with a captured cannon PaK36 (r) caliber 76.2 mm, and its structure was based on the chassis of the tank PzKpfw II, but in version D and E. Marder II vehicles of both versions were used primarily on the Eastern Front in 1942-1944, where especially in 1942-1943 proved to be a very effective weapon. Their small parts also found their way to the other fronts.