What Tank Could The Germans Be Getting Next?
June 30, 2014 by dracs
Warlord Games have a new resin tank incoming for the Germans of Bolt Action, featuring realistic detail, although no tracks as yet.
Now while I can see that this resin sculpt maintains Warlord's usual attention to detail, not knowing much about tanks I can't hazard a guess as to what this is exactly. All I know is that, since it's a German tank, it's probably going to be a major problem for Allied players to deal with.
Can any of you tank buffs tell what this one is?
maybe a panzer II methinks
It is a Panzer II L luchs
Panzer II Luchs I hope
yeah think you’re right
early Pz 3?
Pz 2F?
I would say Pz 2 looks like a 20/30 mil gun.
Unless I’m very much mistaken, that’s a Mark III Ausf. J with the longer barreled L60 5.0 cm KwK gun.
British troops in the desert called a “Mark III Special.”
The 2.0 cm main armament in Mark IIs was usually off to one side in the gun mantlet.
Of course, we can reach out to “Tank God John” to be certain. 🙂
I’d join the Luchs crowd. The hatch arrangement on turret seems more like Panzer II Ausf. L “Luchs” than any Pz III variant.
You know what, I’m no longer so sure. Given that this is clearly a WIP, there are a few elements on this thing I can’t find on any PzKpfw III, like those double vision ports in the hull? And what the **** is that on the left side of the turret, where the ammo loading hatch should be?
Okay, now I’m curious. Maybe a variant like a PzKpfw III command tank or flamethrower?
what I think we have here is a Panzer ii “luchs”
I think its a Pz II Aust L
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_II#mediaviewer/File:PzIIL.Saumur.000a4p5p.jpg
I think you have a winner their
I’m going with the Panzer II Luchs, a nice new Recce tank for the upcoming Tank Supplement methinks. Time to dust off my Shermans and perhaps pick up a Stuart 😀
I like the look of that Luchs.
Pretty sure it’s a Luchs, given that we can’t see the interlocking wheel tracks.
I agree with some of the previous comments about it being a Panzer II Luchs, the front vision ports and side bins are a good indicator, if it had its Tracks/wheels it would be so easy, last variant of Pz 2 series a good recce vehicle.
Panzer ll luchs @oriskany the thing on the side is a jerry can but you’ve probably worked it out by now.
It’s a Panzer II Ausf. L “Luchs”. his experimental turret with a 50mm KwK was used for the Sd.Kfz. 234/2 “Puma” which is more common
I think that explains it. That mantlet and gun barrel looked totally PzIIIJ to me (50mm L60).
The Luchs was armed with a 20mm gun, though.
According to my sources, the 50mm version (experimental, as @jimbo2142 says) never saw service.
Why would a company make this miniature, unless its for an alternate historical setting maybe?
I think they got halfway through building, realizing it served no “historical use,” and said “send the photo anyway! We’ll stump those guys on Beasts of War!” 🙂
I think it is a bog stardard Luchs turret with 20mm cannon. The Puma turret is higher and the Saukopf mantlet (that we don’t see here) of 50mm gun is hard to miss.
I think @drowningharvey is correct. That gun barrel looks a little thin to be a 50mm. Who knows?
You guys have probably already seen this. At least for my money, the answer. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/PzIIL.Saumur.000a4p5p.jpg What threw me was the gun on the centerline of the mantlet. I thought all PzKpfwIIs had their 20mm gun offset to the left of the mantlet, and the MG on the right. But you guys were right from the start, its the VK1303 PzKpfwIIL. No 50mm “pig’s head” turret like we see on the Puma. “Encyclopedia of German AFVs World War II (Revised)” – a great reference – lists 100 of these Vk1303 Ausf. Fs were made, with 4 more converted. The next 700… Read more »
To be honest I am not entirely sure what the Germans had in mind with Luchs (or if they even knew it themselves). Since the the VK1602 Leopard that was supposed to replace Luchs was canceled, its turret with 50mm cannon was used on Puma armored car. It could be that Luchs was never ment to be upgunned and the 50mm cannon was purely reserved for the Leopard that was canceled as too cost intensive. Not knowing the exact technical details my guess would be that the Puma/Leopard turret would’ve been the first choice as the turret for Luchs with… Read more »
From Panzer Tracts 20-2:
Plans had been made to start mounting a Turret with a 5 cm Kw.K. L/60 with the 101st vehicle as the ”Luchs 5 cm”, with delivery starting in April 1943. By early February 1943, a decision was made to discontinue production once the first 100 Luchs were completed.
http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/9066/luchs.jpg
This matches with my sources – which list that 100 VK1303 model PzKpfwIILs were completed, (serial chassis numbers 200101-200200) from Sept 43 to January 44. MAN was supposed to build the chassis, and Daimler-Benz the superstructure and turret. Four more were converted from VK1301 (an upgrade from the VK0901 PzKpfwIIH, only these 4 upgrades ever built). The original plan was for the next 700 to have the 5.0 cm gun (no idea what kind of turret), but was scrapped when the Waffenamt offices realized that the 5.0 cm just wasn’t effective anymore on the late war battlefield.
Reference:
http://pixhst.com/avaxhome/75/ec/0026ec75_medium.jpeg
http://www.scribd.com/doc/169498028/Encyclopedia-of-German-Tanks-of-World-War-Two
p. 23 of above preview. 🙂
I found it in an old book from my youth German Tanks and armoured vehicles 1914-45. Love the position of the jerry cans you wouldn’t be sitting in that turret when the lead starts flying.
Right? The unlikely position of those jerrycans plus the dark color in the middle made me think it was some kind of air filter at first, so I was almost thinking “flame-thrower” tank. Reminds me of those large fuel tanks the Soviets used to strap beside their engine decks. Of course, I’m pretty sure these were jettisoned before combat . . . unless the combat was unexpected (bwa-hahaha!) 🙂
Why would a company make this model? Because it will sell. Look at the Puma issue, same kind of thing, make what sells instead of what would be more historically accurate. Hate when companies do this, I call BS. I’d rather have a workhorse that actually saw huge production, than a VERY limited vehicle. But that’s just me. I’ve never owned a Luchs in any of the scales I’ve gamed WW2(4), or a Puma. May just have to break down this time though, really like the looks of both the Puma and Luchs. Don’t do East Front though so may… Read more »
I think it’s a tank.