10.5 cm K gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette “Dicker Max”

German Reich (1941-1942) Heavy Tank Destroyer/Bunker Buster – 2 Built The “10.5 cm K (gp.Sfl.)” (Eng. 10.5 cm cannon (armored self-propelled gun)) or “10 cm K. Pz.Sfl.IVa” (Eng. 10 cm cannon self-propelled gun IVa), more commonly known as the “Dicker Max” (Eng. Fat Max), was a German self-propelled artillery gun. Development started in 1939, with …

Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf.C (Sd.Kfz.101) (VK6.01)

German Reich (1942-1944) Light Tank – 40 Built The Panzer I Ausf.C was a German light tank prototype that was part of the VK series of tanks. Initially developed by Ernst Kniepkamp, before Krauss-Maffei took over, the Panzer I Ausf.C was based on the concept of a fast and maneuverable light tank that could outperform …

2 cm Flak 30/38 (Sf.) auf gepanzerten Fahrgestell leichter Zugkraftwagen 1-ton (Sd.Kfz.10/4 and Sd.Kfz.10/5)

German Reich (1939-1945) Self-Propelled Light Anti Aircraft Gun – 2,016 Built By the time of the Second World War, modern armies were searching for ways to improve the mobility of their anti-aircraft guns. Germany initially used a simple twin machine gun mount placed on light unarmored trucks or any other available chassis. These generally had …

Schwerer geländegängiger gepanzerter Personenkraftwagen, Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.A (6 Rad) and B (4 Rad)

German Reich (1938-1945) Armored Staff Car – 10 Ausf.A and 58 Ausf.B Built The Sd.Kfz.247 Ausf.A and B were armored cross-country cars intended for transporting very senior German officers around safely, even on rough terrain. Due to the rising need for such an armored car that would be easy to build, a development already began …

Tanque Ligero 38/39M (Praga LTP in Peruvian Service)

Peru (1938-1982) Light Tank – 24 Imported After a war with Colombia over a territorial dispute ending in a stalemate, Peru found itself weak. Even though the war was not lost, the High Command was disappointed with the army and, therefore, the need for a new weapon arose. Tanks and the concept of importing tanks …

Brückenleger I

German Reich (1939-1941) Engineering Tank – At Least 8 Built Deemed obsolete in 1939, the Panzer I chassis was reused for many roles and purposes, creating new variants of the Panzer I. One of these new variants was the Panzer I bridge layer. Using the Panzer I Ausf.A chassis, the engineer battalion of the 2nd …

Leichter und Mittlerer Entgiftungskraftwagen (Sd.Kfz.10/2 and Sd.Kfz.11/2)

German Reich (1938-1944) Decontamination Vehicle – 60-70 le. Entg. and 392 m. Entg. Built After the experiences of the First World War, which saw the introduction of poisonous gas, many countries assumed that, even though banned through the 1925 Geneva Protocol, that gas would be continued to be used. Therefore, many of these countries experimented …

Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf.B (Sd.Kfz.101)

German Reich (1936-1941) Light Tank – 399 Built + 147 Converted The Panzer I Ausf.B can be seen as a direct improvement to its predecessor, the Ausf.A, featuring a water-cooled engine, an upgraded suspension, and a modified rear. The Ausf.Bs shared a similar fate and combat history as the Ausf.A, seeing service in Spain, Poland, …

Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf.A (Sd.Kfz.101)

German Reich (1934-1936) Light Tank – 1,190 Built Even though it was not the first tank of the German Army, the Panzer I Ausf.A was the first German tank to enter serial production and the first German tank to see combat in large numbers. It is one of the most nondescript but also one of …

Flammpanzer II Ausf.A and B (Sd.Kfz.122)

German Reich (1940-1942) Flamethrower Tank – 151 Built + 1 Prototype A couple of months before the beginning of the Second World War, the HWA (“Heereswaffenamt”, Eng: Army Ordnance Department) requested the construction of a flamethrower tank to support the infantry fight against heavily fortified positions. The first vehicles (named Flammpanzer II) were ready after …

Krupp Light Export Tank L.K.A. and L.K.B.

German Reich (1936-1938) Light Tank – 4 Prototypes Built + 1 Incomplete Prototype After World War I, senior tank companies, such as Renault and Vickers-Armstrong, began selling tanks and other military materiel to smaller countries that could not afford their own tank production. Seeing this, Krupp decided that Germany needed to export tanks too. In …