Defence of Lyon and Chasselay Massacre

German Reich (10th Panzer-Division, Infanterie-Regiment Großdeutschland, 3rd SS Panzer Division “Totenkopf”) vs France (25th Senegalese Tirailleurs Regiment) The crimes committed by German forces during the Second World War are a topic which has received a large amount of attention in the post-WW2 historiography. However, while much has been written, misconceptions still exist, perhaps most notably …

Spähpanzer 1C

France/Federal Republic of Germany (1955?-1961) Anti-Tank Reconnaissance Vehicle – 1 to 2 Prototypes Built With the formation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, the new army of West Germany, a decision was made to acquire small tracked armored reconnaissance vehicles for use in the so-called Panzeraufklärungstruppe (Armored reconnaissance troop). The Schützenpanzer (Kurz), somewhat loosely translated as …

Italian Armored Units During the Italian Invasion of Albania

Kingdom of Italy (1939) On 7th April 1939, the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy invaded the small Albanian Kingdom. Among the attacking forces, there were armored units that took part in the few clashes that occurred during the three-day invasion. All units were equipped with Carri Armati L3/35 (English: 3 ton Light Tanks …

Panzerkampfwagen VI (7.5 cm) VK30.01(H)

German Reich (1939) Heavy Tank – 4 Built + Components For 4 Additional Vehicles Despite having a rather underdeveloped military industry that was barely providing enough tanks for the new Panzer Divisions, the Germans decided to begin developing a new heavy tank project in 1937. After a few years, the 30-tonne heavy VK30.01 would emerge. …

Italian Medium Tank Crew Training During the Second World War

Kingdom of Italy/Italian Social Republic (1940-1945) When speaking of Italian armor during the Second World War, it is important to analyze the training that Italian tank crew members received before being assigned to frontline units. Although the Italian war industry was unable to keep up with the production capabilities of the Allied nations, it could …

Cannone a Grande Gittata da 75/32 Modello 1937

Kingdom of Italy (1941-1945) Field Gun/Anti-Tank Gun – 172 Built The Cannone a Grande Gittata da 75/32 Modello 1937 (English: 75 mm L/32 Long-Range Cannon Model 1937), better known as Cannone da 75/32 Modello 1937, was an Italian field gun developed before the Second World War to equip the Italian Regio Esercito’s (English: Royal Army) …

Matilda Hedgehog

Commonwealth of Australia (1945) Tank-Mounted Spigot Mortar – 6 Built Rumble in the Jungle Beginning in 1942, as Australian forces battled against the Japanese through New Guinea and the South West Pacific, it became apparent that there was an increasing need for offensive armaments capable of demolishing Japanese defensive positions. The typical Japanese bunker was …

D-8 and D-12

Soviet Union (1931) Armored Car – Around 60 Built During the 1930s, the Soviet Army was rather poorly armed and equipped. The process of introducing new domestic military designs was slow and tedious and was lacking in all regards. Armored cars were in huge demand, and the existing pool of vehicles consisted of obsolete and …

Piaggio Vespa TAP 56 and 59

France (1956-1960) Anti-Tank Weapon Carrier – 600~800 Built The Piaggio Vespa TAP [Troupes AéroPortées] (English: Airborne troops) 56 and 59 were French-developed military motorbikes, based on the iconic Vespa, Italy’s most famous two-wheeler. The Vespa TAP carried a US M20 75 mm recoilless rifle with the aim of countering enemy light armored vehicles with an …

Neubaufahrzeug

German Reich (1934) Medium Tank – 5 Built (2 Soft Steel Prototypes + 3 Production Vehicles) Years prior to the start of the Second World War, the German Army experimented with different tank designs. Early attempts lead to the introduction of a small series of experimental prototypes. In those early days of German tank development, …

Entwicklungsfahrzeug 25 (E 25)

German Reich (1942) Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun – Possibly Up To 5 Prototypes Built During the Second World War, the Germans made extensive efforts to introduce a standardization of parts in tank and armored vehicle production. This was, to a limited extent, achieved with the Panther and Tiger II, which shared a number of parts. But, …

Panzer IV/70(V)

German Reich (1944) Tank Destroyer – 930 to 940 Built The further development of the StuG series led to the introduction of the Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyer. The Jagdpanzer IV was initially meant to be armed with the long 7.5 cm L/70 gun. As this gun was not available in sufficient numbers, as a temporary …

Flakpanzer IV (3.7 cm Flak 43) ‘Möbelwagen’ (Sd.Kfz.163/3)

German Reich (1944) Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun (SPAAG) – 205-250 Built As the Second World War progressed, it was becoming obvious to the German tank force that the Luftwaffe (English German Air Force) was slowly losing control of the skies over Europe. In order to protect themselves from enemy ground attack aircraft, a series of self-propelled …

‘Tiger’ Film Props in Bitka na Neretvi

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1960s) Movie Prop Tank – 3 To 4 Tanks Modified For The Role Movies that represented the fight against the Axis powers during the Second World War were very popular in the communist parts of Europe, such as Yugoslavia. The Germans, not surprisingly, were always portrayed as the bad guys, …

Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf.B mit 7.5 cm StuK 40

German Reich (1945) Improvised Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun – At Least One Built In the final months of the war, the Germans were losing men and materials on all fronts. Out of desperation, all kinds of improvised vehicles, mostly based on obsolete vehicles or simply whatever was at hand, were rushed into service. One such vehicle …

Heavy Tank M6

United States of America (1940-1944) Heavy Tank – 40 Built Click here to partake! The United State’s first attempt at a heavy tank came during the First World War with the Mark VIII or Liberty Tank, a joint-collaboration with the British and French. The US would subsequently adopt 100 of these vehicles. During the Interwar …

M-60

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1956-1991) Armored Personnel Carrier – 790 Built During the late 1950s, the Jugoslovenska Narodna Armija (JNA, English: Yugoslavian People’s Army) became aware of the fact that its inventory lacked an armored personnel carrier (APC) able to effectively transport the supporting infantry of armored formations. In 1956, a project, initially known …

Light Tank M3A3 with 7.5 cm PaK 40

Yugoslavian Partisans (1944-1945) Improvised Self-Propelled Anti-Tank Gun – 1 To 5 Converted During the war, the Yugoslavian communist Partisans were often faced with shortages of war materiel, especially in regard to anti-tank weapons and tanks. Luckily for them, after 1943, the Western Allies decided to send large quantities of all kinds of war material, including …

T-62 (Object 166)

Soviet Union/Russian Federation (1961-Present) Medium Tank – 19,019 Built The T-62 medium tank, known under the factory index of Object 166, formally entered service in the Soviet Army on 12 August 1961. The tank was designed and built at Factory No. 183 in Nizhniy Tagil, known as Uralvagonzavod. It was accepted into service as a …

Gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette für 7.5 cm Sturmgeschütz 40 Ausführung F/8 (Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.F/8)

German Reich (1942) Self-Propelled Assault Gun – 250 Built Following the success of the StuG III Ausf.F, the Germans introduced yet another slightly improved version in September 1942. While, in most regards, the new version was a direct copy of its predecessor, the main difference was the use of the extended hull taken from the …