Panzer II
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Panzerkampfwagen II
Panzer II Saumur.JPG
PzKpfw II Ausf. C at the Musée des Blindés.
Type Light tank
Place of origin Nazi Germany
Service history
In service 1936–1945
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1934–1936
Unit cost 52640 Reichmark (Ausf. B)
Produced 1935 – January 1944
No. built 1,856 (excluding conversions)
Specifications (Ausf. c-C)
Mass 8.9 t (8.8 long tons)
Length 4.81 m (15 ft 9 in)
Width 2.22 m (7 ft 3 in)
Height 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)
Crew 3 (commander/gunner, driver, loader)
Armor 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in)[1]
Main
armament
1 × 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 Ausf. a–F
1 × 2 cm KwK 38 L/55Ausf. J–L
Secondary
armament
1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34
Engine Maybach HL62 TRM 6-cylinder petrol
140 PS (138 hp, 103 kW)
Power/weight 15.7 PS (11.6 kW) / tonne
Suspension Leaf spring
Ground clearance 0.35 m (1 ft 2 in)[1]
Fuel capacity 170 L (45 US gal)[1]
Operational
range
Road: 190 km (120 mi)[1]
Cross country: 126 km (78 mi)[1]
Speed 39.5 km/h (24.5 mph)[1]
vte
Interwar tanks
vte
World War II tanks
The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World
War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated PzKpfw
II).
Although the vehicle had originally been designed as a stopgap while larger, more
advanced tanks were developed, it nonetheless went on to play an important role in
the early years of World War II, during the Polish and French campaigns. The Panzer
II was the most numerous tank in the German Panzer divisions at the beginning of
the war.[2] It was used in both North Africa against the Western Allies and on the
Eastern Front against the Soviet Union.
The Panzer II was supplanted by the Panzer III and IV medium tanks by 1940/1941. By
the end of 1942, it had been largely removed from front line service and it was
used for training and on secondary fronts. The turrets of the then-obsolete Panzer
Is and Panzer IIs were reused as gun turrets on specially built defensive bunkers,
[3] particularly on the Atlantic Wall. Production of the tank itself ceased by
January 1944, but its chassis remained in use as the basis of several other
armoured vehicles, chiefly self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers such as the
Wespe and Marder II respectively.
Contents
1 Development
2 Design
2.1 Armor
2.2 Armament
2.3 Mobility
2.4 Crew
3 Variants
3.1 Development and limited production models
3.2 Main production models
3.3 Self-propelled guns on Panzer II chassis
3.4 Limited production, experiments and prototypes
4 Users
5 See also
6 Footnotes
7 References
Development
[icon]
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In 1934, delays in the design and production of the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium
tanks were becoming apparent. The Panzer I had no weapons capable of defeating
armor and thus no chance of success against enemy tanks.[4] Designs for a stopgap
tank were solicited from Krupp, MAN, Henschel, and Daimler-Benz. Design work on the
Panzer II began on 27 January 1934.[5] The first experimental model was ready in
February 1935.[5] The final design was based on the Panzer I, but larger, and with
a turret mounting a 20 mm anti-tank gun. Production began in 1935, but it took
another eighteen months for the first combat-ready tank to be delivered.
