World War Photos

Click on thumbnail images to enlarge

Panzer II ( Panzerkampfwagen II, PzKpfw II, SdKfz 121) was a light tank produced in Germany in the 1930s.
Until the outbreak of war between Germany and the USSR tank Panzer II was a primary combat vehicle in the German armored troops. The project of light tank with weighing up to 10t and equipped with a 20 mm caliber cannon was started in 1934. Main goal of this project was to fill the gap between the Panzer I tank and average tanks Panzer III and IV. This type of tank was used for crew initial training and if necessary was used as support and reconnaissance tank. It turned out that for the first 3 years of the war Panzer II was the backbone of German Panzer Divisions. For tank design development were responsible 3 companies: Krupp, Henschel and MAN. In the course of the war were created a dozen versions of that tank. Finally, the production was stopped in January 1944. Tanks of this type, however took part in the fights on all fronts until the end of the war. Using Panzer II chassis were also constructed several types of other vehicles.
Armament: 1 × 2 cm KwK 30 (or KwK 38) and 1 x 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34. Production: 1856 tanks.
Bibliography:

• Thomas Jentz: “Luchs” Panzerspaehwagen II (2cm) ( Sd. Kfz. 123), Museum Ordnance Special Number 22