HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Marder I'' "
Marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
" ( Sd.Kfz. 135) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
World War II tank destroyer, armed with a 75 mm Pak-40 anti-tank gun. Most Marder Is were built on the base of the ''Tracteur Blindé'' 37L (Lorraine), a French artillery tractor/
armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Ac ...
of which the Germans had acquired more than three hundred after the
Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...
in 1940.


History

From the early stages of
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
the Wehrmacht became aware that their ability to combat some of the Soviet tanks was inadequate. The lighter tanks then in general service, such as the
Panzer II 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 ...
and the Czech built 38(t), were under-armoured and did not mount an adequate gun to deal with the newer Soviet tanks. In addition, the standard towed anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht, the 37 mm
3.7 cm Pak 36 The Pak 36 (''Panzerabwehrkanone 36'') is a 3.7 cm / 37mm caliber German anti-tank gun used during the Second World War. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht ''Panzerjäger'' units until 1942. Developed by ''Rheinmetall'' in 193 ...
, was both difficult to get into position quickly and lacked the ability to penetrate the heavy sloped armour of the new Soviet tanks. What was needed was a more powerful anti-tank gun that was mobile. The Germans possessed such a gun in the 75 mm
7.5 cm Pak 40 The 7.5 cm Pak 40 (''7,5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40 -'' "7.5cm armour defence cannon 90") was a German 75 millimetre anti-tank gun of the Second World War. The gun was developed in 1939–1941 and entered service in 1942. With 23,303 e ...
. They also had come into possession of a large number of captured Soviet 76 mm F-22 Model 1936 divisional field guns. The Germans had experience in taking the chassis of an under-gunned tank to provide mobility to a heavier gun. The ''
Panzerjäger I The Panzerjäger I ("English: tank hunter number 1") was the first German ''panzerjäger'' (a self-propelled anti-tank gun, or " tank destroyer") to see service in the Second World War. All mounted the Czech Škoda-built 4.7 cm KPÚV vz. 38 ( ...
'' is such an example, where the turret was removed for an open conversion to allow the gunners the necessary room to operate the gun. With the shock of having units overrun by new Soviet
T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The Chri ...
medium tanks and
KV-1 The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks are a series of Soviet heavy tanks named after the Soviet defence commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov who operated with the Red Army during World War II. The KV tanks were known for their heavy armour ...
heavy tanks, the need for a heavier-gunned German tank became urgent. As an interim solution, it was decided to use captured French vehicles such as the
Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...
, and less effective German tanks such as the Panzer II and Panzer 38(t) as the basis for makeshift tank destroyers. The result was the ''Marder'' series, comprising the Marder I,
Marder II The ''Marder'' II ("marten" in English) was a German tank destroyer of World War II based on the Panzer II chassis. There were two versions, the first mounted a modified Soviet 7.62 cm gun firing German ammunition, while the other mounted ...
, and
Marder III ''Marder'' III was the name for a series of World War II German tank destroyers. They mounted either the modified ex-Soviet 76.2 mm F-22 Model 1936 divisional field gun, or the German 7.5 cm PaK 40, in an open-topped fighting compartment ...
respectively. These vehicles provided mobility to either the 7.62 cm Pak 36(r) (a conversion of the 76 mm F-22 Model 1936) gun or in later versions the German 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun. Due to the weight and space constraints of the small chassis, the ''Marder'' series were not fully armoured. Thin upper armour protection was provided only for the front and sides against shrapnel and small arms only. All ''Marder'' series had open tops. Some were issued with canvas covers to protect the crew from the elements. The Marder series were not a proper
Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' ( German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. It was an anti-tank arm-of-service that operated self-propelled a ...
that could exchange fire with enemy tanks.


Development

The ''Marder'' I was developed in May 1942 by Major
Alfred Becker Alfred Becker (20 August 1899 – 26 December 1981) was a German engineer and artillery officer who served during the First and Second World Wars. During the Second World War he took captured British and French vehicles and refurbished and rebu ...
. It carried the 75 mm Pak 40 anti-tank gun on a Lorraine
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
. As the gun was relatively large, the original crew compartment superstructure was removed to create the space needed to work the gun. This was done by ''Baustokommando Becker'', an organization in occupied France converting French armoured fighting vehicles for internal security use. The gun was then mounted atop the chassis.
Alkett Alkett (german: Altmärkische Kettenwerk GmbH, lit=Altmark track works) was a major manufacturer of armored vehicles for the Wehrmacht during World War II. The main factory was located in Berlin-Borsigwalde on the Breitenbachstraße. As more s ...
, working in conjunction with Becker, produced the angled armour shielding for the crew compartment.Restayn, Jean ''Kommando Becker''. German Military Magazine (in German) The shielding was relatively light, and was open from above. The shielding provided the crew with protection from blast and
small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
fire, but was not intended to stop armour piercing rounds. The vehicle's primary function was to provide mobility to the anti-tank gun. It was not intended as a replacement for a tank. Between July and August 1942, 170 ''Marder'' Is were built on the Lorraine chassis. Later, several other French and Polish tanks were used as the conversion base for the ''Marder'' I, including the
Hotchkiss H39 The Hotchkiss H35 or was a French cavalry tank developed prior to World War II. Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry becau ...
and
FCM 36 The FCM 36 or ''Char léger Modèle 1936 FCM'', was a light infantry tank that was designed for the French Army prior to World War II. It had a crew of two and was equipped with a short 37 mm main armament and a 7.5 mm coaxial machine ...
. These conversions were also completed in 1942 by ''Baustokommando Becker'' at the Hotchkiss plant on the outskirts of Paris, 24 Hotchkiss tanks were converted into a ''Marder'' I, the ''7,5 cm Pak 40 (Sf) auf Geschützwagen 39H(f)''. The Marder Is initially served in infantry divisions on the Eastern Front and met with good success. They later made up a significant component of the armoured fighting vehicles of the reformed
21st Panzer Division The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941–1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorp ...
in Normandy.


Combat history

The first Lorraine-based ''Marder'' I vehicles were sent to the Eastern Front in 1942 to serve in the ''Panzerjäger'' (tank destroyer) units of infantry divisions. This is a list of Infantry Divisions operating on the Eastern Front known to have used ''Marder'' Is and the estimated time frame they were used "On 14 August 1942, ... Gen.Qu. was requested to include 72 - 7.5cm Pak40 (Marder I) Lorraine on Blitztransport trains." (6 initially noted divisions issued 9 and then 10 Marder I "in accordance with K.St.N.1148a dated 15Feb42 for a Panzerjäger-Kompanie (9 Sfl.)" then "10 7.5cm Pak40/1 auf Sfl. Lorraine-Schlepper and organized in accordance with K.St.N.1148a dated 1Dec42."
Alfred Becker Alfred Becker (20 August 1899 – 26 December 1981) was a German engineer and artillery officer who served during the First and Second World Wars. During the Second World War he took captured British and French vehicles and refurbished and rebu ...
notes: "By Christmas 1942 almost all of Becker’s men had reached Paris. In exchange for the men Becker provided the commander of the 227th Infantry Division with 20 of his armoured vehicles. 2. This follows on from the ground breaking pre-Pz. div. developmental use of the Becker's first conversion vehicles: 12x 10.5 cm leFH 16 Geschützwagen Mk VI 736 (e) & six of the larger 15 cm sFH13 guns on Mk VI 736(e) by the 227th Inf. Div. "Two additional leFH18/4 (Sf.) mounted on Lorraine Schlepper chassis were completed with a modified superstructure (similar in design and purpose to the 38t Grille sIG 33, with an additional 12 built for and used by the 2 PzGren Regts of 21 Pz. div.) and delivered in early December 1942 as a new Sturmgeschütz-Zug for the 15.Batterie/Artillerie-Regiment 227." (Of 227th Inf.Div.). "An additional 64 sFH13 (after the first 30 built in June 42 and shipped to Rommel) were mounted on Lorraine-Schlepper chassis at Wa A Paris in July and August 1942. Gepanzerte Artillerie-Regiment 1 (Sfl) and 2 (Sfl) were each issued 30 sFH14 auf Sfl. To fill their five batteries.".Pz Tr No. 10


Gallery

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-297-1701-11, Jagdpanzer "Marder I".jpg, Marder I being prepared to detrain File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-297-1701-34, Im Westen, Jagdpanzer "Marder I".jpg, Marder I towing its ammunition trailer File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-297-1701-21, Im Westen, Panzerjäger "Marder I".jpg, Marder I with driver visible File:The British Army in Normandy 1944 B8791.jpg, Men of the 6th Airborne Division investigate a Marder I ( H39 chassis) they had destroyed


See also


Comparable vehicles

* German
Marder II The ''Marder'' II ("marten" in English) was a German tank destroyer of World War II based on the Panzer II chassis. There were two versions, the first mounted a modified Soviet 7.62 cm gun firing German ammunition, while the other mounted ...
and III * Italian
Semovente da 75/34 The Semovente da 75/34 was an Italian self-propelled gun developed and used during World War II. It was a 75 mm L/34 gun mounted on a M15/42 tank chassis. It saw action during the defence of Rome in 1943 and later served with the Germans in ...
* Romanian
TACAM T-60 The TACAM T-60 (''Tun Anticar pe Afet Mobil T-60'' – "Anti-tank gun on T-60 mobile gun carriage") was a Romanian tank destroyer used during World War II. It was built by removing the turret of captured Soviet T-60 light tanks and building a pede ...
and
TACAM R-2 The TACAM R-2 (''Tun Anticar pe Afet Mobil R-2'' – "Anti-tank gun on R-2 mobile gun carriage") was a Romanian tank destroyer used during World War II. It was built by removing the turret of the R-2 light tank and building a pedestal to mount ...
* Soviet
SU-76 The SU-76 ('' Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 76'') was a Soviet light self-propelled gun used during and after World War II. The SU-76 was based on a lengthened version of the T-70 light tank chassis and armed with the 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3 ...
and
ZiS-30 The ZiS-30 was a light self-propelled anti-tank gun built for the Soviet Red Army in 1941. It was based on the Komsomolets armoured artillery tractor. They were successful vehicles, but production was limited by the number of Komsomolets tra ...
* Spanish Verdeja 75 mm


References


External links


Marder I (Panzerjaeger Lr S 7,5 cm Pak 40/1 on French chassis), Catalog of Enemy Ordnance, U.S. Office of Chief of Ordnance, 1945


{{WWIIGermanAFVs World War II tank destroyers of Germany Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944