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 the German 7.5 cm Pak 40 gun. Its high profile and thin open-topped armor provided minimal protection to the crew. Nevertheless, the Marder II (and similar Marder III) provided a great increase in firepower over contemporary German tanks during 1942 and into 1943.
Production
The Marder II came in two major versions. The first version (Sd.Kfz. 132) was based on the light Panzer II Ausf. D/E and Flammpanzer II chassis with a new torsion bar suspension featuring four large road wheels and a "slack track" with no track return rollers. The silhouette was lowered by about 40 cm to 2.20 m, but the armor was thin and the compartment was open to the top and rear, as in Sd. Kfz. 132. Famo (Breslau), and FAMO-Ursus produced 531 Marder II (Sd.Kfz. 131) from July 1942 to June 1943.