The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in and before World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated Pz.Kpfw. II). It was used both in 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. 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. The Panzer I had no weapons capable of defeating armor and thus no chance of success against enemy tanks so a stopgap tank was developed. 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. The first experimental model was ready in February 1935. The final design was based on the Panzer I, but larger, and with a turret mounting a 20 mm autocannon anti-tank gun and leaf spring suspension This amount of armour could be penetrated by towed anti-tank weapons, such as the Soviet 45mm, the British 2-pounder and the French canon de 47.
Armament
Most tank versions of the Panzer II were armed with a 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 auto-cannon. Some later versions used the similar 2 cm KwK 38 L/55 or L/65. This auto-cannon was based on the 2 cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft gun, and was capable of firing at a rate of 600 rounds per minute (280 rounds per minute sustained) from 10-round magazines. A total of 180 shells were carried. and a better transmission, giving a top road speed of 55 km/h (33 mph) but the cross country speed was much lower than previous models, so the Model F reverted to the previous leaf spring type suspension. All versions had a range of .
Crew
The Panzer II had a crew of three men. The Ausf. a/2 improved engine access problems. Length was increased to 4.76 metres but width and height were unchanged.
thumb|PzKpfw II Ausf. C at the
A few minor changes were made in the Ausf. C version, which became the standard production model from June 1938 through April 1940. After the invasion of Poland the light divisions were converted to Panzer divisions. Only the turret was the same as the Ausf. C model, with a new hull and superstructure design and the use of a Maybach HL62TRM engine driving a seven-gear transmission (plus reverse). Also, a dummy visor was placed next to it to confuse enemy gunners.) used a new turret mounting a single MG34 machine gun, and two remotely controlled flamethrowers mounted in small turrets at each front corner of the vehicle. Each flamethrower could cover the front 180° arc, while the turret traversed 360°.
The flamethrowers were supplied with 320 litres of fuel and four tanks of compressed nitrogen. The nitrogen tanks were built into armoured boxes along each side of the superstructure. Armour was 30 mm to the front and 14.5 mm to the side and rear, although the turret was increased to 20 mm at the sides and rear.
Total weight was 12 tonnes and dimensions were increased to a length of 4.9 m and width of 2.4 m although it was a bit shorter at 1.85 m tall. Originally given the experimental designation VK 1303, it was adopted under the alternate name Panzerspähwagen II and given the popular name Luchs ("Lynx").
Self-propelled guns on Panzer II chassis
;15 cm sIG 33 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf)
One of the first gun mount variants of the Panzer II design was to emplace a 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun on a turret-less Panzer II chassis. The prototype utilized an Ausf. B tank chassis, but it was quickly realized that it was not sufficient for the mounting. The hull and suspension was unmodified from the earlier models, but the superstructure was built up to provide a large, open-topped fighting compartment with a Soviet 76.2 mm antitank gun, which, while not turreted, did have significant traverse. New production amounted to 576 examples from June 1942 to June 1943, as well as the conversion of 75 tanks after new production had stopped. This was Germany's only widely produced self-propelled 105 mm howitzer. The tanks were specially sealed, some modifications to the engine exhaust and cooling were needed, as was an inflatable rubber ring used to seal the turret during amphibious operation. Only two prototypes were ever completed by the time of cancellation in September 1942. It is not known how many of these conversions were made, but four were known to have been in service with the 7th Panzer Division in May 1940.
;Panzer II Ausf. J (Pz.Kpfw. II J)
Continued development of the reconnaissance tank concept led to the much up-armoured Ausf. J, which used the same concept as the Panzer I Ausf. F of the same period, under the experimental designation VK 16.01. Heavier armour was added, bringing protection up to 80 mm on the front (similar to the maximum armour found on the KV-1 model 1941 Soviet heavy tank) and 50 mm to the sides and rear, with 25 mm roof and floor plates, increasing total weight to 18 tonnes.
;Panzer Selbstfahrlafette 1c
Developed in prototype form only, this was one of three abortive attempts to use the Panzer II chassis for mounting a 5 cm PaK 38 gun, this time on the chassis of the Ausf. G. Two examples were produced which had similar weight to the tank version, and both were put in front-line service, but production was not undertaken as priority was given to heavier armed models. While the hull was based on that of the Pz.Kpfw. II J, it was redesigned after the Panzer V Panther, most noticeably with the introduction of fully sloped frontal armour.