Key facts
- Type
- Tank destroyer
- Place of origin
- Nazi Germany , German-occupied Czechoslovakia
- In service
- 1942–1945
- Used by
- Nazi Germany
- Wars
- World War II
- Manufacturer
- BMM (ČKD)
- Produced
- 1942–1944
- Number span no built
- 1736 produced and converted Sd. Kfz. 139:, 344 produced Sd.Kfz. 138, Ausf. H: 275 produced, 175 converted Sd.Kfz. 138, Ausf. M: 942 produced
- Mass
- 10,670 kg (23,520 lb)
- Length
- 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)
- Width
- 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in)
- Height
- 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in)
- Armor
- 10–50 mm
- Main armament
- 7.62 cm PaK 36(r) , (Sd.Kfz. 139), 7.5 cm PaK 40 , (Sd.Kfz. 138 Ausf. H and M)
- Secondary armament
- 7.92 mm MG 37(t) , MG 34 or MG 42
- Engine
- Praga Typ TNHPS-II / Praga AC water-cooled, 6-cylinder gasoline , 7.75 l , 125–150 PS (123–148 hp; 92–110 kW)
- Power weight
- 14.1 PS (10.4 kW) / tonne
- Suspension
- leaf spring
via Wikipedia infobox
~16 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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 on top of the chassis of the Czechoslovak Panzer 38(t). They offered little protection to the crew, but added significant firepower, which was able to destroy the thick-armored T-34s, compared to contemporary German tanks. They were in production from 1942 to 1944 with three variants, the Marder III, Marder III Ausf. H, and Marder III Ausf. M, and served on all fronts until the end of the war, along with the similar Marder II. The German word Marder means "marten" in English.
History
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Marder III” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.