Geschutzpanzer 39H(f) 7.5cm PaK 40 Hotchkiss (Marder I)

History

With the conquest of neighboring France in 1940, the German Army acquired a stockpile of Lorraine tractors, FCM 36 tanks and Hotchkiss H35 tanks. These either remained in service or were modified to suit other battlefield roles, such as self-propelled guns (artillery carriers) or specialized tank destroyers.

The "Marder" war series turned out to be one of the latter, and several of its own series were developed starting with "Marder I". Between 170 and 180 Marder Is were completed, and its roster consisted of all three French vehicles mentioned above.

The

Hotchkiss breed was officially named "Geschutzpanzer 39H(f) 7.5 cm PaK40(Sf) Hotchkiss", and the modification work included the complete removal of the H35 turret and the addition of a thin-skinned open-air superstructure on top of it. place. The main gun is the 7.5cm (75mm) anti-tank gun PaK L/46, a tried and true gun with good long-range penetration, which drops on vehicles with a mantlet and all parts.

As the mantlet is detached from the superstructure, the gun maintains its lateral movement 30 degrees to the right or left of the centerline. Since the vehicle does not have its own lateral turret, the gunner either relies on this range of motion or rotates the entire vehicle to face the line of fire.

The weapon is fitted with a large slotted brake to reduce recoil.

The four-man operation group (the pilot in the fuselage) and the radio are Fu. Spr. Ger settings. The open-top nature of the superstructure, while providing ample workspace for the three-person gunnery crew, also exposes the crew to the dangers and elements of the battlefield, yet remains a cheap and easy conversion to produce an entirely new combat vehicle .

The chassis of the Hotchkiss tank remains basically the same. Power comes from a liquid-cooled Hotchkiss 6-cylinder engine producing 120 horsepower at 2,800 rpm. The multi-wheel bogies are scattered on both sides of the hull, and the track connections are thin.

Road speeds can reach 35 km/h and range (road) is 180 km (95 km off-road).

Unlike the Lorraine tractor and FCM 36 tank modification process, the Hotchkiss H35 represented a more complex exercise for the Germans, resulting in some parts of the tank being reworked or completely removed from the design. As a result, production was limited to just 24 units before they rolled out of the German-controlled Paris factory in 1942.

All stocks were used in the war in France and also ended up with better things they were destroyed or abandoned in battle.

About 48 other H35 tanks were converted into self-propelled gun transporters with indirect guns installed.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

50 x 75mm bullet

Changes