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| For different reasons the production of the major battle tanks PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV proceeded more slowly than forecast. To cover the delay in getting these tanks into the hands of troops it was decided to build a tank in the 10 ton class as a successor to PzKpfw I. The new tank was intended to be a training machine stop-gap; paradoxically it fought in two wars, the Spanish Civil War and in the opening stages of WW II, and without it the early German successes could not have been achieved. |
| Specifications for the new design were issued in July 1934, and prototypes were submitted by Krupp, Henschell and MAN, all resembling the Krupp PzKpfw I design except for radical differences in suspension. The MAN vehicle was selected for production and 25 tanks were taken into service as the PzKpfw II aI. It weighed 7.2 tons and had a crew of three man. The vehicle was armed with a 20mm KwK 30 gun and a 7.92mm co-axially machine gun in a turret with all-round traverse. The suspension consisted of six small road wheels grouped in pairs in bogies which were sprung by leaf springs. The Ausf. aI was followed by the Ausf. a2, a3 and Ausf. b, with improvements in cooling system and driving sprockets. In 1937 the third version, PzKpfw II Ausf. c, appeared with a radical change in suspension. The outside girder and the small bogies were replaced by five medium-sized suspension wheels each individually controlled by quarter elliptic springs. Four return rollers were used on the hull. |
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| The early versions of the PzKpfw II were tried out under operational conditions in the Spanish Civil War. The performance of the vehicles showed that although they were intended as training machines they were capable of playing their part in an armored role, provided that the opposition was not too strong. However, the vulnerability of the PzKpfw II to anti-tank guns was already made clear under the conditions of war in Spain, but seemed to be misinterpreted by the German General Staff who approved the continued large-scale production of the PzKpfw II. |
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| Even though its armor was increased the PzKpfw II was barely proof
against the anti-tank guns in use at that time in Europe. While the armament
was adequate for taking on its own kind, the PzKpfw II was too undergunned
to deal with heavier hostile tanks and had no HE (high explosive) capacity
at all. Despite these disadvantages which were well known to panzer officers,
production continued till 1942. The PzKpfw II Ausf. A, B and C appeared
between 1937 and 1940, with little difference between these models. To
improve protection the nose plate became angular and of welded construction
instead of being round in shape. provision was made for a commander's periscope
in the Ausf. A and a cupola in the Ausf. B and subsequent models.
The German army had 955 PzKpfw IIs for the attack on France in May 1940, and 1067 when the Russian campaign began in 1941. By the following April this figure had been reduced to 866 despite continued production, an indication of the casualties inflicted by the Soviet forces, and a further example of the folly of using undergunned and under-armored tanks against an opponent with material superiority in armor. It was, nevertheless, highly effective against lighter armored vehicles such as half-tracks and 'soft-skinned' vehicles, i.e. trucks. |
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| During the planning stage of Operation Seelöwe, the invasion of England, the Schwimmpanzer II, based on the PzKpfw II, was evaluated, and a regiment of PzKpfw IIs were converted to amphibious tanks. This vehicle would swim ashore from its parent vessel using a kit of flotation tanks attached to the return rollers, powered by a propeller driven by an extension shaft from the engine. As a further precaution the inside of the tank was divided into three watertight compartments. One advantage possesed by the Schwimmpanzer II over Tauchpanzer, 'diving' versions of the medium tanks, was that it could use its guns during the landing. |
| To PzKpfw II page 2 |
