Екінші танк: Неміс жеңіл танктарының тарихы (Ekіnshі tank: Nemіs jeңіl tanktardىڭ tarіhy)

German light tank of the 1930s and World War II

The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated PzKpfw 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 auto cannon 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.

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. 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 .

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. 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").