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Welcome to the suggestion for the Panzerkampfwagen II als Sfl. mit 7.5 cm PaK 40, or just Marder II. While this is a German vehicle, five Marder IIs were supplied to the Royal Hungarian Army in 1942. If you’re interested in supporting the German service version of this, @Ghostmaxi has an excellent post on the subject.
History
A German Marder II with its travel lock up.
By 1942, Germany, along with a number of other Axis nations had invaded the Soviet Union. Of Germany’s allies, Hungary had the largest armored formation during the initial invasion, but a majority of these were lighter Toldi and T-38s, the latter being a German supplied Panzer 38(t). As tank losses began to mount, Germany would supply Hungary with its own armored vehicles, including more Panzer 38(t)s, Panzer IIIs, and Panzer IVs. One notable vehicle supplied was the Marder II tank destroyer.
Development of the Marder II had begun in May of 1942, with Wa Preuf 6 awarding contracts to Rheinmetall-Borsig, Alkett, and M.A.N. to design the gun, design the superstructure, and alter the Panzer II chassis respectively. The Panzer II was chosen as a basis due to its increasing obsolescence, but ability to mount the larger 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun. By July, the vehicle was complete, and entered production at Fahrzeug- und Motoren-Werke (FAMO) in Breslau, as well as the Ursus factory in Poland.
A Marder II from 2. magyar hadsereg (2nd Hungarian Army) in the Voronezh region, January 1943.
After the Germans delivered five Marder IIs to the Hungarian 2nd Army in late 1942, they were assigned to an independent tank destroyer company based near Pushkino, where German officers were present to assist with training. In mid-January, the Soviets launched an attack against the Hungarian forces, forcing them to retreat. Fighting was intense around the city of Alekseyevka west of the Don River, which the Hungarian and German forces were ordered to take back. During the fighting in this area, a Hungarian Marder II knocked out a Soviet T-60 light tank. Ultimately, the Axis forces were unsuccessful in taking the city, and retreated. A counter-attack by the Red Army on January 21st was stopped in part thanks to a Hungarian Marder II knocking out a T-60 and T-34. By February 9th, the Hungarians only had two Marder IIs left after losing the other three, some of the last vehicles in use by the 1st Armored Division.
The fate of the Marder IIs used by Hungary after this is relatively unknown, but one seems to have been briefly evaluated and studied at the Haditechnikai Intézet (Military Technology Institute) before being returned to Germany. This would lead to the Toldi Páncélvadász based on the Toldi light tank chassis, the design of which would ultimately look something akin to the Marder II.
The Toldi páncélvadász in the courtyard of the Hungarian Institute of Military Technology in Spring 1944.
Specifications
Picture by David Bocquelet
- Crew: 4
- Mass: 11 t
- Length: 6.36 m
- Width: 2.28 m
- Height: 2.20 m
- Main armament: 7.5 cm Pak 40/2 L/46
- Main armament ammunition: 37 rounds
- Main armament elevation: -8°/10°
- Secondary armament: 7.92 mm MG34 (600 rounds)
- Engine: 140 hp Maybach HL 62 TR gasoline engine
- Maximum speed: 40 km/h
Sources
- Panzerkampfwagen II als Sfl. mit 7.5 cm PaK 40 ‘Marder II’ (Sd.Kfz.131) in Hungarian Service - Tank Encyclopedia
- Marder II | Panzerhadosztály
- Jentz, T. L., & Doyle, H. L. (2005). Panzer Tracts No. 7-2 Panzerjaeger (7.62 cm F.K.(r) auf gp.Sfl. to Marder 38T) development and employment from 1941 to 1943. Panzer Tracts.
