SdKfz 135 Marder I (Marten I)

History

After the fall of France, Germany seized hundreds of Tractor Blinde 37Ls (commonly known as "Lorraine tractors"), a general-purpose chassis that served a variety of roles, including armored personnel carriers and battlefield supply vehicles. Although these systems were dormant for a time, with the opening of the Eastern Front (Germany invaded former ally Russia), interest in bringing them back into service increased.

The new front presented a whole new set of problems for the German army, most notably how to deal with the Soviet Army's increasingly powerful T-34 Takes - mobile machines with thick frontal and side armor and an impressive main gun. The idea arose to provide static superstructures for existing captured enemy track systems (such as Lorraine tractors) and use them as a conversion for self-propelled anti-tank gun systems.

The Marder tank line is now born, and will see three different models of the line mounted on three different types of chassis before the war ends (the latter two use the redundant Panzer II undercarriage).

Marder I appeared in 1942 and 184 copies were produced. Externally, these combat systems did not differ from today's self-propelled artillery systems, characterized by a rear-mounted superstructure with an engine in the front. The structure is static because the entire Marder I system must point in the direction of the fire. The superstructure was also opened at the top and rear, exposing rifle personnel to battlefield fire and general elements.

Nonetheless, thanks to the powerful and proven PaK 40 anti-tank gun mounted in the turret, the Marder I is a natural killer, ready to attack light to medium armored targets.

The production of Marder I was divided into 60 dedicated tank destroying elements and another 100 dedicated self-propelled guns. The former will be equipped with a version of the PaK 40, designated PaK 40/1 L/46, while the latter will be equipped with a 10.5 cm (4.1 in) or 15 cm (5.9 in) main armament is a pistol.

The design and layout of the Lorraine tractor proved perfectly acceptable for the task, making it a prime candidate for retrofit. Other chassis under German control such as the Hotchkiss H39 and FCM 36 were also used in some limited conversions and belonged to the same Marder I designation.

The engine was installed on the original Lorraine tractor. It's a 70-horsepower DelaHaye 103TT inline-6. The engine can reach speeds of up to 24 mph on ideal road surfaces and has a total range of 93 miles.

Armor protection around the critical sides of the main gun is 12mm thick at its thickest point and sloped for added protection.

In battle, Marder I achieved moderate success. Most of the systems remained within France and took part in the Normandy invasion, where many were killed in battle. The Marder II and Marder III systems will go live soon, incorporating many of the lessons learned from the Marder I conversion program. In any case, the Marders would provide the German army with a formidable offensive force until the last days of World War II, although by this time the Marder I was produced in almost limited numbers and was overtaken for more purposes.

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