The tank was developed by MAN in cooperation with Daimler-Benz. Serial production of the tank began in 1937 and ended in 1942. The tank was produced in five modifications (A-F), differing from each other in the undercarriage, armament and armor, but the overall layout remained unchanged: the power plant is located at the rear, the fighting compartment and the control compartment are in the middle, and the power transmission and drive wheels are in front . The armament of most modifications consisted of a 20 mm automatic cannon and a coaxial 7,62 mm machine gun mounted in a single turret.
A telescopic sight was used to control fire from this weapon. The body of the tank was welded from rolled armor plates, which were located without their rational inclination. The experience of using the tank in the battles of the initial period of the Second World War showed that its armament and armor were insufficient. The production of the tank was discontinued after the release of more than 1800 tanks of all modifications. Some of the tanks were converted into flamethrowers with two flamethrowers installed on each tank with a flamethrowing range of 50 meters. Self-propelled artillery installations, artillery tractors and ammunition transporters were also created on the basis of the tank.
From the history of the creation and modernization of the Pz.Kpfw II tanks
Work on new types of medium and heavy tanks in the middle of 1934 “Panzerkampfwagen” III and IV progressed relatively slowly, and the 6th Department of the Ministry of Armaments of the Ground Forces issued a technical assignment for the development of a 10000 kg tank armed with a 20-mm cannon.
The new machine received the designation LaS 100 (LaS - "Landwirtschaftlicher Schlepper" - agricultural tractor). From the very beginning, it was supposed to use the LaS 100 tank only for training the personnel of tank units. In the future, these tanks were to give way to the new PzKpfw III and IV. Prototypes of LaS 100 were ordered by the firms: Friedrich Krupp AG, Henschel and Son AG and MAN (Mashinenfabrik Augsburg-Nuremberg). In the spring of 1935, prototypes were shown to the military commission.
The further development of the LKA tank - PzKpfw I - the LKA 2 tank - was developed by the Krupp company. The enlarged turret of the LKA 2 made it possible to place a 20-mm cannon. Henschel and MAN developed only the chassis. The undercarriage of the Henschel tank consisted (in relation to one side) of six road wheels grouped into three carts. The design of the MAN company was made on the basis of the chassis created by the Carden-Loyd company. The track rollers, grouped into three bogies, were shock-absorbed by elliptical springs, which were attached to a common carrier frame. The upper section of the caterpillar was supported by three small rollers.
The prototype of the tank LaS 100 firm "Krupp" - LKA 2
The chassis of the MAN company was adopted for serial production, and the body was developed by the Daimler-Benz AG company (Berlin-Marienfelde). The LaS 100 tanks were to be produced by the MAN, Daimler-Benz, Farzeug und Motorenwerke (FAMO) plants in Breslau (Wroclaw), Wegmann and Co. in Kassel and Mühlenbau und Industri AG Amme-Werk ( MIAG) in Braunschweig.
Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. Al, a2, a3
At the end of 1935, the MAN company in Nuremberg produced the first ten LaS 100 tanks, which by this time had received the new designation 2 cm MG-3 (In Germany, guns up to 20 mm caliber were considered machine guns (Maschinengewehr - MG), not cannons (Maschinenkanone - MK) Armored car (VsKfz 622 – VsKfz - Versuchkraftfahrzeuge - prototype). The tanks were driven by a Maybach HL57TR liquid-cooled carburetor engine with a power of 95 kW / 130 hp. and a working volume of 5698 cm3. The tanks used a ZF Aphon SSG45 gearbox (six gears forward and one reverse), maximum speed - 40 km / h, cruising range - 210 km (on the highway) and 160 km (cross-country). Armor thickness from 8 mm to 14,5 mm. The tank was armed with a 30-mm KwK20 cannon (180 rounds of ammunition - 10 magazines) and a 34-mm Rheinmetall-Borzing MG-7,92 machine gun (ammunition - 1425 rounds).
Factory drawings of the chassis of the Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.a tank
In 1936, a new military equipment designation system was introduced - “Kraftfahrzeuge Nummern System der Wehrmacht”. Each car was numbered and named. Sd.Kfz (“Special vehicle” is a special military vehicle).
This is how the LaS 100 became Sd.Kfz.121.
Modifications (Ausfuehrung - Ausf.) were designated by a letter. The first LaS 100 tanks received the designation Panzerkampfwagen II version a1. Serial numbers 20001-20010. Crew - three people: the commander, who was also a gunner, loader, who also served as a radio operator and a driver. The length of the tank PzKpfw II Ausf. a1 - 4382 mm, width - 2140 mm, and height - 1945 mm.
On the following tanks (serial numbers 20011-20025), the cooling system of the Bosch RKC 130 12-825LS44 generator was changed and the ventilation of the fighting compartment was improved. Machines of this series received the designation PzKpfw II Ausf. a2.
In the design of tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. I further improvements have been made. The power and fighting compartments were separated by a removable partition. A wide hatch appeared in the bottom of the hull, making it easier to access the fuel pump and oil filter. 25 tanks of this series were manufactured (serial numbers 20026-20050).
Tanks PzKpfw Ausf. and I and a2 on the road wheels did not have a rubber bandage. The next 50 PzKpfw II Ausf. a20050 (serial numbers 20100-158) the radiator was moved 102 mm aft. Fuel tanks (front with a capacity of 68 liters, rear - XNUMX liters) were equipped with pin-type fuel level meters.
Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. B
In 1936-1937, a series of 25 tanks 2 LaS 100 - PzKpfw II Ausf. b, which have been further modified. These changes affected primarily the chassis - the diameter of the supporting rollers was reduced and the drive wheels were modified - they became wider. The length of the tank is 4760 mm, the cruising range is 190 km on the highway and 125 km on rough terrain. The tanks of this series were equipped with Maybach HL62TR engines.
Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.b (Sd.Kfz.121)
Panzerkampfwagen II version c
Testing tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. a and b showed that the undercarriage of the vehicle is prone to frequent breakdowns and the depreciation of the tank is insufficient. In 1937, a fundamentally new type of suspension was developed. For the first time, the new suspension was used on tanks 3 LaS 100 - PzKpfw II Ausf. c (serial numbers 21101-22000 and 22001-23000). It consisted of five large-diameter road wheels. Each roller was independently suspended on a semi-elliptical spring. The number of support rollers has been increased from three to four. On tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. with used driving and steering wheels of a larger diameter.
Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.c (Sd.Kfz.121)
The new suspension significantly improved the tank's driving performance both on the highway and on rough terrain. The length of the tank PzKpfw II Ausf. s was 4810 mm, width - 2223 mm, height - 1990 mm. In some places, the thickness of the armor was increased (although the maximum thickness remained the same - 14,5 mm). The braking system has also been changed. All these design innovations resulted in an increase in the mass of the tank from 7900 to 8900 kg. On tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. with numbers 22020-22044, the armor was made of molybdenum steel.
Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.c (Sd.Kfz.121)
Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. A (4 LaS 100)
In the middle of 1937, the Ministry of Armaments of the Ground Forces (Heereswaffenamt) decided to complete the development of the PzKpfw II and begin large-scale production of tanks of this type. In 1937 (most likely in March 1937), the Henschel firm in Kassel was involved in the production of Panzerkampfwagen II. The monthly output was 20 tanks. In March 1938, Henschel stopped production of tanks, but the production of PzKpfw II was launched at the Almerkischen Kettenfabrik GmbH (Alkett) - Berlin-Spandau. The Alkett company was supposed to produce up to 30 tanks per month, but in 1939 it switched to the production of PzKpfw III tanks. In the design of the PzKpfw II Ausf. And (serial numbers 23001-24000) several further changes were made: they used a new ZF Aphon SSG46 gearbox, a modified Maybach HL62TRM engine with an output of 103 kW / 140 hp. at 2600 min and a working volume of 6234 cm3 (the Maybach HL62TR engine was used on tanks of previous releases), the driver’s seat was equipped with new viewing slots, and an ultrashort-wave radio was installed instead of a short-wave radio station.
Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. В (5 LaS 100)
Tanks PzKpfw II Ausf. B (serial numbers 24001-26000) differed little from the machines of the previous modification. The changes were mainly technological in nature, simplifying and accelerating serial production. PzKpiw II Ausf. B - the most numerous of the early modifications of the tank.
The tank was developed by MAN in cooperation with Daimler-Benz. Serial production of the tank began in 1937 and ended in 1942. The tank was produced in five modifications (A-F), differing from each other in the undercarriage, armament and armor, but the overall layout remained unchanged: the power plant is located at the rear, the fighting compartment and the control compartment are in the middle, and the power transmission and drive wheels are in front . The armament of most modifications consisted of a 20 mm automatic cannon and a coaxial 7,62 mm machine gun mounted in a single turret.
