Hobby Master 1/72 HG4105 German Tank Destroyer Marder III Eastern Front, Summer 1943
In 1941 while invading the USSR the German generals realized that their tanks were no
match for the new Soviet T34 and KV-1. While new German tanks were being developed
and existing tanks upgraded there was a need for a stopgap vehicle. This would be the
Marder III Tank Destroyer (English – Marder means Marten) based on the chassis of the
Czechoslovak Panzer 38(t) and produced in 3 variants, Sd.Kfz.139, Ausf.H, Sd.Kfz.138
and Ausf.M, Sd.Kfz.138. These Tank Destroyers saw action on all battlefronts.
In June 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union it wasn’t long before they realized
the T-34 and KV-1 were formidable weapons against their panzers. The Wehrmacht
needed many anti-tank weapons and one solution was the creation of the Sd.Kfz. 139
Marder III anti-tank gun using captured Soviet 7.62 cm guns mounted on older Czech-
built 38(t) tank chassis. The Marder III didn’t offer much protection for the 4-man crew but
it was a mobile anti-tank weapon that was much needed in 1942 and 1943. There were
363 Marder IIIs produced.