File:Panzer II Aus F (Chassis No 28434) (35738634874).jpg

Official designation:- Sd Kfz 121 Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf F. Chassis No 28434. German light tank in service from 1936 to 1945 with 1,856 built. This example is one of 524 of the Aus F variant produced. It was built in May 1942 and served in Tunisia with Panzer Regiment 7, 10th Panzer Division before being captured in May 1943. On display in the Tank Story Hall at The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset, UK. 26th July 2016

The following info is from the excellent Tank Museum website:-

“The original version of the Panzer II was introduced in 1936 as a platoon and company commanders’ vehicle. A full Platoon of each tank Company was equipped with them for tank vs. tank combat.

By the start of the Russian campaign in June 1941 the Panzer II was employed as a reconnaissance vehicle by the Panzer Regiments; they were withdrawn from frontline service during 1943, completely outclassed as combat vehicles. They continued to be used for internal security duties away from the front lines until the end of the war.

The Panzer II is of all welded construction, made at a time when most countries were still building tanks with riveted or cast hulls. Welded hulls have many advantages when compared to riveted ones: they are lighter and stronger and there aren’t any rivet heads to shear off and fly round inside the tank when it is hit by enemy fire. Powered by a petrol engine of 140 hp and carried on large independently sprung road wheels the later versions of the Panzer II had a sprightly cross country performance on firm ground, although its narrow tracks bogged down easily in the mud of the Russian spring and autumn.

The Tank Museum’s Panzer II is an Aus (Ausfuhrung or model) F. The Aus F was introduced in March 1941 and a total of 541 were built before production ceased in December 1942 out of a total Panzer II production of approximately 1,800 tanks. Production of the Panzer II chassis continued until July 1944 as the carrier of various anti-tank and field guns, notably the PaK 40 7.5cm anti-tank gun and the 10.5cm LeFH18M light howitzer.

Compared to earlier versions, the Aus F has a redesigned flat fronted hull. The thickness of the armour is increased from 14.5mm to 30mm on the hull front and the turret. The commander has a cupola with eight periscopes. The Germans noticed that anti-tank gunners were targeting the driver’s visor so a dummy one, made of aluminium, is fitted on the right hand side of the real visor!