German Armored Forces & Vehicles

Pre-production model PzKpfw II - dead in Poland.

Unknown author.

Panzer PzKpfw II destroyed, Poland, 1939. The condition of the crewman's body on top of the turret suggests some burning - but the exact cause of destruction does not seem evident from this photo. The particular interest of this vehicle is that its track/suspension system identifies it as an early/pre-production model of the type - Ausf a/1, a/2 or a/3. Some 120 vehicles of these very early sub-types were produced prewar for testing and development purposes; it is perhaps an indication of Germany's desperate shortage of tanks early in the war that vehicles of these type remained in service as late as 1941, in spite of the fact that they had serious mechanical "issues" only resolved in later types. Best regards, JR.