German tank Panzer 38(t) Ausf.E/F Tamiya-35369

Description

Before the invasion of the Czech Republic by the Nazis in 1938, the Czech army was already actively working on the creation of a medium tank that could replace its outdated LT-35, however, it was not until well into 1938 that the Tatra automobile production company delivered the first prototype of the LTM 38 tank which, with the Nazis already in power, was renamed the LTM 38. Panzer 38 (t).

The Panzer 38(t) was initially intended as a complement to the Panzer III. Easy to maintain, reliable, rugged, highly maneuverable and acceptably armed by the standards of the early years of World War II, the Panzer 38(t) soon gained great popularity among German tank crews.

The Panzer 38 (t) had a weight of 8.2 tonsits fuselage was riveted and it had a maximum shielding of 50 mm (for models E and F, represented in this Tamiya kit), was armed with a cannon (for models E and F, represented in this Tamiya kit). Skoda A7 vz.34 of 37mm and as a secondary weapon it mounted two machine guns. ZB 53 vz.37 of caliber 7.92mm. It had a Praga EPA 7-cylinder gasoline engine with 123 hp and its top speed on the road was 42 km/h (26 mph).

More than 1400 units of Panzer 38(t) were built until 1942 where production stopped due to the lack of efficiency of the Czech tank when facing Russian tanks such as the t34/76. Many of them were reused as chassis for other weapons such as the Marder III tank destroyer.