A Pz I/Pz III Hybrid tank?

German weapons, vehicles and equipment 1919-1945.

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Paulus II
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Post by Paulus II »

Hi Sid,
If there is a Czech connection here, this oddity might have escaped attention for the same reason.
I'm not sure about this. Various sites claim that the picture was found in an Italian newspaper. Nowhere does it say in what paper or when so I've no idea how serious this claim is. But it could rule out the Warsaw Pact connection.

I wonder if anyone could find out what paper this was and when the picture was published. If this story is true it might open the way to the original source and provide us with some facts about the vehicles origins.

Cheers,

Paul
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Paulus II
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Post by Paulus II »

Hi all,

Since I was very intrigued by this vehicle I decided to contact the firm that originally may have built the vehicle.
Dr. Ch. Leitzbach of Rheinmetall promptly answered to question. Unfortunately they don't have any records left at Rheinmetall but he sent me an e-mail adress of the Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung where Herr Köhler delved into the archives.
The picture itself is known to them but they have no info on the exact origins of the hybrid tank. They think that it was used for the training of the turretcrews of tanks but only as a temporary stopgap measure. The woodgas installation was never used on any armoured vehicle in active frontline service.
It's not much but apparantly the best there is.

Cheers,

Paul
phylo_roadking
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Post by phylo_roadking »

I know that Rheinmetall was one of the companies "raided" by the Americans in 1945, looking for war booty in the form of manufacturing processes and patents, so IF this was factory built those records probably reside now in the Pentagon, or in a dusty crate next to Indiana Jones' Ark of the Covenant in THAT big warehouse, with Scully and Mulder running down the next aisle....

All that aside, all I can say now is that it looks SO bad and badly finished, I doubt Rheinmetall would have put their name to it. It would have been a a MUCH better job.......

phylo
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Doktor Krollspell
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Post by Doktor Krollspell »

Gentlemen! Thanks again for your continuous discussion/research on "my" posted Panzer. I've really enjoyed your many thoughts and ideas on the origin/use of this strange little Beast... :D


With best regards,

Krollspell :[]
"Wie es eigentlich gewesen ist"
Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886)
joefraser
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Post by joefraser »

hi.
There is a model kit of an aufklarungspanzer 140/1. this looks like it has a pzIII turret on a pz 38 t chassis. The model is made by attack in 1/72 scale. I don't know if it is similar or anything else about it, but they may have been just experimenting and trying to get cheaper afvs, maybe for infantry support roles.
Probably doesn't help but you never know.
joefraser
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