Sunday, November 17, 2019

Panzer 38(t) of 7. Panzer-Division in France 1940

The PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf B incorporated changes to better integrate the design into German practices, including German radios and tools. This is a column from I./PzRgt 25 (7. Panzer-Division) in France during June 1940. By the time of the 1940 campaign in Western Europe, over 200 PzKpfw 38(t) tanks had been delivered and Czech tanks amounted to about 13 per cent of German tank strength. Although a small fraction of overall German tank strength, they accounted for about half of the tanks armed with a 37mm gun. By 1940, two mechanized-cavalry divisions had been rebuilt as Panzer divisions with the PzKpfw 38(t) as their principal tank. 2. leichte Division became 7. Panzer-Division and 3. leichte Division became 8. Panzer-Division.


Source:
"Panzer 38(t) vs BT-7: Barbarossa 1941" by Steven J. Zaloga

Panzer Crewman of 7. Panzer-Division in 1940

An iconic portrait of a PzKpfw 38(t) crewman of 7. Panzer-Division, taken on 4 July 1940 in France. The padded Panzer beret, the Schutzmütze, was officially abandoned in favour of a field cap on 15 January 1941, though an exception was made for crews of the PzKpfw 38(t) due to the tank’s cramped interior. In practice, most PzKpfw 38(t) crews had switched to the field cap by the time of Operation Barbarossa.


Sumber :
"Panzer 38(t) vs BT-7: Barbarossa 1941" by Steven J. Zaloga