Tamiya 1/48 Panzer II A/B/C (SdKfz 121) French Campaign Tank Kit

In the mid 1930s, the German military pushed the production of tanks. The Panzer I designed as a training tank, did not have the adequate performance, so a light tank was needed to full the gap until the Panzer III could be introduced. Therefore, the German Ordnance Department issued a request for a new training tank that could be used for combat. In the end, MAN was chosen in 1934 to produce the Panzer II, a compact 4.8m long, 2.2m wide design with a three man crew. The 8.9 ton tank featured a 2cm Kwk 30 L/55 cannon and 7.92mm machine gun in the turret, 15mm armor protection for turret and hull front, leaf spring suspension, and a 140hp Maybach HL 62 TRM engine matched with a ZF SSG46 transmission, which gave it a 40km/h top speed.