Marder III Ausf H

Marder (Marten) III (SdKfz 138) also designated 7.5cm PaK40/3 auf PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf H. The Marder III was one of the more successful of the interim tank destroyers manufactured to counter the threat from Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. A 75mm (3 inch) gun was mounted in an open-top, center mounted carriage based on the Czech 38(t) chassis, with the engine at the rear (Ausf H was for Heckmotor, or rear engine). The Marder III, like all variants in the Marder series, lacked protection for the crew from weather and airborne shrapnel. Still, the Marder III fought on all fronts throughout the war. 418 were manufactured by Brueder Mannesmann (BMM) in Prague from November 1942 to December 1943.