Preview: Das Werk's new Pz. Sfl. Ia 5cm Pak 38 tank destroyer VK3.02 in 1/35th scale
Pz. Sfl. Ia 5cm Pak 38 tank destroyer VK3.02
From Das Werk
1/35th scale
Injection moulded plastic kit
Price: 27.50€ from MBK
The Subject:
July 1940, Rheinmetall was tasked by the Wehrmacht to develop a new light tank destroyer that could be used by airborne troops. Rheinmetall used the new recently developed Borgward VK302 armoured ammunition carrier as its basis, and armed it with the 5 cm PaK 38. It became the Panzerselbstfahrlafette 1a 5cm PaK 38 auf Gepanzerter Munitionsschlepper VK302.
CAD drawings of the kit's layout...
The vehicle was armed with the 5 cm PaK 38 gun with 32 rounds of ammunition and without any secondary armament. It was primarily intended to by use by German airborne troops, who needed support vehicles that could be transported with them by plane. The 5cm PaK 38 was mounted on top of the engine compartment, with room for one man on each side. A limited traverse mount allowed 40° traverse and – 10 + 20° elevation. Ammunition was stored alongside the driver in the place that was formerly occupied by the commander. To cope with the recoil loads imposed on the very small chassis, a spade was lowered at the rear of the vehicles. The armour ranged from 8 – 14.5 mm. The fighting compartment was the area behind the antitank gun’s armoured gun shield. This offered protection only from 7.92mm armour ammunition. The self-propelled gun was operated by the crew of three people: the driver he was placed inside the vehicle, gunner who was placed left of the gun and loader. who was right of the gun,
Here is the alternate version of this little tank destroyer called 5cm PaK auf Pz.Kpfw.II Sonderfahrgestell 901
The dimensions of this vehicle were: Width 1.83m, Length 3.57m and Height 1.44m (VK302). Combat weight is in the range of 4.5 tons, it could reach up to 30 km/h with its Borgward 6M RTBV six-cylinder 50 hp engine, with an operational range of 150 km. There is no information if any of these vehicles were equipped with a radio, and if there was any room for it. It was planned to producd some 200 vehicles of the type, but only two were ever built, and these were issued for troop trials in July 1942. But by that time the 5cm PaK 38 was no longer a viable antitank gun and the whole project was abandoned. Detailed information about their participation in the war is not known.
Here is a photo of an Pz.Sfl.Ic. Taken in the summer or autumn of 1942, this photograph is proof that at least one of the Pz.Sfl.Ic types did indeed make it to the 3rd battery of the 559th Tank Destroyer Battalion fightng on the Eastern Front
The Kit:
Adapted from the earlier Plastic kit for a self-propelled tank gun Ia with 5cm anti-tank gun on the armoured ammunition tractor Munitionsschlepper VK3.02.
- An all-new crew compartment, ammunition storage system and new 5cm Pak 38 are included in this kit
- Segmented tracks (link and length tracks)
- The decal sheet provided in his kit
- Four marking options in German service are included in this box
You can find out more information on this kit, or where to pre-order it from on the Das Werk Website
