Bill Cross reviews CyberHobby.com's Pz. III "Operation Seelöwe."



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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Didn't the Germans actually use these in the opening phases of Barbarossa?

No, you are confusing this tank with the Tauchpanzer IV.


Cheers,

Christophe

Look forward to seeing how this one builds up Bill! The cost of the kit has made me hesitant to pick it up despite my general enthusiasm for the Pz III family.

Thanks, Bill, your knowledge of the family will come in handy.

Anyone know what happened to these when Sea Lion was called off? I assume they just went back into the motor pool?

The components needed for deeper water were removed and they were utilized for the crossing of the river Bug in the early stages of Barbarossa. Inspite of a earlier comment saying that it was only the Pzkpfw IV's, These III's were all used as well. The tanks were used by the 18th Panzer Division. Almost, if not all the tauchpanzers used in Russia, were modified Seelowe vehicles. The link below shows one such modified Pz III F, possibly a radio/command version, judging from the extended framing on the hull rear.

http://www.ww2incolor.com/german-armor/adi.jpg.html

Lee, I appreciate the photo, which I've seen previously, but this vehicle emerging from the water has none of the seal around the gun mantlet that is part of the waterproofing for Sea Lion. I'm not saying your thesis isn't valid, but the photo doesn't seem to support it.

In some sites it's said to be a Tauchpanzerbefehlswagen III

http://www.littlewars.se/sealion/germanweapons.html

http://worldwartwozone.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7541-panzer-iii/

http://www.wwiivehicles.com/germany/tanks-medium/pzkpfw-iii.asp

Thanks for the review Bill, I really liked the historical paragraph

Thanks, Mauro, I always like to provide some history to my reviews, and worry about including too much, LOL.

As to the photos, thanks for sharing those.

Tauchen in German means "dive under water," so Tauchpanzer is the correct term. Befehl indicates "command" vehicles, and this model clearly is not intended for that role (one of the photos shows a more-elaborate radio mast in the form of what looks like a handrail).

The photo of the Pz. III crossing the Bug doesn't have the mantlet and commander's cuppola covering, but those were designed to be jettisoned quickly once the vehicle came ashore. It also lacks the deep water wading mast that the kit's vehicle sports.

I'm not saying these tanks weren't later used in Barbarossa. Simply that not enough documentation or photos exist to make that a certainty.

Cyberhobby's niche is releasing vehicles that are rare or very specialized, and I think this kit fills that niche very well. According to the sources I've read, Hitler was VERY serious about invading England, and were it not for the failure of the Luftwaffe to gain air superiority, the invasion would have happened in the early Fall of 1940. So this is a really interesting variant on the Pz. III that I'm looking forward to building.