contents

Nuts & Bolts Vol 15, "Marder III", the Panzerjager 38(t) fur 7.62 cm PaK 36, Sd. Kfz. 139. Authors Volker Andorfer, Martin Block and John Nelson, published November 2001. This book is in both English and German text.

104 pages, with 232 photos, drawings and color plates as follows:

•198 black and white photos of the Marder III in action
•7 1/35 scale line drawings
•8 color drawings
•9 color photos of a scale model conversion
•22 black and white photos of the PaK 36
•7 1/35 scale line drawings.

overview

The book is written in both English and German, with the language text divided in two columns on each page and can be broken down into sections covering design and development of the Marder III, distribution and unit history, scale line drawings of all sides and the top, color drawings of actual vehicles in panzer gray, white wash, dark yellow and multi color camo schemes, detail photos of museum vehicles, scale line drawings of the PaK 36 and detail photos of a museum piece.

Of particular interest to me were the purpose behind the design and a field report highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the vehicle. The Marder III came about because Germany was unprepared to fight Soviet armor. It was a stop gap measure, placing captured Soviet 7.62mm field guns rus36 on the panzer 38(t) chassis. The vehicle was very tall, had a high center of gravity and wore down quickly because of the excess weight and poor balance, but at the time of its deployment was the most powerfully armed afv in the German army and was well liked and highly regarded by its crews. A chart is included showing which units received the SdKfz 139, how many were received by date, and one chart showing how many were still in service in December 1944. Photos are scattered through the section, including what appears to be the source for the Tamiya kit and its crew.

There are dedicated sections of period reference photos with text, identifying vehicles by unit and location where possible, and showing a wide variety of locations and paint schemes. The detail photos of the museum vehicle are very specific, covering every part of the body. The captions indicate where post war modifications have been made.

The section on the PaK 36 is brief, but again includes the scale line drawing and photos of a museum piece, which should make a great reference for plastic kits of the gun.

conclusion

The book is on the expensive side, but in realistic comparison is about the same price as a model kit of the vehicle would be, or an aftermarket set. If it is worth it to detail your model, it is probably worth it to get this reference so it is done correctly. I think it is a valuable resource to have on hand.


Nuts & Bolts may be purchased from Nuts & Bolts direct at [email protected] or from various vendors such as RZM Imports and DragonUSA.