Panzer II

Panzerkampfwagen II
Panzer II at the Belgrade Military Museum
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1936–1945
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1934
Produced	1935–1943
No. built	1,856 (excluding conversions)
Specifications (Ausf. A-C)
Weight	8.9 t (8.8 long tons)
Length	4.81 m (15 ft 9 in)
Width	2.22 m (7 ft 3 in)
Height	1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)
Crew	3 (commander/gunner, driver, loader)
Armor	5–14.5 mm (0.20–0.57 in)
Main armament	1 × 2 cm KwK 30 Ausf. a–F 1 × 2 cm KwK 38 Ausf. J–L
Secondary armament	1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34
Engine	Maybach HL 62TRM 6-cylinder petrol 140 PS (138 hp, 103 kW)
Power/weight	15.7 PS (11.6 kW) / tonne
Suspension	Leaf spring
Operational range	200 km (120 mi)
Speed	40 km/h (25 mph)

The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II (abbreviated PzKpfw II).

Although the vehicle had originally been designed as a stopgap while larger, more advanced tanks were developed, it nonetheless went on to play an important role in the early years of World War II, during the Polish and French campaigns. The Panzer II was the most numerous tank in the German Panzer divisions beginning with the invasion of France. It was used in both North Africa against the Western Allies and on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union.

The Panzer II was supplanted by the Panzer III and IV by 1940/1941. By the end of 1942, it had been largely removed from front line service and it was used for training and on secondary fronts. The turrets of the then-obsolete PzKpfw Is and PzKpfw IIs were reused as gun turrets on specially built defensive bunkers, particularly on the Atlantic Wall. Production of the tank itself ceased by 1943, but its chassis remained in use as the basis of several other armored vehicles, chiefly self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers such as the Wespe and Marder II.

In 1934, delays in the design and production of the Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks were becoming apparent. Designs for a stopgap tank were solicited from Krupp, MAN, Henschel, and Daimler-Benz. The final design was based on the Panzer I, but larger, and with a turret mounting a 20 mm anti-tank gun. Production began in 1935, but it took another eighteen months for the first combat-ready tank to be delivered.