In the works XIII

We’ve discussed the Spz HS.30 Lang previously, going in to some depth regarding what a mess it was. The Bundeswehr, of course, was painfully aware that the HS.30 hadn’t worked out and began work on a replacement in 1960. The new infantry fighting vehicle was even more ambitious: 12 dismounts who should be able to fight mounted or dismounted, amphibious capability, a better 20mm cannon and, of course, the new vehicle needed to work. Being able to reach full speed without the suspension breaking at the first bump was also desirable.

Limited budgets and manpower combined with changing requirements led to a pause in design work while the Kanonenjagdpanzer was developed in 1963. In ‘67 work resumed on a less ambitious IFV as the Germans ran into the same problem everyone else had: it simply wasn’t possible to cram 12, or even 8 infantrymen plus the crew into an amphibious vehicle with a turreted cannon of any kind, and give it a useful level of armor and keep the weight below 40 tons and keep the overall size down to something that fit existing rail transport and keep the cost down to something the Bundestag would agree to. The Germans didn’t have the problem of needing to fit air and sea transport as well like the US, France and Britain, which helped, but compromises had to be made. By 1970 the Germans had settled on the same compromise everyone else had: fewer dismounts and no amphibious capability beyond fording. 12 men plus the crew became 7 plus the crew, and then 6 with the introduction of the Milan anti-tank missile and the need to put it somewhere.

The production Marder 1A1 of 1971 was an innovative design with a number of clever features.

Say what you will, the Germans do make cool looking armored vehicles

The engine was mounted forward under a heavily sloped upper glacis. While technically manned, the two man turret’s crew are almost entirely within the hull, greatly reducing the turret’s size and weight as well as the turret crew’s vulnerability. Rather than going “over the top” as on the HS.30, the panzergrenadiers dismount through a large powered ramp in the hull rear as well as having individual hatches on the deck above them. The rear deck mounted remote control machine gun pod was another bit of cleverness. Marder also had a good turn of speed, capable of 47 mph on both paper and in the field as well as an operational range of 300 miles.

This is not to say that it was without flaws: the machine gun pod was quickly given up as a bad job, there was no built in night fighting capability and the Bundeswehr quickly came to the conclusion that infantry can’t do their jobs while mounted, just as everyone else to try it had. A series of upgrades added image intensification and thermal imaging, got rid of the machine gun pod and improved the 20mm cannon’s ammunition feed. The 1A1+ and 1A2 made significant, but largely invisible, changes to the sights, fuel tanks, radios, suspension and cooling system.

The 1A3 followed in 1988, adding a ton and a half of armor to handle 30mm fire from BMP-2s, changes to the top hatches and turret as well as automotive improvements.

With just over 2000 built, the Marder never reached the numbers originally intended for the HS.30 program, but did at least work.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the Marder did wind up seeing combat: The Bundeswehr force in Afghanistan took a few Marders with them, where they predictably had trouble with an environment they were never intended for, did badly when hit by IEDs, and just as predictably shredded the various insurgent groups whenever they made contact much as Canada’s Leopard C1s and the US Marine Corps M1s had. About 74 Marders were upgraded to the 1A5 for better performance in Afghanistan’s dust and altitude as well as greatly improved belly armor and crew and dismount arrangements for IED survival.

No, the skirts aren’t supposed to look like that. At least it’ll be an easier fix than all the trouble we had with Conqueror.

A few dozen of those vehicles were further upgraded to the 1A5A1 standard, with counter IED jammers, improved camouflage and most importantly, air conditioning.

Same style skirt, same style skirt problem. We’re working on it.

Hopefully you’ll never know what a lifesaver air conditioning is in an armored vehicle in places like Iraq or Afghanistan

Variants of the Marder chassis were exported to Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Indonesia and Jordan. It also saw extensive Bundeswehr service as the platform for the Roland radar guided surface to air missile. We’ll take a look at that on Wednesday along some other West German Cold War kit.