German Panzer II Light Tank (Sd.Kfz.121), Part 1, Revised September 20, 2002 Picture 1: Re-armament in Germany was increasing in importance by 1934, and the Heerswaffenant (Army Weapons Branch) issued a request for designs for a vehicles (Pz.l). ‘Maschinenfabrik Angsburg-Niirnberg (MAN) was subsequently chosen to develop the new chassis while Daimler-Benz. worked on the superstructure and turret, although eventually Henschel, ‘Wegmann, Aikett, Muhlenbau-Industrie AG (MIAG), and Fahrzeug und Motorenbau GmbH (FAMO) were all involved with Pz. manufacture. Evolving through a number of development types (Ausf.al, a2, a3, b, and c), production began in earnest with the ‘Ausf.A (notice the capital "A") in 1937 and was followed by minor changes in the Ausf.B and C. The Pz.Il in the Imperial War Museum photo is one of these standard production vehicles, uparmored with additional armor plates (notice the applique mantlet armor, for instance). It is a vehicle that belonged to the 21st Panzer Division and was abandoned during the North African Operation Crusader battles at the end of 1941. ‘The Pz.LI Ausf.D was a bit different from the Ausf.A-C. It was introduced at the same time as the Ausf.C but was designed for fast cavalry work. It had a redesigned hull and superstructure and, for the first time, a torsion bar suspension. Even though the Ausf.D had an increased maximum speed of 55kmh, there were only 43 of them produced, seeing action only in Poland as far as I can tell. By March of 1940 the vehicles had been converted to Flammpanzer (Flame-throwing tank). The final version of the Pz.lI was the Aust F, again a refinement of the original design, and it included a new more powerful engine along with other minor improvements. The Ausf.F was manufactured solely by FAMO of Breslau and also saw action in North Africa and on the Eastern Front. Production of the Pz.II ended in 1942 after realization that the tank was both too lightlyarmored and armed, although the proven automotive chassis continued to be built for other uses until later in the war. The bewildering number of exterior variations on the Pz.II design from Ausf.a through Ausf F (particularly involving the running gear) has provided military vehicle historians with a real identification challenge. But the nine-ton AFV's three-man interior changed very little throughout the vehicle's production and is easy to study, if you have basic references. Picture 2: This is an existing, drawing of a Panzerkampf wagen II Ausf, the interior arrangement being very similar to most of the production, versions of the Pz.II (Ausf.A, B, C, and F). The driver sat to the left in the front of the hull, but because the hull was narrow the right side was taken by the large transmission. The superstructure could be unbolted and removed, and the front plate (in front of the driver) contained the driver's armored visor flap and removable glass block. There were also two holes bored through the armor above the flap that allowed the use of a binocular periscope when the vision flap was closed in combat. One identifying feature of the first Ausf.A-C is that the front armor plate on the early vehicles was angled back on the right side (in front of the transmission) and a second visor flap, a dummy, was located on this angled plate. When the later Ausf.F was designed, this front armor plate was changed to one continuos straight plate that extended across the width of the vehicle. It did, however, still feature a dummy aluminum vision flap in front of the transmission, apparently to draw enemy fire toward that side and away from the driver's visor. The dummy visor has also confused AFV enthusiasts and scholars for years, suggesting that a second crewmen was located in the bow of the Pz.II. But of course, there was no one there. The same hull/chassis was used ina conversion called the Marder II, when a large 7.5em gun was mounted on the hull for the purpose of tank killing. Our pages on the Marder II, found elsewhere in AFV INTERIORS, provides additional information regarding the drive train and other interior components in the bow of the vehicle.Off to the right side of the hull is the fuel tank with two fuel filler necks rising up to ‘where the top of the superstructure deck would be; these filler pipes are best seen in the top drawing. The second crewman's seat (the radio operator) is located at the left rear of the fighting compartment-- in this case the seat is shown facing to the rear in the bottom drawing. At that position he has another armored visor flap on the back superstructure plate allowing a view out over the engine deck. There is a round air filter canister shown at the right-rear comer of the compartment, next to the radio operator. The engine is located in the rear on the right hand side of the hull, with its radiator and fan to the left. ‘The third and final crewman in the machine was the commander who manned the one- man turret, his seat attached to the rear of the turret lip and rotating with it, Picture 3: All models of the Pz.II (Ausf.A-F) were powered by a similar engine, the Ausf.A, B, and C using the 140hp, water-cooled HL62TR engine and the Ausf.D and E the slightly more powerful HL62TRM. But Ausf.A, B, C and F used a 6-speed ZF SSG 46 gearbox, while the Ausf.D and E used a Maybach Variorex VG unit, providing seven forward speeds and three reverse. This factory photo shows the right side of the production hull with the armored superstructure unbolted and removed. To the lower left is the driver's seat, and to his right is the ZF SSG gearbox with its driveshaft tunnel extending from the gearbox to the rear-mouinted engine clearly visible (off to the far right). The hatch on the curved front glacis plate is the driver's hatch; there is also one on the turret roof for the commander/gunner. At the far side of the hull is the 170 liter (37gal) fuel tank that we saw in the previous drawing, and in the right-rear corner of the fighting compartment is the air cleaner for the engine. To the lower right is the radio operator's seat, this time shown facing forward, and there is a shelf for the radio on top of the left sponson, ‘The dark shape aver the drive shaft is a typical German AFV fire extinguisher in its bracket, and above it, to the left, is a leather case for vehicle operating manuals and maps. To the right of the leather case is a storage box for 20mm magazines. I am notsure what the tall basket next to the air cleaner would contain~ it may have been a receiver for spent shells, or perhaps a bin for signal flag stowage. Let's take a closer look at this side of the hull, first examining the transmission area. Picture 4: ‘The ZF uansmission is clearer in this enlargement and there appears to be an oil can on the top of the case. Although it is a bit hard to see, the shift lever is on this side of the transmission case, rising from close to the floor level and angling forward before ending ina handle. The handle is visible next to the driver's right grab handle, Unfortunately, both of the steering levers have been pushed so far forward that they are out of sight. The driver's seat back is visible, and the top of the large toolbox next to his seat is also clear. Between the toolbox and the radio speaker box are two spare glass vision blocks. ‘On the far side of the hull is a small instrument panel, sitting above another toolbox, this ‘one not labeled. To the right of this white toolbox is the angled front of the fuel tank. Mounted on this angled panel are what appears to be another spare vision block, and a case for spare MG34 barrels ("MG-Laufbehalter"). On the side of the fuel tank facing us is a dark leather satchel and to the right is another stowage box, this one contains accessories for the 2cm weapon ("Zubehorkasten fir 2cm"). Below this toolbox is a very dark fire extinguisher in a bracket, wedged between the toolbox and driveshaft. and although it is hard to see, the battery box is located below the driveshaft. The main instrument panel for the driver is mostly out of sight on top of the gearbox, but the large characteristicGerman AFV speedometer dial is clearly visible on the right side of the panel. nt in the Pz.II. The large can-type other side nf the starage hasket. The air intake pipe gnes fram the filter to the carbouretor on the intake manifold, disappearing briefly behind the oil reservoir tank on the other side of the firewall. On this side of the basket is the radio operator's seat, here facing forward, and we can see the top of the radio cabinet at the bottom of the picture. The two small boxes on top of the radio cabinet are the Morse Code key on the right and an intercom connection box on the left. The ammo drum for MG34 belted rounds is to the left of the cabinet, and the top of the radio speaker is at the lower-left corner.Picture 6: This is the view of the left side of a production type Pz.lI chassis. The 6-cylinder, in- line, water-cooled Maybach engine is now clearly visible at our left, with the air hose from the filter in the fighting compartment passing through the firewall to the carburetor on top of the engine. The exhaust manifold and cylinder/valve cover are seen on the top of the engine, On the far side of the engine is the radiator and fan with shroud, and just forward of the firewall is the radio operator's seat, partially hidden by an oil reservoir tank, next to the engine. ‘The empty boxes/cabinets for the radios are now better viewed on the far sponson wall. Notice that there are two boxes, one on the bottom that can hold two radios side by side and one on the top that can hold one. Early in the war the radio was typically just the Fu2 (receiver-- one box) or Fu5 (receiver and transmitter-- two boxes) for commander's vehicles. But as the war progressed, the typical radio set in the Pz.IT became the Fu, and unit commanders added another Fu2 set, requiring space for three radio boxes, as, ‘we see in this illustration. Just forward of the upper radio shelf is a speaker box for the radios. German AFY radios did not generally have a built-in speaker so one had to be set nearby. Further along the sponson is a larger box mounted on the wall next to the Griver- this is a toolbox. Some of the driver's position detail is also seen in this photograph, including two handholds in front that were welded to the chassis plates close to the point where the superstructure was bolted on. The driver steered the AFV with traditional tiller levers through a simple epicyclic clutch and brake system, and there are three floor pedals in front of the driver's seat, an accelerator, clutch, and brake, Pulling back on one of the steering levers first engaged the clutch that then slowed the drive sprocket on that side and initiated a turn. Pulling back further engaged the brake on the same side, and further enhanced the turn. Maximum road speed for the production Pz.II was around 40kph (25mph). Notice that the floor has a pronounced non-slip diamond pattern and that it is painted a dark color, perhaps the typical greenish gray we have seen in other panzers. The hull walls from the floor up are a lighter color, probably the typical ivory Elfenbein found in other German panzers built during most of the war.‘seen, in this section of the enlargement. There is an MG34 ammo drum holder to the right of the top radio box, between the box and the speaker box. Between the speaker box and the toolbox ("Werkzeugkasten’) next to the driver's seat are two spare vision blocks. ‘There are at least three large toolboxes in the hull, this is the only one that is painted a dark color in this particular vehicle. Some of the detail of the top of the gearbox next to the driver is a bit clearer, but most of the case is hidden behind this end of the fuel tank, although its filler tube and cap are now prominent.Picture 8 ‘The left side of the enlargement is a bit more illuminating where it shows the engine compartment. The exhaust manifold is clear on this side of the engine, with a port for each of the six in-line cylinders visible. The tube rising from just this side of the manifold is the oil dipstick-- there is a cap on the end that has a level indicator attached to it, like you find in modern vehicles. On the far side of the engine is the radiator and above this area is a grating in the armor deck allowing cooling air down to the radiator. ‘The air is drawn in by the fan, which is located to the left of the radiator, here covered by a shroud at the upper-left corner of the enlargement. Also very clear here is the air intake piping for the carburetor, coming from the air filter hidden on the other side of the fuel tank filler neck, and arriving at the carb located on the left side of the engine valve cover.the installation of a Fu.5 radio on the left side of the hull. This is a slightly later radio installation than what we saw previously, and a larger mount and support are necessary for the larger Fu.5 radio boxes. The antenna and power cords are seen attached to the far right of the 10 W.S.c transmitter box on the right, while the U.kw.E.e receiver on the left has cords for headphones and speaker attachments. Recall that like most German ABV radio equipment in WWII, these boxes were typically painted gray and had black or dark gray faces with black knobs and electrical connectors. The Morse key is seen at the left end of the work shelf. At the upper left comer of the picture is the vision block cover for the viewer found on the back of the superstructure, over the engine deck. We will continue our exploration of the Pz. II with the turret in Part 2. (©) 2002, 2003 AFV INTERIORS Web MagazineGerman Panzer II Light Tank (Sd.Kfz.121), Part 2, Revised September 20, 2002 Picture 1: This is the second of a two-part series exploring the interior of the German Pz.II tank used in WWII. The turret of most of the Pz.II tanks housed only the commander/gunner and his armament consisting of a 2em Kw.K.30 L/55 on his left, and a 7.92mm MG34 on his right. The Kw.K.30 was fed from a small ten-round box magazine because the standard magazine for the 2cm Flak 30 gun, which held 20 rounds, was too large for use in this turret. Like the Flak 30 gun, the Kw.K.30 was recoil operated, and when ‘mounted in the Pz.II turret it was fully automatic, firing AP and HE rounds at around 280rpm. The 2cm Pzgr. AP projectiles could pierce 25mm of armor at 30 degrees obliquity at 400yds which was good enough to penetrate most light tanks at the time the Pz.lI was designed. Later in the war its effectiveness was greatly reduced as enemy armor became thicker and the Pz.II was removed to purely reconnaissance and rear area duties. Tn this photo yon can see the center mounted T.7.F.4 sight with its 2.x magnification and 25-degree field of view, complete with a brown forehead pad. The sight was used for both guns (they were coaxially mounted) and was range scaled to a maximum of 1,200 meters. The Kw.K.30 was fired by using a trigger on the elevating handwheel tothe left, and the MG34 by a trigger on the traversing wheel on the right. Elevation was possible by using a toothed support attached to the turret ceiling and by cranking the elevation handwheel the gun support would travel up and down this support. The traversing handwheel acted through a gearbox mounted on the lip of the turret in the normal way by engaging the gearing of the turret ring. It took around 90 turns of the handwheel for a full 360-degree turret rotation. If necessary, the traversing gear could be disengaged completely and the turret rotated by pushing it around manually on its ball bearings. Gun elevation for both weapons was limited to +20 to -9 degrees. This view of a later style turret shows the commander's cupola with its padded hatch pad and an opening lever to the upper-right of the hatch. I believe all Pz.II models sent to Africa had this new cupola added to the turret roof as well as modifications for tropicallization. These included holes cut in the engine deck for additional ait circulation and increased radiator fan speed for improved water cooling, Kopipolser Picture ten For uel 22 patronee The turret TragHoten had no Sasieeohe for turret Tumsitz basket or floor, so the command Sehvtesng €F Sat in a padded seat that suspended Pocteniahne by tubes ('Stiteroh, + fiir Turmsitz") from the rear of the turret ring. As I mentioned earlier, many vehicles ‘were retrofitted with a commander's cupola by the spring of '41, which replaced the double door rectangular hatch of the earlier models. The new cupola included eight vision blocks-- the original hatch you see here only had a simple rotating periscope and id not provide enough of an outside view for the commander. Turmbukendckel Turmbslouehiusg Treg Hoken Wolzenblonce Sehitonpe. \ \\ kugetiogor Avsechbiech — Holtegurt Site Notice that the seat originally included a seatbelt ("Haltegurt") and that it was adjustable in height. The original turret roof hatch ("Turmlukendeckel’) had a flare pistol flap in ‘one of the doors and the flares were stored in a box ("Kasten fir Leuchtpatronen") on the rear of the turret lip. The turret traverse gearbox ("Turmschwenkwerk’) is illustrated here also, as well as a storage box for spare glass vision blocks ("Kasten f Reserveschutzglas u. Sehschlitzpanz ‘urmbeleuchtung” means turret light in English, "Sehklappe' is vision flap, "Rinne" is rain shield, "Trag-Haken” is lifting hook and "Kugellager" is the ball bearing race.icture picture of the rear of the turret provides é nh a he commander's headphones and throat mikes are stored in the box you see hanging on the turret lip to our left of the seat support bracket, while to the right is an electrical junction box and the connect box for his radio gear. Up on the lip and to the upper right in the picture is the storage box we saw in the previous sketch for flair pistol rounds (Kasten fiir Leuchtpatronen). To the left, and directly to the rear of the turret, are the viewing block mounts on the turret walls, including the head pads and port cover opening handles, Picture 4: This is the front of the turret mantlet without weapons or sight installed. The large support mount for the Kw.K.30 is at the left, with the shelf for the box feed magazine to its left and angled slightly forward. Two direct viewing flaps were included in the gun mantlet, a larger one between the Kw.K.30 and sight, and a smaller one to the right. This second viewing flap had a hole bored in its lower right corner for the MG barrel, and when the flap was opened it allowed the MG to be fired over open sights. Each flapa very well thought-out system, but more complicated and expensive, and requiring more maintenance. ‘Some of the major components of the system are illustrated in this drawing. We are looking at the mechanism from the front; the Kw.K.30 is to the left and its barrel, pointing straight at us, is the larger series of circles. The weapon is mounted into a cradle, or shelf, called a "Schlitten’, and below the cradle is the recoil spring encased in a piston, "Federzylinder” and “Bremsbacke". The "Zurrbugel" (what a great word!) is the gun travel support that was used when not in combat; it was hinged at its attachment to the ceiling so it could be swung up and clipped to the roof, out of the way, when not in use. Although it looks very complicated, the actual threaded rod and follower are based on the simple system I mentioned before, the rod rotating as the handwhee! is cranked, and the follower on the rod then pulling the gun mount up or down the threads as they are rotated. The "Winkelhebel’ and "Rolle" is a lever and roller mechanism that could be used to lock the cradle at a certain position along the elevation cylinder. The other identified components are part of the recoil mechanism and mounting. At the bottom of the image is the elevation handwheel-- remember we are looking at it from the front-- and some of the gearing between the handwheel and threaded rod are shown, as well as the firing trigger that is incorporated into the handle. general familiarit y with the turret mantlet and weapons, = sight and MG34, but now from the left side of the turret. Notice the late commander's cupola at the upper right with its empty periscope frames. There is a small interior light (with wires) at the upper-left on the ceiling, and an adjusting knob for distance ranging is seen to the left of the sight. The Pz.II carried around 180 rounds of Pzgr. (AP) and Sprgr. (HE) for the 2em weapon (18 10-round magazines). Most of the box magazines were carried in bins and brackets on the superstructure walls and down in the hull. ‘The MG34 ammo belt feed chute is seen as a slide-like structure on the left side of the gun receiver and at the lower-center of the photo. For the MG34, there were beltedof the open hatch can be seen here, including padding and simple locking handle. Also, if you look carefully you will see the two holes for the driver's binocular periscope; the holes are centered over the driver's closed vision flap, The Kw.K.30 was a reworked 2cm Flak 30 with a shorter barrel, a Rheinmetall design developed at Solothurn (actually Waffenfabrik Solothurn AG) during the late 1920's. This was a period when the Germans were exporting their gun design and ‘manufacturing skills to other countries for development and production due to restrictions placed on them by the Versailles Treaty. The KwK.30 was a recoil-operated ‘weapon that was percussion fired and was actually just an over-grown Solothurn MG30. Like most German AP projectiles used during the war, the 2em Pzgr. projectile was painted black and used a brass or brass plated cartridge Picture 8: This is the rear of a Pz Ausf-F that was captured by the British in Tunisia from the Regimental HQ Company of Panzer Regiment 7 (bison marking on , turret). This same vehicle is now preserved in the Bovington, England. While the earlier Pz.II models had layers of applique ° armor added as their vulnerability became ever more apparent, the Ausf.F vehicles were designed to accommodate thicker armor from the start with only minor changes in the overall layout. For instance, the same unique design of the rear engine deck that was apparent in the Ausf.A-C is still visible here, with the engine located to the right side where the deck armor is angled up toward the superstructure, and the radiators and fan located on the left where the deck is flat. Notice the radio operator's armored vision flap on the superstructure in front of the flat deck, the armored flap partially hidden by a spare road wheel on the flat decking. Also notice the turret vision flaps on each plate making up the turret walls, and the newer commander's cupola with periscopes on the roof. Vision flaps on the Pz.II were generally of two types, those with a vision slit in the flap and those without. All vision flaps had beveled seating surfaces and overlapping sides, creating a seal with a rubber seat attached to the hull around the openings. Those flaps with a slit had the 4mm wide ccut in the raised portion of the flap, the raised area cast into the flap and included as a deflector. Eye protection against bullet splash through the slit was provided by replaceable 12mm thick "Luglas-Glaskombination” (laminated glass blocks) behind thevision slit. In combat, these blocks were supposed to be replaced with steel plates, according to the vehicle manuals. Those vision flaps with a slit were called "Sehklappe mit Sehschlitz" and those without were "Sehklappe ohne Sehschlitz", and the flaps without vision slits did not have glass block protection. On the rear armor plate of the hull are the muffler and exhaust pipe to the right, and a smoke discharger box to the left, the individual smoke candles hidden from view inside the armored box. Also notice that the radio antenna is mounted on the left side of the hull, where the radios and radio operator would be located inside the tank. Picture 9: Further developments of the Pz.II line included the Ausf.G (or Neuer Art Vk 901) with yet another redesigned suspension, the Ausf,J with as much armor as possible placed on the basic vehicle and a more powerful Maybach HL45p engine, and the Ausf-L, or Luchs (Lynx) Sd.Kfz.123, a completely different vehicle entirely. Tam including this picture of the interior of the Luchs to illustrate the direction German light tank development was headed near the end of the war. It's also a very well produced photograph. The Luchs included a four man crew and around 100 were actually built by MAN through January '44 (when production ceased), most used in recce units of a few panzer divisions. This famous photo from the Tank Museum library of a captured vehicle shows the front of the turret with a view below toward the driver's area at the forward left, and the radio operator's to the right. The photo is possible because there was a large hatch at the back of the turret. The front two hull seats are gone, but an interesting instrument panel is visible at the driver's position (along with ‘two steering levers) and the rack for one of the radios is also visible in front of the right- front crew position,Up in the two-man turret, the gunner is now to the right of the improved 2em Kw.K.38 ‘weapon (the sight is missing, but the mount and rear support are visible) and the commander would be seated to the left, behind the MG34 (also missing here). The gunner's elevation handwheel can be seen at the bottom of the rear of the main weapon and the traverse handwheel Is in the same position as the early Pz.TIs, at the right. Two gas mask container brackets are mounted on the forward-right turret wall and a storage box for spare vision blocks is at the far right in the picture, like it was in the earlier Pz.lls. For some reason there was no cupola included on the turret roof, but periscopes mounted in the ceiling allowed 360 degrees of vision for both commander and gunner. Obviously, designing/producing a turret with room for two allowed the commander the chance to actually command the vehicle and greatly improved the effectiveness of the small panzer. But even with these improvements, the writing was on the wall for light tanks by the end of WWII, and except when they were used as reconnaissance/scout vehicles, their effectiveness was just about exhausted for all user nations. Within the period of 10 years of war and accelerated AFV design, the Pz.II was reduced from a position of spearheading the German advance across France (40% of the German panzer force), to second-line action. Many of the illustrations used in this page come from copies of original German vehicle manuals. Others are copies of images from the Imperial War Museum and the Tank Museum, both in England. If you would like to contribute to our knowledge of the interior mechanics of the Pz.II, please contact me directly. We can always use additional information and will post it here. (c) 2002, 2003 AFV INTERIORS Web Magazinerounds of .m.K. in either metal drums or 150-round bags (17 carried, according to references). The MG ammo bags ("Hulsensack")were made of tan canvas, had a metal mouth with hinged metal lid, and were highly effective at keeping the metal linked ammo belts free of dirt. You can see them under the MG in Picture 1 above. The ammo feed entrance into the receiver of the MG34 was on the left side, and all ammo feed belt containers were attached to this side of the gun, or slung directly below. When space was tight on the left of the machine gun, and a feed container wouldn't fit in the space available, ammo belts were occasionally directed over the top of the MG from feed bins cor bags on the right, as you will find on the Panther tank and a few others. Also, in most cases there was accommodation for a second ammo bag that was also hung under the G34, but this one was empty and located to the right in order to catch spent cartridges as they were ejected. Again, this is illustrated in Picture 5. ‘The T.Z.F.4 sight, like most German panzer telescopic sights during WWII, was an articulated tube sight, and this end of the optical tube did not move as it was normally attached to the turret ceiling by a brace, like you see here. This type of sight possessed a moveable elbow joint at the articulation with prisms that allowed the gun and mantlet to elevate, while keeping the sight objective and forehead pad steady for the gunner. In this why the gunner did not have to follow a moving sight in order to maintain his view of his target. The forehead pad allowed for viewing the sight only through the right eye. The left eye was covered by a black piece of felt, some of which you can see here. Picture This is a photo froma series {taken by the # British of an nparmored Pz TT, gain showing some of the improvernents the ~ Germans made to jibe small panzer as the war dragged on. This, Ai gvehitcle was dug- in along the Egyptian frontier «and formerly belonged to the Sea 5."Regimental Medical Officer of Pz.Rgt.8 in the 15th PD. Notice the early stepped front armnor plate (Ausf.A-C) with additional bolted-on armor protection, as well as the additional armor on the mantlet, The top and bottom lips on the mantlet applique armor eliminated the bullet splash that entered around the mantlet as it was an internal type that was prone to splash penetration and jamming. The 2m weapon is still installed in the turret, but it looks like the MG34 is missing. Like all the other Pz.lIs sent to Africa, the new commander's copula has been added to this vehicle, and some of the basic interior detail‘was hinged at the top and opened with a push/pull handle that you can see here, the two handles appearing like white balls on the end of the opening lever. Although not depicted here, there was a gun travel lock for the K.wK.30 that connected between the ‘weapon cradle and the turret roof. When the weapon was not in use, the travel lock was used to keep it from bouncing and loosing its alignment with the sight as the vehicle moved over rough ground. By April of 1940, around 1300 Pz.II chassis had been produced (Ausf.A, B and C = 1,100 vehicles), including those for flame-thrower vehicles as well as bridgelayers. Picture 5: Like most German tank components, the elevation mechanism in the Pz.IL was very well designed, perhaps over-designed. It consisted of a threaded rod surrounded by a cylinder attached to the ceiling on the left side of the 2m ‘gun, and a rotating follower surrounding the rod that attacher directly to the gun cradle. The traverse handwheel at the bottom of the threaded rod rotated the rod through a series of gears, causing the follower surrounding the rod to rotate and raise or lower, pulling the attached gun mounts along with it. This is a common gun elevation system found in small turrets and weapons systems, but this particular German design avoided a couple of problems commonly seen in other vehicles. Other designs did not rotate the rod, but used it as a line of gearing that a hand crank gearing system, attached directly to the gun cradle, could travel up or down upon. ‘When that happened, the handwheel had to follow the cradle up and down the rod and meant that the gunner's arm changed elevation along with the weapons as he cranked the handwheel, But in this case, the handwheel is attached to a stationary gearbox that rotates the rod, thereby keeping the gunner and his arm more or less stationary in his seat as hee turns the handwheel. Also, since this threaded rod can be encased in a protective sleeve, there is less of a chance of catching anything on the gearing, unlike the other design where the rod threads are exposed. Lastly, notice that the rod and its case do not extend down into the hull for possible snagging (or head banging) because they are located far forward in the turret, therefore requiring a shorter length of rod. It is.