Little-known tanks of the Second World War include the German light reconnaissance tank "Lynx" (full name Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L "Luchs"). It was mass-produced in Germany in 1942-1943. Despite the initial order for 800 tanks, 140 or 142 tanks left the factory workshops of MAN and Henschel (according to various sources). Despite their small numbers, these combat vehicles managed to enter service with several divisions that fought on both the Eastern and Western fronts.
This combat vehicle was positioned as a further development of the PzKpfw II light tank, which was being built in a large series. In fact, the Luchs was a completely new tank. Like its larger and more formidable relatives in the family of felines "Tigers" and "Panthers", the light reconnaissance tank "Lynx" received a chassis with a staggered arrangement of road wheels. The 6-cylinder 180-horsepower engine installed on the tank accelerated it along the highway to a speed of 60 km / h, and new observation devices were also installed on the tank. But the booking scheme and the main armament - the automatic 20-mm KwK 38 cannon went to the Lynx from the original PzKpfw II, which automatically became the main drawbacks of the new combat vehicle, which did not add to its popularity among the troops.
A number of circumstances contributed to the appearance of the Wehrmacht's request for a light reconnaissance tank. At the initial stage of World War II, numerous armored vehicles coped with the tasks of conducting reconnaissance in the interests of motorized and tank units of the German army. Their use in this role was greatly facilitated by the development of the extensive road network of Western Europe (there were a large number of paved roads) and the enemy's lack of massive anti-tank defense. It is not hard to guess that after the attack on the USSR, the situation changed radically, instead of roads, directions appeared, especially the situation was aggravated in autumn and spring, when German technology literally got stuck in Russian mud. The second unpleasant surprise for the Wehrmacht was that the rifle divisions of the Red Army were armed with a sufficient amount of anti-tank artillery, besides, Soviet soldiers began to use anti-tank guns on an ever-increasing scale. A 14.5mm armor-piercing bullet fired from an anti-tank rifle easily penetrated the armor of all German light and heavy armored vehicles.
To rectify the situation, half-track armored personnel carriers Sd. Kfz.250 and Sd. Kfz.251 began to be massively transferred to reconnaissance battalions, light tanks Pz.38 (t) and Pz. II were also used for reconnaissance, but the need for a specialized reconnaissance tank became even more more obvious. However, the employees of the Wehrmacht Arms Directorate foresaw a similar development of events, initiating work on the creation of a light reconnaissance tank even before the outbreak of World War II. However, these works, in fact, ended in nothing and the first truly reconnaissance tank was created only in 1942, and went into mass production at the end of August of the same year. It was the MAN VK 1303 tank, which was tested in June 1942 at the famous training ground in Kummersdorf. During the tests, the vehicle covered 2,484 kilometers and was put into service under the designation Pz. II Ausf. L "Luchs". The preliminary order provided for the release of 800 tanks of this type.
Surprisingly, the tank was outdated by the beginning of production: the booking was clearly insufficient, although it exceeded the booking of armored vehicles, and the 20-mm automatic cannon was too weak a weapon. The armor of the tank hull in the range from 10 mm (roof and bottom) to 30 mm (hull forehead) was clearly insufficient, especially for entering the battlefields of 1943-1944. The welded box-shaped hull of a light reconnaissance tank was divided into three compartments: control (aka transmission compartment), combat and engine. In front of the hull there were the workplaces of the driver (left) and radio operator (right). Both had at their disposal observation devices located in the frontal sheet of the hull, they could be closed with armored shutters. The two-seat tank turret housed the tank commander, who also served as a gunner and loader.
The turret of the tank was welded, but for some reason the commander's cupola was missing. At the same time, two periscopic observation devices were installed in the roof of the tower - in the hatch covers of the commander and the loader. The latter also had a viewing device in the right side of the tower. Unlike all modifications of the Pz. II linear tanks, on the Lynx the turret was installed symmetrically relative to the longitudinal axis of the combat vehicle; the turret was rotated manually. All tanks were equipped with two radio stations: a shortwave radio station Fspr "f" and a VHF radio station FuG 12.
The main armament of the tank was a 20 mm Rheinmetall-Borsig KwK 38 automatic cannon, along with a 7, 92 mm MG 34 machine gun (MG 42). The rate of fire of the gun reached 220 rounds per minute, the muzzle velocity of the armor-piercing projectile was 830 m / s. It could penetrate a 25mm armor plate placed at a 30-degree angle at a distance of 350 meters. To start the war, such a gun was enough to confidently fight against Soviet light tanks BT and T-26, but against medium and heavy tanks, the gun was almost completely useless, although there was a chance to fight off light tanks T-60 and T-70 even with such a gun. … The effectiveness of fragmentation ammunition was also low. The tank's ammunition consisted of 330 rounds for the cannon and 2250 rounds for the machine gun.
German designers, even during the design process, understood that for 1942 the 20-mm cannon would be very weak, which would significantly limit the tactical capabilities of the new tank. For this reason, from April 1943, it was proposed to switch to the production of a tank armed with a long-barreled 50-mm KwK 39 cannon with a barrel length of 60 calibers. The same gun was installed on German tanks Pz. IIl of modifications J, L and M, it was enough to fight the T-34. At the same time, it was planned to place the gun in a new turret, since the old one was too small for it. Another feature was that the new extended tower was open on top, which also provided the crew with better visibility and the ability to observe the battlefield (after all, the tank was originally created as a reconnaissance vehicle). The prototype of the tank with such a turret was known as the VK 1303b, but its production was eventually limited to a few units.
The heart of the tank was a 6-cylinder liquid-cooled Maybach HL 66r carburetor inline engine, it developed a maximum power of 180 hp. at 3200 rpm. With this engine, the tank accelerated to 60 km / h when driving on the highway, which was more than enough. Leaded gasoline with an octane rating of 76 was used as fuel, the capacity of the two available gas tanks was 235 liters. The cruising range on the highway was approximately 290 km, while driving over rough terrain - no more than 150 km.
The undercarriage of the tank, applied to one side, consisted of five rubberized rollers located in two rows (staggered), guide wheels with a track tension mechanism and a front drive wheel. Telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers were located on the first and fifth road wheels. In general, due to the use of the staggered arrangement of the rollers, the tank had a good ride.
The Lynx light reconnaissance tank was mass-produced at two German enterprises: MAN and Henschel. Serial production began in the second half of August 1942. At the same time, 118 PzKpfw II aufs left the workshops of MAN. L Luchs, the Henschel company assembled a total of 18 combat vehicles. All of them were armed with a 20-mm automatic cannon KwK 38. The exact number of assembled tanks equipped with a 50-mm gun is unknown, according to various sources, only 4 to 6 of these combat vehicles left the factory workshops (and this is according to the most optimistic estimates).
The first production tanks began to enter combat units in the fall of 1942. According to the plans, it was planned to arm them with one company in the reconnaissance battalions of tank divisions. But in reality, the number of tanks released was not enough, only a few parts received new reconnaissance vehicles. For example, on the Eastern Front, these were the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions. On the Western Front - 2nd, 116th and Training Panzer Divisions. In addition, several "Rysey" were in service with the SS Panzer Division "Dead Head". Despite its small numbers, the PzKpfw II aufs. L Luchs were actively used until the end of 1944, and in the 4th Panzer Division, in which the 2nd company of the 4th reconnaissance battalion was fully equipped with these tanks (27 tanks in October 1943), the last remaining vehicles were used in 1945 year.
The combat use of these tanks confirmed the weakness of their armor protection and weapons, and if the Germans tried to do something with the first even in the field, then nothing could be done with the rearmament of the tanks. It is reliably known that in the 4th Panzer Division, the "Ryssey" unit received additional 20-mm armor plates in the frontal projection, which brought the armor thickness of the light tank hull's forehead to 50 mm.
The vast majority of these tanks were lost during the fighting on the Eastern and Western Fronts. Only two copies of the PzKpfw II aufs have survived to this day. L Luchs. One light reconnaissance tank is in France, in the tank museum in Samur, the second in the UK, in the tank museum in Bovington.
The performance characteristics of the PzKpfw II aufs. L Luchs ("Lynx"):
Overall dimensions: body length - 4630 mm, width - 2480 mm, height - 2210 mm.
Combat weight - 11.8 tons.
The power plant is a 6-cylinder carburetor engine Maybach HL 66р with a capacity of 180 hp.
The maximum speed is up to 60 km / h (on the highway), up to 30 km / h on rough terrain.
Cruising range - 290 km (highway), 150 km (cross country).
Armament - 20-mm automatic cannon KwK 38 and 7, 92-mm machine gun MG-34.
Ammunition - 330 shells, 2250 rounds for the machine gun.
Crew - 4 people.
