1:35 German Pz. Kpfw III Ausf. L
Item #35215

DESCRIPTION
About the German Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf.L

The German Pz.Kpfw. III, along with the IV, played an active part
in the early stages of WWII as their main strength tanks.
However when they encountered the Russian KV and T-34 tanks on
the Eastern Front, the weakness of the Pz.Kpfw.III was revealed
and the balance of power tipped in favor of the Russians. Thus
the Pz.Kpfw. III underwent constant improvement throughout its
career to maintain an advantage. The Pz.Kpfw. III had a number of
types, from the A to N. Among them, the Ausf. L was produced
from July 1942. As it was manufactured at the existing tank
factory, the basic performance and structure were the same as
previous versions with a few modifications. Armament consisted of
an improved, long barreled Kwk50 L/60 tank gun, which was
effective against the Russian T34 tanks up to a range of 600m,
plus two 7.92mm MG34 machine guns. The armor of the front
superstructure was increased to 57mm in thickness, and a 20mm
thick spaced armor was added to the gun mantlet as well, which
increased the tank's weight by 200kg. To cope with the added
weight, the suspension system was also strengthened. The
powerplant was a Maybach HL120TRM, V-12, water cooled engine
producing 300 horsepower. In total 635 Ausf. L's were produced by
the end of 1942, and many of them saw active service on the
Eastern Front and the North African Front. Although its roll was
shortly replaced by the Tiger I and the Panther, the durable
chassis of the Pz.Kpfw. III was used for self-propelled guns till
the end of the war.