Marder III ausf H... Normandy

Ahh........good question. To make a long story shorter, I can't find a photo of one in Normandy after looking through about 15 books on Normandy, Marder III's and Panzerjagers. Model M's, no problem. Two of my books both state that model H's served in Russia, Tunis and Italy, no mention of Normandy. Production of H's ended in April of '43, so it's a little late to find them in Normandy in '44. These weren't exactly the most robust of vehicles ever built, and a year of service on the Eastern Front would not have been kind to them. But there were much older vehicles found kicking around in Normandy, even such clunkers as WW I FT-17s. Since more than 3 times as many ausf Ms were produced and production didn't end until May of '44, these are easy to find in Normandy. Sorry, but I pass on this one.

Peridexion,
Thanks so much for taking the time to look that up.
V/r, BW

BW,
I thought I had finally found a pic while looking through a mag at Walmart today. The first pic shows what looks like a knocked out H in the background and a second pic shows an M and H? But, looking closer at the 1st pic seems to show the exhaust curving around from the right side (got to be an M). I did find both pics on the web but they are a little small.




I also found these pics in Concord book D-Day Tank Warfare on pg 54 and the description says they are M's of the SS-Pz.Jg.Abt 2 of the 2.SS-Pz.Div.

Do an M

Ah Ha.....I got one, actually two of them;



No idea which unit they belong to, but hey, here you go!
I am guessing that this photo is pre D-Day, judging from the relatively relaxed crowd of people and that these are Eastern Front veterans due to the kill rings on the barrel, since painting kill rings on the barrels on the Western Front was supposed to be forbidden, at least according to some book I have somewhere?

Why would kills on the barrel be forbidden on the Western Front?

That sparked my curiosity also Eric. No idea why it would be forbidden on the West unless for camo reasons?

To quote from Panzer Colors volume II, page 90; "The German High Command wanted obvious victory markings subdued or removed to avoid drawing attention to superior crews. Orders to this effect were generally ignored."...I have it somewhere else (if you really need to know I'll see if I can find it) that this order was generally more enforced on the Western Front than the Eastern Front, possibly for camo reasons, since the combat ranges on the Western Front were generally less than those on the Eastern Front and hence the markings might compromise the camo.

That makes sense. I doubt the Luftwaffe ever employed that for their aces.

maybe they wernt allowed to because if they were to get captured, if they knew that they had killed 50 tanks, they probaly would have been killed.

The Marder III Ausf H is my favorite AFV. I recently saw Nuts & Bolts #18 for sale:

http://pmms.webace.com.au/newkitnews/nuts_bolts.htm

has anyone got this yet???

I have built a 1/6th version scaled up from a 1/35 model, but am in the process of redoing some details and repainting.

1/6th scale!!! Ouch! Do you have a small crane to move it around the shop? Post some pics when you get it repainted.
BTW... Welcome to the Asylum!

Thanks ever so much guys...i hope i can return the favor some day.

Peridexon, thanks for your time!

Dubar, i would love to see a 1/6 scale Marder H. I haven't got the nuts and bolts Marder H volum yet, if i can pick it up for under $40 bucks i'll give you a quick review.

thanks again AND GO WORK ON A MODEL!
BW

Welcome Dubar to the forums. It is a cool tank. I wonder what is taking Tamiya so long to build one. They put out the Marder III and the Marder III M. Seems like a natural to be next. Or maybe a Hetzer.

I'm still working on the Marder, but here's 2 pictures I took with the old paint job (now you know why I want to repaint it). It's sitting on a (I think) a 30" table:





After I went to all the trouble of making the wheels I realized they were wrong. I'm replacing them and the track soon. The overall paint is less yellow than what you see here. I trying to find some suitable green spray paint for the camo. The Marder is made from 1/8" pvc plastic called Celtec and pvc pipe for the gun barrel. I'd love to stuff an engine in her, but don't have any good reference photos/drawings yet.

Peridexion, Guys
I found another reference of Marder III H at Normandy...
http://www.dasreich.ca/normandy_oob.html
has two vehicles in the Das Reich order of battle.

Dubar...that is one amazing Marder scratch build!!!

Very impressive scratchbuild you have going there Dubar and welcome to the forums as well! Definitely post more pics as you work on this one, would love to see how it all comes together.

Thanks guys!!!
I also have a 1/6th MKIV Ausf G (you can see the end of it in the background), a SDKFZ 222, and a SDKFZ 250/1. The 250 is my latest and I'm waiting for Steve H (aka panzerwerks) to offer up the wheel/track set so I can finish it. They're all light on details such as lights, tools, equipment holders, etc, but at this scale you can consider it kind of like model railroading...you're never finished!!! I'm redoing all of them to try and bring them up to the level of my efforts on my 250. here's a picture of the plain hull:

Great job on your scratchbuilt AFV's Dubar!

All those blokes around your Marder seem pretty interested, too.

Man all I can say is wow. Wish I had that stuff when I was a kid.