This is one of the rarest WWII German vehicles still around today, the Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L, more commonly known as the Luchs - German for Lynx.
The Luchs is a light tank of small proportions, at just 2.5 meters (8 ft) wide and 4.6 meters (15 ft) long. It is armed with a 2 cm KwK 38 L/55 autocannon operated by the commander. The rest of the crew consisted of a loader, radio operator and driver.
One of the Luchs’ most stand out features is its overlapping wheels on torsion bar suspension. A 180 hp 6 cylinder Maybach in the rear gave the 13 ton Luchs a top speed of just under 40 mph.
Only around 100 were built in total (for comparison, 1,350 of the relatively rare Tiger I were built). Of these, just two remain today; one at the Musée des Blindés in Saumur, and this one, which is located at The Tank Museum, Bovington.
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We do have Panzer II in game BR I, what would make this version different?
Panzerkampfwagen II
Sd.Kfz. 121
PzKpfw II Ausf. C at the Musée des Blindés
Type Light tank
Place of origin Nazi Germany
Service history
In service 1936–1945
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1934–1936
Unit cost 52,640 ℛ︁ℳ︁ (Ausf. B)
Produced 1935 – January 1944
No. built 1,856 (excluding conversions)
Specifications (Ausf. c-C)
Mass 8.9 t (8.8 long tons)
Length 4.81 m (15 ft 9 in)
Width 2.22 m (7 ft 3 in)
Height 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)
Crew 3 (commander/gunner, driver, loader)
Armor 5–15 mm (0.20–0.59 in)[1]
Main
armament 1 × 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 Ausf. a–F
1 × 2 cm KwK 38 L/55 Ausf. J–L
Secondary
armament 1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34
Engine Maybach HL62 TRM 6-cylinder petrol
140 PS (138 hp, 103 kW)
Power/weight 15.7 PS (11.6 kW) / tonne
Suspension Leaf spring
Ground clearance 0.35 m (1 ft 2 in)[1]
Fuel capacity 170 L (45 US gal)[1]
Operational
range Road: 190 km (120 mi)[1]
Cross country: 126 km (78 mi)[1]
Maximum speed 39.5 km/h (24.5 mph)[1]
Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L “Luchs”
Panzerspähwagen II/Sd.Kfz. 123/VK 13.03
The Luchs at Musée des Blindés tank museum.
Type Light tank
Place of origin Germany
Service history
In service 1942–1945
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Daimler-Benz and MAN
Designed 1939–1942
Manufacturer Daimler-Benz and MAN
Produced September 1942 – January 1944
No. built 100
Variants See Variants
Specifications
Mass 11.8 t (11.6 long tons)
Length 4.63 m (15 ft 2 in)
Width 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in)
Crew 4 (commander/loader, driver, gunner, and radio operator)
Armor See Armor layout section
Main
armament 1 × 2 cm KwK 38 L/65
Secondary
armament 1 × 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun
Engine Maybach HL 66P 6-cylinder petrol
180 metric horsepower (178 hp)
Transmission Aphon SSG48 (6-1)
Suspension torsion bar
Fuel capacity 235 L
Operational
range 260 km (on road)
Maximum speed 60 km/
it looks different
its much faster 60kph vs 40kph
lynx
Armor layout
[edit]
The Luchs has 30 mm of armor at the front (sloped between 10-25°), sides is 20 mm, rear is 20 mm, top is 13 mm, and bottom of the tank is 10 mm.
In some tank divisions, the frontal armor of the tank was reinforced with additional 20-mm armor plates. A similar reinforcement was carried out in the 4th reconnaissance battalion of the 4th Panzer Division.[6]
vs 5-15 of panzer 21
crew 4 vs 3
- Luchs 5 cm – an attempt to mount the 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 on a different turret. Production cancelled.
if you want a different gun to the 20mm of the panzer 2
so what is different a lot
I see! Better armor, better engine and two different possible guns. one the upgraded version of the Panzer II’s 20mm and the other an attempt at the 50mm.
I could see this being valuable for the BR I-II bracket.
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