Despite being extremely influential to the development of not just the German early war
doctrine, but also conflicts as early as the Spanish civil war, the Panzer I and II are
often overlooked in favor of the bigger more glamorous tanks from later in the war. However
even as their feline ancestors took the field these early panzers would still see combat
in a variety of roles. In today’s episode we will be looking at one such example of
a modification made to the Panzer II to allow it to fill the role of a combat reconnaissance
vehicle. A tank which has since become more well known for its reputation as a seal-clubbers
wet dream in the game World of Tanks. Today we look at the Panzer II J.
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The program which would birth the Panzer 2 J was started on November 24th, 1938. That
tank would be just one design that would arise from the Assault Tank Program which looked
to create tanks with thicker armor than their earlier counterparts. More specifically they
were to have 80mms of frontal armor to protect from the 50mm Pak 38. This was being pursued
due to the threat posed by the defenses of the various territories surrounding Germany
and more specifically their fortifications. As any wheraboo with a basic knowledge of
WW2 will tell you the Maginot line, which was by far the most major of these, was eventually
defeated by simply bypassing the defenses altogether; but with the other targets of
Nazi Germany’s expansion plans also having significant fortifications built up this was
an understandable precaution. Although this program likely helped sow the seeds of the
out of control super heavy programs several years later, not all the spawn of this concept
were quite as ridiculous. We previously discussed the tank known as
the Panzer I F which is essentially a fraternal twin to the Panzer II J. Despite being separate
projects both bore similarities and shared numerous design aspects including some of
the components they used. This was largely due to the influence of a man named Kniepkamp
who some of you may recall from the E-100 project we discussed previously. The designers
of the Panzer I F Krauss-Maffei and the designers of the Panzer II J MAN had previously been
working on light tank projects designated VK 6.01 and VK 9.01 respectively. Due to Kniepkamp's
influence these designs were quite similar and with the heavier vehicles being further
developments of those programs it only made sense that they would share those same similarities.
Due to this the final designs designated VK 18.01 by Krauss-Maffei and VK 16.01 by MAN
were eventually unified into one project on November 15th 1939 when both companies demonstrated
their vehicles. Although both vehicles would retain separate designations both companies
would work collaboratively on parts of the design.
For this reason it was decided to split the work between the two companies with work on
the suspension being given to Krauss-Maffei and MAN being put in charge of the drive sprockets,
final drives, and transmission components. Both vehicles would utilize the same drivetrain
made up of the 150hp Maybach HL 45 and a 6 speed gearbox. This would allow the Panzer
II J a speed of 23.4kph on roads and 12.6kph off-road on average.
The hull and turret designs would be where the projects split with the VK 16.01 being
wider than its brother however both would have the same armor thicknesses. As for the
turrets these were designed and produced by Daimler-Benz. Again the designs would differ
here with the turret for the VK 18.01 being rounded whereas the VK 16.01 would be a more
box-like shape. In total 4 experimental tanks of each type were ordered to be built followed
by an order of 30 pilot tanks of each design. With armor plates supplied by Krupp the first
complete vehicle was ready in June of 1940. Aside from a slight difference in the shape
of the early turrets with the experimental ones having distinct cheeks covering the mantlet
sides which were later removed, the tanks were largely unchanged when accepted for production.
By this point though the campaigns into Poland, France, and Czechoslovakia, as well as the
Anschluss of Austria, had already occurred and the need for this tank was essentially
gone. Despite this the two heavy light tank programs would remain at a simmer in the background
for the next few years with parts slowly trickling in and the initial pilot production being
worked on until December 1942. Following this, further Panzer I F and Panzer II J production
orders were cancelled. The exact number of the VK 16.01 series to
be completed seems to be a somewhat contradictory subject as different sources provide different
figures. From what I was able to find though it would seem the initial batch of 30 was
more than likely completed. Strangely many sources list the number as a slightly lower
22 but I believe this to be due to confusion in how the production was split. Quoting directly
from Panzer Tracts 2-2 “the number of VK 1601 released to In 6 from new production
each month is 4 in April, 3 in May, 4 in June, 2 in July, 1 in September, 2 in October, 2
in November, and 2 in December 1942 for a total of 22 in 1942 (in addition to the 8
0-serie VK1601 completed in 1941).” While I can’t say with absolute certainty without
the original documentation, this combined with reports saying that 30 sets of armor
components and 30 turrets were completed seems to indicate to me that 30 is the total number
produced. Unlike its sibling the Panzer II J was equipped
with a 2cm KwK 38 auto-cannon which was a significant step up from the paltry dual mgs
the Panzer I F featured. Alongside this cannon the Panzer II J also retained a coaxial MG34.
3 crew members would man the machine with a commander/gunner in the turret and the radio
operator and driver in the hull, again a step up from the two man crew of the Panzer I F.
There was one alternative armament proposed for this tank known as the Panzerkampfwagen
Flammenwerfer VK 16.01 flammpanzer which would have been a variant equipped with a flamethrower.
Despite a proposed production of just under 200 units this was never started due to another
flammpanzer project already under contract. When it comes to the combat history of this
little tank it can essentially be summed up by saying it performed slightly better than
the Panzer I F. The better armament and increased crew count would certainly have helped when
engaging the enemy, but that's not to say it did exceptionally well either. Originally
5 of these along with 5 Panzer I Fs would join the 1st Tank Company of the 66th Special
Purpose Battalion alongside some other oddities such as at least one captured KV-II for Operation
Hercules. In preparation for this the tanks would receive tropical camouflage schemes
but with the invasion of Malta being cancelled their combat debut would instead be on the
eastern front near Leningrad now with 7 Panzer II Js in tow. Their first foray into combat
would finally occur as part of the Sinyavino offensive where the tanks would fail spectacularly.
The little tanks themselves can’t really be blamed for this failure though as rather
than assaulting enemy fortifications like they had been designed for they were tasked
with attacking through swampy terrain. With the Panzer II J weighing well over 17 tons
it should be clear what the result was. By the end of September at least 3 tanks were
lost due to them becoming stuck in the mud with another being knocked out. These tanks
were eventually recovered but two had been damaged so severely they required being sent
back for repairs in Germany. Of the total 7 tanks which had entered combat all were
broken down by the end of December 1942, not exactly a shining start for the program. A
further 10 tanks would arrive at the tail end of December only to quickly follow their
brethren to the repair shops. With two of those completely lost not long after arrival
and unreliability being common among the remaining tanks only 5-7 of the Panzer II Js were operational
at any given time. Eventually the tanks were completely withdrawn from combat service and
instead tasked as anti-partisan vehicles throughout occupied territories. Notably they were used
in France, Yugoslavia, and alongside Panzer I Fs in Belarus. Although some sources make
claims that these tanks saw combat in Kursk there does not seem to be any truth to this
as the tanks were reportedly unmanned at the beginning of July 1943 and by the 10th had
been transferred to Krupka meaning they were only potentially near the battle of Kursk
for a short time at most. Over the remainder of their service the tanks
would continue in their role as policing vehicles until eventually all were lost. The last reported
use of these tanks in their unmodified form was by Panzerkompanie 350 with a strength
of 4 vehicles. The last notable detail in the story of this tank occurred when the allies
discovered one which had been modified to serve as a recovery vehicle with its turret
removed and a small crane fitted in place of it.
Although two Panzers I Fs remain on display today the Panzer II J has unfortunately been
lost to history. Despite this rather unremarkable service life it has often been said that these
tanks earned the nickname “Baby Tiger” by their crews and the Russians who faced
them. However, this seems more likely to have originated post-war as the Tiger did not see
battle until after the Panzer II J had been removed from the frontlines. It’s possible
this originated later in the war but judging by how it performed in regular combat I find
this unlikely. In the end the Panzer II J was a strange tank
with no real-world application. With only a 20mm cannon it was all but useless against
enemy armor or fortifications and its weight made it fairly impractical for a role as a
recon vehicle. Although it did find some use as a reserve unit against partisans, that
role could just as easily have been filled by other, far cheaper, designs. Ironically
the interchangeability of parts between the Panzer II J and Panzer I F was probably the
one redeeming factor of their designs had they seen mass-production. This would have
cut costs in manufacturing and improved spare parts supply, but Germany would never fully
take advantage of that in their WW2 designs until far too late in the war for any noticeable
impact. Even in the case of these pocket heavies it really did relatively little to solve their
reliability issues. As with many German armor designs this one was probably best left on
the drawing board. Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed
today's video. I actually learned a lot myself while working on it and corrected a number
of my own misconceptions that I’d heard over the years about it. Hopefully it helped
teach you something and if not, well you clearly know your tanks. One last thanks to my Conely
fans and to Keeps for sponsoring today's video, don’t forget to use that link down below
to save 50% on your first order. I’ll see you in the next video.