(Dicker Max)
"The 10.5cm K gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette was a developmental tank destroyer for the German Army in World War 2 that was initially designed around a self-propelled gun requirement. Prior to the German invasion of France, it was always recognized that a portion of German Army success would be attributed to breaking the defenses at the French Maginot Line. The Maginot Line stood as a networked line of concrete bunkers, artillery houses, machine gun nests and vehicle traps with steel obstacles which ran along the French border facing Germany and Italy (this portion known as the "Alpine Line"). This line of defense was intended to slow the progress of an invading force, giving the French national army additional time to mobilize in response. The Line was constructed over a period spanning 1930 to 1940 and was made operational in 1935. While certainly imposing at its core, it was tactically inflexible and, eventually, simply bypassed by the German Army along its flanks.
For the Germans, defeat of these strategic points required a special vehicle under consideration, one that could keep pace with the new mechanized doctrine of the German Army and one with armament capable of defeating the thick concrete houses of the Maginot Line. Work on such a vehicle began in 1938 under the Krupp banner and evolved considerably along the way.
The basic result was an all-tracked vehicle utilizing the chassis of the Panzer IV infantry tank, the Panzer IV developed in concert with the Panzer III which was, itself, intended for direct contact actions against enemy tanks. Between 8,800 and 9,800 Panzer IV tanks were ultimately produced during the course of the war after its adoption in 1939 and she remained the workhorse of German Panzer units until the cessation of hostilities in May of 1945. The drivetrain, chassis, running gear, suspension system and hull would constitute the base foundation of the new German self-propelled gun – designated as "10.5cm K gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette IVa" (10.5cm K (GpSfl IVa))…"
Full text here
link
Amicalement
Armand
