"The last light tank of the traditional variety produced in Germany, the PzII Ausf. F, was removed from production in July of 1942. Nevertheless, light tanks continued to exist within the Third Reich. These were reconnaissance tanks, similar to reconnaissance armoured cars in function. Even the German term "Panzerkampfwagen" was not used to refer to these vehicles. This article will cover German reconnaissance tanks of WWII: Gefechtsaufklärer Leopard, Pz.Sp.Wg.II Ausf.MAN Luchs and Aufklärungspanzer 38(t), none of which were truly mass produced.
Two-man turret
German light tank developers were far behind their medium tank colleagues in the domain of separating the duties of crewmen. The La.S, aka PzI, was created as a two-man tank. All PzI family tanks, including the PzI Ausf.C and PzI Ausf.F, retained the same concept. The three-man La.S.100, aka PzII, also remained the same. Like the French Renault D1, and SOMUA 35, the additional crew member was a radio operator in the hull. Meanwhile, in the USSR, USA, Czechoslovakia, and Great Britain light tanks produced since the mid 1930s had two turret crewmen. The Soviet T-60 and T-70 two-man tanks are outliers, since they were built as a result of a hurried development of the T-40 amphibious reconnaissance tank, which was already unsatisfactory in the spring of 1941…."
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