BUNDLEA40 Panzer Tank Bundle

Tiger-1 Early Version - Operation Citadel

Product code: A1354

Following their disastrous defeat at Stalingrad during the winter of 1942-43, the German armed forces launched a major offensive in the East known as Operation Citadel on July 4th, 1943. The climax of Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk, involved as many as 6,000 tanks, 4,000 aircraft and 2 million fighting men and is remembered as the greatest tank battle in history.

The peak of the battle was the massive armour engagement at Prochorovka, which began on July 12th. Prochorovka is one of the best-known of the many battles on the Eastern Front during World War II. Tiger heavy tanks with deadly 88mm cannons, lumbered forward while hundreds of nimble Soviet T-34 medium tanks raced into the midst of the SS armour and threw the Germans into confusion. The Soviets closed with the Panzers, negating the Tigers 88mm guns, outmanouvered the German armour and knocked out hundreds of German tanks.

The Soviet tank forces audacious tactics resulted in a disastrous defeat for the Germans, and the disorganised SS divisions withdrew, leaving 400 destroyed tanks behind, including between 70 and 100 Tigers and many Panthers. Those losses smashed the SS divisions fighting power, and as a result Hoths Fourth Panzer Army had no chance to achieve even a partial victory in the south of the Soviet Union. After receiving the news of the Allied invasion of Sicily, as well as reports of impending Soviet attacks on the Mius River and at Izyum, Hitler decided to cancel Operation Citadel. From then on the German forces were on the back-foot and the war had now turned against them.

Individual price: £36.49

Panzer III AUSF J

Product code: A1378

One of the most famous tanks of the Second World War, the Panzer III was actually only available in relatively small numbers at the time of the German invasion of Poland, with around 180 tanks supplementing the more numerous, faster and lighter Panzer I and II tanks. Despite the popular misconception that Germany began the war having placed huge investment in tank production, much of the early burden of mechanized Blitzkrieg was born by smaller, lighter tanks and captured vehicles pressed into Wehrmacht service.

The Panzer III Ausf (model) J was a later production development of this famous tank and one which represented quite an advancement over earlier models. A slightly redesigned hull allowed for the addition of increased armour protection and a new gun mantlet facilitated the installation of the more powerful 50 mm KwK 38 L42 gun, although these modifications did take far too long in development. By the time this variant of Panzer III entered service with Panzer Divisions on the Eastern Front, they were struggling to match the heavily armed Soviet KV-1 and T-34 tanks they were facing, and in addition to this, the larger ammunition used by the new gun reduced the internal stowage capacity from 90 to 84 rounds. Although the Ausf. J was the most heavily produced variant of this famous tank, by 1943, the Panzer III was outclassed on the battlefield and not produced as a tank any more, although the main chassis was still used in the production of the excellent Sturmgeschütz III assault gun/tank destroyers.

Individual price: £45.99

Tiger-1 "Early Version"

Product code: A1363

Production of the Tiger I began in August 1942 at the factory of Henschel und Sohn in Kassel, initially at a rate of 25 per month and peaking in April 1944 at 104 per month. 1,355 had been built by August 1944, when production ceased. Deployed Tiger I's peaked at 671 on 1 July 1944. It took about twice as long to build a Tiger I as another German tank of the period.

When the improved Tiger II began production in January 1944, the Tiger I was soon phased out. Eager to make use of the powerful new weapon, Hitler ordered the vehicle be pressed into service months earlier than had planned. A platoon of four Tigers went into action on 23rd September 1942 near Leningrad. Operating in swampy, forested terrain, their movement was largely confined to roads and tracks, making defence against them far easier.

Many of these early models were plagued by problems with the transmission, which had difficulty handling the great weight of the vehicle if pushed too hard. It took time for drivers to learn how to avoid overtaxing the engine and transmission, and many broke down. The most significant event from this engagement was that one of the Tigers became stuck in swampy ground and had to be abandoned. Captured largely intact, it enabled the Soviets to study the design and prepare countermeasures.

Individual price: £42.49

Stug IV Sd.Kfz.167

Product code: A1377

The Sd.Kfz.167 Sturmgeschütz IV was a development from an incredibly successful series of armoured mobile assault guns produced by the Germans during WWII, which were initially intended to provide fire support for infantry units coming across particularly stubborn areas of resistance during their advance, particularly those in fortified positions. The early short barrelled L/24 75 mm gun was later replaced with the longer L/43 and L/48 guns, which were devastatingly effective anti-tank weapons, which when combined with the low profile of these vehicles, made them a fearsome adversary for Allied tank commanders and could easily be concealed in ambush positions on the battlefield.

Following the Allied bombing of the Stug III factory in November 1943, the serious production disruption this caused forced the Germans to adapt the casemate superstructure of the Stug onto the larger chassis of the Panzer IV tank, retaining the low profile anti-tank killing capabilities of its predecessor, but resulting in the re-classification of these new vehicles as the Sturmgeschütz IV. Quick and relatively cheap to make compared to the mighty German heavy tanks of the period, the Sturmgeschütz where arguably Germany's most effective armoured vehicles during the latter stages of the war and whilst production numbers of Panther and Tiger tanks steadily diminished as the war progressed, many more Sturmgeschütz vehicles were rolling off the production lines to make up the shortfall.

Individual price: £45.99

King Tiger

Product code: A1369

The ultimate development of German tank technology during WWII, the Tiger II or King Tiger was a 68 ton beast which introduced the latest development of the feared 88mm anti-tank gun, which was capable of knocking out any Allied tank at ranges approaching 3km.

First used during the Battle of Normandy in the days following the Allied D-Day landings, the cost and complexity of these massive tanks dictated that only 489 would eventually be produced, with the price of each King Tiger equating to an equivalent cost for nine American Sherman tanks.

Individual price: £51.99

Sturmpanzer IV Brummbar (Mid Version)

Product code: A1376

The Sturmpanzer IV is often referred to as the Brummbär, which roughly translates to grumbling or bad-tempered bear, but it is thought that this was an Allied reporting name for the vehicle and not one actually used by the Germans - they simply referred to the assault tank as a Stupa 43, a direct reference to the gun the vehicle used. The Sturmpanzer served with 4 Assault Battalions, with Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 216 being the first committed to combat during Operation Zitadelle and the mighty clash of armour in the Kursk salient. These vehicles would go on to see significant action throughout the Soviet Union, as well as in Poland, Italy and the Battle of Normandy, although as was the case with most German armour during the latter stages of the war, there were never enough serviceable Sturmpanzers available at any one time and as mounting losses could not be replaced effectively, their operational numbers dwindled steadily as the fighting intensified.

Around 306 Sturmpanzer IVs were built, with only three or four of the distinctive armoured fighting vehicles surviving in various museums to this day.

Individual price: £45.99

Tiger 1, Early Production Version

Product code: A1357

Production of the Tiger I began in August 1942 at the factory of Henschel und Sohn in Kassel, initially at a rate of 25 per month and peaking in April 1944 at 104 per month. 1,355 had been built by August 1944, when production ceased. Deployed Tiger I's peaked at 671 on 1 July 1944. It took about twice as long to build a Tiger I as another German tank of the period.

When the improved Tiger II began production in January 1944, the Tiger I was soon phased out. Eager to make use of the powerful new weapon, Hitler ordered the vehicle be pressed into service months earlier than had planned. A platoon of four Tigers went into action on 23rd September 1942 near Leningrad. Operating in swampy, forested terrain, their movement was largely confined to roads and tracks, making defence against them far easier.

Many of these early models were plagued by problems with the transmission, which had difficulty handling the great weight of the vehicle if pushed too hard. It took time for drivers to learn how to avoid overtaxing the engine and transmission, and many broke down. The most significant event from this engagement was that one of the Tigers became stuck in swampy ground and had to be abandoned. Captured largely intact, it enabled the Soviets to study the design and prepare countermeasures.

Individual price: £36.49