World War II Database

Contributor: Alan Chanter

ww2dbaseIn the early war years, not much attention had been paid to self-propelled anti-tank guns. The development, between March 1940 and February 1941, of the 4.7-cm PaK (t) L/43 (SFl) auf Pz Kpw1 Ausf B, a Czech built anti-tank gun mounted on the chassis of the obsolete Panzer I light tank and capable of penetrating 54-millimetre of armour plate at 100 metres was an early attempt to correct this omission. Twenty seven vehicles of this type were sent out to North Africa in 1941 to equip 605th Anti-tank Battalion (Panzerjäger-Abteilung (Sfl.) 605). A better solution was the combination of captured Russian 76.2-centimetre guns on the chassis of the 11-ton Pzkfw38 (t) vehicle, known as the Marder III, which were produced between April and October 1942. This had an effective range of about 2,000 metres and could penetrate 98-millimetre of armour plate at 100 metres, making it a real tank killer in the desert. Availability was, however, the real problem since only 66 were sent to North Africa between July 1943 and May 1943. The gap was filled thanks to the development of another ad hoc solution.

ww2dbaseIn mid-October 1942 the German Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heere, OKH) ordered the fast development of a more powerful self-propelled anti-tank gun for the German Africa Corps (Deutsche Afrika Korps, DAK). This vehicle was designed for the chassis of the Büssing-NAG 5-ton SdKfz 6 half-track to carry portée within a large armored structure the Soviet 76-millimetre Divisional Gun M1936 (F-22). This new SdKfz 6 variant was nicknamed "Diana", with the Soviet gun given the German designation of 7.62cm FK 36(r), with "FK" being short for "Feldkanone", field gun. A rather clumsy vehicle about 3 metres high, the first six examples were sent to North Africa in January 1942, followed by three others in February. Only nine were produced in total. Seven examples were used at the Battle of Gazala in Libya in May-June 1942, with good results, with one of them playing a role in stopping the British 4th Armoured Brigade at El Adem on 28 May 1942, but their number was soon reduced.

ww2dbaseBy mid-June 1942, before the 605th Anti-tank Battalion was withdrawn to Bardia, Libya for rest and refitting, only two Diana self-propelled guns remained operational, although apparently three were still available in August 1942. At the time of writing it has not proved possible to discover the ultimate fate of the surviving vehicles, but it would seem likely that, with engines worn out by the rigours of desert service, they were either scrapped or sent to training schools.

SPECIFICATIONS

SdKfz 6/3

Machinery	One 2,600cc Maybach HL54 6cyl inline liquid cooled petrol engine rated at 115hp
Suspension	Torsion Bar
Armament	1x7.62cm FK 36(r)
Armor	6-8mm
Crew	6
Length	6.33 m
Width	2.20 m
Height	3.50 m
Weight	8.5 t
Speed	50 km/h
Range	310 km

Photographs