Kit

German A7V Tank

Brand MENG MODEL

SKU MGM-TS017S EAN 4897038550913

Features

Nation: Germany

Period: WWI

Scale: 1/35

Type: Veicoli Militari

Price 94,50 €

Description

1/35 German A7V Tank (Krupp) & Engine - SPECIAL EDITION with Resin Engine

The A7V was a tank of the Imperial German Army during World War I, the first tracked and armored vehicle to become operational in Germany's armed forces.

Designed between 1916 and 1917 by engineer Joseph Vollmer, head of the Allgemeine Kriegsdepartement 7, Abteilung Verkehrwesen committee (hence the name), it based its mechanics on the Holt agricultural tractor to which was coupled a squared-off armored superstructure and two Daimler engines; it was armed with a 57 mm Maxim-Nordenfelt piece and six 7.92 mm MG 08 machine guns. It was, however, the subject of much discussion in the high commands, which eventually authorized a production run of only 20, divided into three specifically constituted units. The vehicles and crews trained in the rear of the Western Front and had their operational debut with the Spring Offensive on March 21, 1918. The following month (April 24) they were involved in the first two tank battles in history, at Villers-Bretonneux against some Mark IVs and at Cachy against some Medium Mark A Whippets. They then fought in the battles of the Aisne and Marne, contributing to local successes that, however, did not affect the overall strategic situation on the Western Front. Although better armored than the tanks deployed by the Entente and in many cases with more numerous armament, the A7Vs suffered from rather fragile mechanics and a marked difficulty in coping with terrain that was upset by bombardment, sagging or littered with rubble: in fact, several were abandoned or sabotaged by the Germans after becoming immobilized.

Progressively worn down by heavy use and losses in action, the last working vehicles fell into the hands of the French just outside Wiesbaden on November 11, 1918. All the A7Vs, including the wrecks, were dismantled in the following years, except for No. 506 with the battle name "Mephisto": captured by the Australians in the summer of 1918, it is on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

From the A7V the Germans derived a wrap-around track tank, only one example of which was manufactured and soon scrapped because of its ungovernability. The transport version, on the other hand, stripped of weapons and armor, was produced in a few dozen examples and experienced some use, including as a carrier for excavation machinery.