Information about Marder (ifv)

Marder 1A3
German Army Marder
Type	Infantry fighting vehicle
Place of origin	West Germany
Specifications
Weight	33.5 t
Length	6.88 m
Width	3.38 m
Height	3.015 m
Crew	3 (commander, gunner, driver) + 6 troops
Armor	Welded steel, protection up to 20 mm APDS 1A3 onwards - spaced welded steel up to 30 mm APDS
Primary armament	20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon MILAN ATGM launcher
Secondary armament	7.62 mm MG3 machine gun
Engine	MTU MB 833 diesel engine 600 hp (441 kW)
Power/weight	hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	460 km
Speed	65 km/h

The Marder is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Panzergrenadier (mechanized infantry) from the 1970s through the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of Germany's armoured fighting vehicle industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid infantry fighting vehicle design. While it does include a few unique features, such as the fully remote machine gun on the rear deck, it is overall a simple and conventional machine with rear exit hatch and side gun ports for mounted infantry to fire through. Its successor, the Puma, is under development.

The government of Greece (as of 2005) is in negotiations with the German army for the purchase of 500 Marder vehicles, following the development of Germany's new Puma IFV. The vehicles were previously used by the German Army and are to be retired.

Development

Development of the Marder ran from January 1960, when the first development contracts were issued, to 7 May 1971, when the first production vehicles were given to the German army.

The vehicle was intended to be an improvement over the Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30. The main requirements were:

• A capacity of 12 infantrymen.
• A more reliable 20 mm cannon.
• The infantry must be able to fight from within the vehicle or dismounted.
• Protection from Nuclear, Biological and Chemical weapons.

Initially development contracts were awarded to two groups of companies the Rheinstahl group (Rheinstahl-Hanomag, Ruhrstahl, Witten-Annen, Büro Warnecke) and the second group comprising Henschel Werke and the Swiss MOWAG company. This resulted in the production of seven prototype vehicles. A second set of eight prototype vehicles were built between 1961 and 1963. Development priority was then switched for a while to the development of the Jagdpanzer 90 mm Kanone.

In 1967, after military requirements were fininalized, a third and final set of ten prototypes were built. Final development work was completed by the Rheinstahl group, and 10 pre-production vehicles were built and completed troop trials with the German army between October 1968 and March 1969. In May 1969, the vehicle was officially named the "Marder 1" and in October Rheinstahl was chosen as the prime contractor.

The first production Marder 1 was handed to the German army on 7 May 1971. Production of the vehicle continued until 1975, with 2,136 vehicles being completed.

In 1975 the Milan missile was first adapted to be fired by commander from his open hatch, and between 1977 and 1979 Milan missiles were fitted to army vehicles.

A number of upgrade programs were carried out, that included fitting night vision equipment and a thermal imager, as well as upgraded the ammunition feed to the 20 mm cannon.

The A3 upgrade program began in 1988, with Thyssen Henschel being awarded a contact to upgrade 2,100 Marder 1 A1/A2 series vehicles to A3 standard at a rate of 220 a year. The first upgraded vehicles reached the German army on 17 November 1989. The modification package included:

• Improved armour weighing 1,600 kg intended to protect against the 30 mm 2A42 cannon on the Russian BMP-2. The armour also provided additional protection against cluster bomblets.
• The hatches over the infantry compartment were re-arranged.
• Suspension was reinforced, a new braking system was installed, the gearbox adjusted. The heating system was replaced with a water based heating system.
• Turret was reconfigured.
• Total weight is now 35,000 kg.

Description

The hull of the Marder 1 is all welded steel, giving protection from small-arms fire and shell fragments with the front of the hull providing protection from up to 20 millimeters APDS rounds. Later variants had increased protection, in response to the 30 mm autocannon armed BMP-2 and the development of top attack cluster bomblets.

The Marder is a relatively conventional design, with the driver sitting at the front left side of the hull with the engine to his right. The driver has three day periscopes mounted in a hatch that opens to the right. The center periscope can be replaced by a passive night vision device. Behind the driver is a seat for a single infantry man. In early version of the Marder this infantry man had a hatch which opened to the right and a periscope that could be rotated through 360 degrees, this hatch was removed in the 1A3 variant onwards.

In the center of the hull is the two man turret, which holds the commander on the right and the gunner on the left, both are provided with hatches. The commander has eight day periscopes for all round observation and the gunner has an additional three. The primary sighting system is the PERI-Z11 sight which has either 2x or 6x optical magnification. The sight can be replaced by a night vision device. To the rear of the turret is the troop compartment, which can hold six infantry men, sitting back to back facing outwards along the center of the hull.

The Marder is capable of fording in up to 1.5 meters of water unprepared, and can be fitted with a kit allowing it to ford water up to 2.5 meters deep.

The Marder is powered by a MTU MB Ea-500 six-cylinder liquid cooled diesel engine which develops approximately 600 horsepower at 2,200 rpm. The cooling radiators are mounted at the rear of hull either side of the exit ramp. The engine is coupled to a Renk four speed HSWL 194 planetary gear box with four forward and two reverse gears. The transmission also provides steering and braking via a stepless hydrostatic unit which transmits power to two drive units mounted at the front of the hull. The vehicle carries 652 litres of fuel, giving it a road range of around 500 kilometers. Early Marders could achieve a road speed of 75 km/h in 4th gear, but the extra armour of later vehicles reduced this to 65 km/h.

The Marder is propelled by a Diehl track which can be fitted with rubber road pads. The drive mechanism consists of six rubber tyred road wheel with a drive sprocket at the front of the hull and an idler at the rear. Three return rollers are also fitted. The suspension is a torsion bar system, with additional hydrostatic shock absorbers fitted to the front two and last two road wheels.

Armament

Primary armament is the 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon mounted in the small two-man turret which can fire either armour-piercing or HE rounds. Mounted coaxially to the left of the the cannon is a 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun. The turret has 360 degree traverse, and can elevate from -17 degrees to +65 degrees at a rate of 40 degrees per second while traversing at a rate of 60 degrees a second. Early Marders up to and including version 1A1 had a second MG3 mounted on the rear deck in a remote controlled pod. Typically 1,250 rounds are carried for the 20 mm cannon, along with a further 5,000 rounds for the MG3.

On current models since version 1A2, a MILAN anti-tank guided missile launcher can be attached to the turret to provide enhanced anti-armour capabilities. Typically six missiles are carried inside the vehicle.

There are four (two per side) gun ports which can be used by mounted infantry to provide additional fire against attacking infantry targets. Only Marder 1A1 and 1A2 had been equipped with this. Marder 1A3 and above do not have gun ports due to an extra layer of amour and outside storage boxes.

Six 76 millimeter diameter smoke grenade dischargers can create a visual and infra-red blocking smoke screen.

Variants

The Marder 1A3 is the currently most common version of this system, and is in service with the German Bundeswehr, the Marder 1A4 differs from the 1A3 only by the use of a cryptography-capable radio-set. Newest version of the Marder is the Marder 1A5 with advanced mine protection. Only a small number of this variant is in service.

The Marder served as the basis for Thyssen-Henschel's medium tank design which became the TAM for Argentina. The Marder is also used as a carrier for the Roland air defence system. The Kanonenjagdpanzer and Raketenjagdpanzer 2, which have been developed in parallel with the Marder, use the same chassis as the Marder.

• Marder 1 (1971 -)
• Marder 1 with Milan - a Milan launcher was fitted to all Marder's between 1977 and 1979.
• Marder 1 A1(+) (1979 - 1982)- dual feed for 20 mm canon enabling choice of ammunition, night vision equipment including image intensifiers and a thermal imager. Infantry capacity reduced to five. Applied to 674 vehicles between 1979 and 1982.
• Marder 1 A1(-) (1979 - 1982) - as A1(+) but without thermal imager. 350 vehicles upgraded to this standard.
• Marder 1 A1A3 - a Marder A1 with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
• Marder 1 A1A as 1 A1 but without any passive night vision equipment. 1,112 vehicles upgraded to this standard.
• Marder 1 A1A4 - a Marder A1A with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
• Marder 1 A1A2 - a converted Marder 1 with A1 turret and A2 chassis
• Marder 1 A1A5 - a Marder A1A2 with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
• Marder 1 A2 (1984 - 1991) Between 1984 and 1991, all German Marder 1's were upgraded to A2 standard, this included substantial modification of the suspension,fuel tanks, cooling system and water-jet cleaning system. Additionally a new sighting system was installed. The infra-red search light equipment was removed . And all vehicles were fitted with thermal imagers except for the 674 A1(+) vehicles, which already had them.
• Marder 1 A2A1 - a Marder 1 A2 with SEM 80/90 cryptographic radios.
• Marder 1 A3 (1988 - 1998)
• Marder 1 A5 (2003-2004) Additional anti-mine armor and completely remodeled interior in order to avoid blast and shock injuries to the crew when hit by a mine. Applied to 74 Marder 1 A3 only.

See also

• Argentine TAM (tank)

References

• Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005-2006

External links