Rheinmetall Marder 1

     Notes:  Development of the Marder began in the late 1950s as a chassis that could be used for a number of vehicles, but resulted only in the Marder and Jagdpanzer Kanone/Rakete as production vehicles.  Several companies were invited to provide competing vehicles, and along with budget delays, this meant that the final prototypes were not finished until 1967 and fielding did not begin until 1971.  The Marder became at that point NATO’s only true IFV at that time.  The Marder also provided the base chassis for a number of specialist vehicles and several vehicles that did not proceed beyond prototypes.

The Marder 1

     The Marder is one of the best-protected IFVs in existence, a fact made more remarkable by the date it began service.  The Marder 1 has all-welded steel armor.  The driver is in the front hull behind a well-sloped glacis, and has three vision blocks to the front, the center of which can be removed and replaced with a night vision block.  The driver has a conventional station with a steering yoke, brake pedal, and gas pedal.  The commander and gunner are in a turret in the center front of the hull, which is armed with an externally-mounted light autocannon.  The turret has all-around vision blocks and night vision for the gunner; the gunner is responsible for the autocannon and the coaxial machinegun, though both the commander and gunner have controls for them. The commander has no dedicated night vision gear, but can access the gunner’s night sight. To the left side of the autocannon are a cluster of six smoke grenade launchers.  Though the Rh-202 autocannon allows for dual feed, the Marder 1’s turret has no room to allow this, and the Rh-202 on the Marder one can have only one belt loaded into the autocannon at a time. At the rear are bench seats for six infantrymen; the seats are near the outside of the vehicle, but face outwards to allow the troops to use their firing ports.  Two ports are found on each side, and primary entry and exit are by a powered ramp at the rear.  The seating pattern can be adjusted so that four troops can lie down and sleep while the other two remain seated and manning firing ports.  One of the troops in the rear is seated behind the driver and has a periscope that can rotate 360 degrees. The rear deck has a pair of circular overhead hatches, as well as a remote overhead weapon station with a machinegun be traversed 135 degrees either way of center and normally faces to the rear.

     The Marder 1 is powered by an MTU MB-833 Ea-500 600-horsepower diesel engine along with an automatic transmission.  This gives the Marder 1 reasonable speed and agility despite its rather high weight.  The Marder 1 is not amphibious; an amphibious operations kit was devised for the Marder series, but never adopted by the German Army. However, a kit does exist that that increases the normal 1-meter fording capability to 2.5 meters.  This kit takes 6 minutes to deploy, provided it is already attached to the vehicle.

The First Upgrades

     The first upgrades were the Marder 1A1 upgrades; there were three of these, most of which differ only in minor details.  The complete Marder 1A1 upgrade package, the Marder 1A1(+), changes the layout of the turret enough to allow for dual feed for the Rh-202 autocannon.  The night vision suite for the gunner and commander are improved, and the fire control system uses a thermal pointer, a sort of low-tech laser rangefinder.  Perhaps the biggest change in the Marder 1A1(+) is the addition of an overhead mount for a Milan ATGM.  The turret has a hatch to allow the commander to look out and to reload the Milan launcher. The commander must have his head and chest outside of the turret to aim and fire the Milan launcher; the gunner is responsible for the autocannon and coaxial machinegun.  As an added touch, the Milan launcher has a holder so that the commander can grab his protective mask quickly if necessary.  Inside the vehicle, new racks for water cans have been installed, as well as rearranged stowage for the equipment and weapons of the infantry squad inside.  However, the changes inside have reduced the room for the infantry squad to the point that only a five-man squad can be carried.

     The Marder 1A1(-) is almost identical, but does not have the thermal pointer.  The mount is still there, however, and installation of the thermal pointer will turn it into a Marder 1A1(+).   The Marder 1A1A is also similar, but does not have the upgraded night vision gear or the thermal pointer.  Again, installation of the equipment will turn it into a Marder 1A1(+); the Marder 1A1(-) and Marder 1A1A were devised primarily as cost-saving measures.

     Minor variants include the Marder 1A1A3, which is a Marder 1A1(+) with cryptographic communications equipment, meant for use by command personnel and scouts.  The Marder 1A1A4 is a Marder 1A1A with the same cryptographic communications equipment. These cryptographic radios were later made obsolete by more modern communications methods.

     By 1983, all the Marders in German service had been converted to the new Marder 1A2 standard.  This upgrade replaces the gunner’s image intensifier with a thermal imager, which the commander can also access.  The searchlight is removed, the fuel tanks are made self-sealing, the cooling system is improved, and the suspension modified to give a better ride.  The Marder 1A2’s Milan launcher is also upgraded to Milan 2 standards.

     The Marder 1A1A2 uses a Marder 1A1(+) turret on a Marder 1A2 chassis.  These conversions were done again as a cost-saving measure and to quickly upgrade Marders. These were later upgraded to the full 1A2 standard. For game purposes, the Marder 1A1A2 is the same as a Marder 1A1(+). However, the GM may want to give a Marder 1A1A2’s hull a lower Wear Value than the turret.

A Major Upgrade – The Marder 1A3

     Conversions to the Marder 1A3 standard began in 1989; though reunification slowed things down due to economics, virtually every Marder was converted to the 1A3 standard by 1999.  The most marked difference in the 1A3 is the huge increase in armor protection – most autocannons are not going to penetrate the glacis, and many will not be able to penetrate the sides.  Side armor was increased to the point that the firing ports were blocked off.  Turret armor was also increased, and even the floor and hull deck armor have been increased.  The hatch pattern on top of the passenger compartment has been rearranged; there are now three hatches in a triangular pattern; two towards the front of the compartment and one towards the rear.  The rear remote machinegun has been removed.  As the weight of the Marder 1A3 is significantly increased, the suspension has been considerably beefed up.  New internal stowage arrangements have been made, and the sixth infantryman has been added back into the squad.  The new stowage also improves the feed chutes to the autocannon (they could jam sometimes), and ends a persistent problem with the commander banging his knees painfully on equipment boxes inside the turret.  It also gives the commander and especially the gunner more room to operate in general. The Milan launcher includes a thermal imager.

     The Marder 1A4 is a Marder 1A3 with the same cryptographic radio suite as the Marder 1A1A3 and 1A1A4.

The Marder that Almost Was – The Marder 1A3/40

     The Marder 1A3/40mm is a Marder 1A3 with a new turret mounting a Bofors 40mm autocannon, and a few other improvements, particularly in fire control and night vision.  The turret is of a completely different shape, similar to that of the CV-9040, but smaller. Germany gained the autocannons in a reciprocal agreement (Germany traded Sweden some MT-LBs, T-55s, and BMP-1s in exchange for some autocannons and cash).  The vehicle is otherwise similar to the standard Marder 1A3.  However, the Marder 1A3/40mm will almost certainly never be adopted by the Germans, as they do not feel the increase in firepower or the cost are warranted.

The Afghanistan Modifications – The Marder 1A5

     The primary modification in the Marder 1A5 was in response to warfare in Afghanistan, and the heavily mined and IED’d roads.  The Marder 1A5 received a layer of additional underside armor, a strengthened suspension, and crash-resistant seats for its crew and passengers. (It does not, however, have an MRAP hull.) A BMS has been installed. The 1A5 modifications were applied to 74 Marder 1A3s.

     25 Marder 1A5s were further modified into the Marder 1A5A1 standard in 2011; more are now being upgraded as the Puma acquisition program lags, and currently (as of September 2023), 44 have been modified into the Marder 1A5A1 standard.  This gave the Marder 1A5 an air conditioning system, a radio jammer for IED protection (75% likely to jam IED’s radio and cell phone receivers within 10 meters; if jammed, an IED is 25% likely to go off and 75% likely to simply not function while the Marder 1A5A1 is in range). The 1A5A1 also has multispectral camouflage smoke grenades that are the equivalent of 1994-2000 smoke generation grenades. A more powerful 750-horsepower engine was installed to cope with the increased weight of both the 1A5 modifications and the 1A3 modifications, as well as the power requirements of the new air conditioner; crews complained that going back to the 1A3 modifications, the Marder had become noticeably sluggish. The driver has an advanced night vision device which combines thermal imaging and a low-light TV camera into a sharp night vision picture.  The driver also has a new backup camera. The missile system has been replaced by the MELLE system, a German version of the Israeli Spike-LR.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Marder 1A3/40mm was adopted in small numbers in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

*Floor armor is 5Sp; hull deck armor is 4Sp.

*Floor Armor is 9Sp; hull deck armor is 4Sp.

Henschel Wehrtechnik TH-439 Breitkettenfahrzaug

     Notes:  This vehicle is the German counterpart to the Swedish Bv-206s, being optimized for difficult terrain such as ice, deep snow, and swamps.  It is, however, a single-unit vehicle rather than a twin-unit vehicle like the Bv-206. It uses extra-wide tracks and an engine with additional low gears to accomplish this sort of mobility.  The TH-439 is used in a variety of roles, including troop carrier, command post, ambulance, and mortar towing vehicle.

     The commander and driver are seated at the front, with bullet resistant windows to their front and sides.  Smaller windows are on the sides of the passenger compartment.  The commander and driver have doors on either side of their positions and there is a large door in the rear of the vehicle that also has a window.  These windows have armored shutters which can be raised and lowered from within vehicle. The vehicle has heating and air conditioning; optionally, it can be NBC sealed. Night vision is also optional, but more commonly, night vision consists of a pair of NODs worn by the commander and driver. Many of these vehicles have 3 firing ports in each side and one in the rear, a hatch above the commander's position with a machinegun mount, and hatches above the passenger compartment. 

     The engine and transmission are under the cab; this is a Mercedes-Benz OM-352A 150-horsepower engine coupled to an automatic transmission with pivot steer capability.  The standard engine is water-cooled, but an option is an air-cooled KHD 152-horsepower turbocharged engine.  The double-wide tracks are protected by armored side skirts.  The TH-439 is fairly tall, including a tall suspension; this helps mobility in rough terrain or deep snow or mud, but increases its profile as well.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Some 100 of these vehicles made it into the Twilight War, usually with mountain troops.

Rheinmetall Wiesel 2 APC

     Notes:  This is a larger development of the Wiesel 1 multipurpose vehicle, used as a personnel carrier in light infantry formations; it’s sort of a “jeep version” of an APC.  The Wiesel 2 has one more roadwheel (for a total of five small roadwheels) on each side and is taller, and has over twice the interior space.  The engine was changed to a 1.91 Volkswagen 109-horsepower turbocharged diesel, coupled to an automatic transmission, giving it outstanding agility, especially when considering its small size and low weight.  Armor protection is likewise improved, and the Wiesel 2 even has heating, air conditioning, and an NBC overpressure system. Basic APC versions of the Wiesel 2 can carry half a standard German infantry squad and their equipment.  The troops enter through a large door in the hull rear face.  There is a hatch on the front left deck for the driver with an excellent array of vision clocks, and a cupola on the front right deck for the commander.  The cupola has a remote MG-3 machinegun that can be aimed and fired from under armor, and has all-around vision blocks with a night vision periscope/gunsight.  New treads complete the redesign.

     The Wiesel 2 is not, however, normally used as a simple APC. Several specialist versions are made, over a dozen in all. The Wiesel 2 Ambulance is a medical evacuation version of the Wiesel 2 APC.  In this role, the Wiesel can carry a stretcher or 3 seated patients (or one stretcher and one seated patient), and has medical supplies.  The Wiesel 2 Ambulance carries an oxygen tank, a selection of medical supplies, a doctor's medical bag, and refills for one squad's worth of personal medical kits.  It is normally unarmed.  A command post carrier version is built, with 1 short, one 1 medium, and 1 long-range radio as well as a ruggedized laptop computer and other command supplies; a hand-held thermal imager, image intensifier, and laser rangefinder are also included in the cost.

*See Notes above.