Nuts & Bolts 17, Marder III Panzerjager 38(t) fur 7.5cm Pak 40/3 (Sd.Kfz. 138) Part 1, Ausf. M

by V. Andorfer, M. Block, J. Nelson, J. Rue and D. Parker

This team clearly has it together when it comes to providing detailed, usually previously unknown facts on a particular German AFV. The series began by focusing on lesser-known types, but has since expanded to cover more familiar types.

This title, the second on the Czech-based Marder III series, covers the Ausf. M version. No doubt, this is to provide timely reference for the recent Tamiya kit. The next part of the series (reviewed below) covers the Ausf. H and the towed Pak 40, although some developmental and deployment notes in the text, begun in this book, are common to both versions.

The text is well-done and includes several unit histories, which tell of several representative types of units that deployed with the Marder III. This is all concise and well-presented. There are also several tables and charts, which detail vehicle specifications, production statistics and allotments to units.

The archival photos are mostly new but suffer from uneven reproduction, no doubt due to the condition of the originals. But, nevertheless they are nice to see for their historic value. The photos of preserved vehicles cover the earlier and later production variations and are well captioned. They depict the vehicle overall, with details of internal and external fittings to include driver’s, fighting and engine compartments, the main weapon, track and suspension, armor layout, tools and accessories. The scale line drawings cover the later version (welded driver’s hood and partly-welded hull armor layout), as depicted by the Tamiya kit, with perspective CAD drawings covering the early version (cast driver’s hood and all-bolted armor layout). The color profile art covers six vehicles, evenly split between the early and late production types. These show some unusual schemes as well as those of a more conventional nature. The modeler’s section discusses kits in the popular scales and features eight color photos of David Parker’s remarkable model based on the 1/35-scale Tamiya kit.

Altogether, this is as fine a product as any others in this series and the only beef I would have is with the sometimes-odd English translations. But that’s because I am an old curmudgeon!

Highly recommended.

Frank De Sisto

Nuts & Bolts books are available at retail and mail order shops and from the publisher Heiner F. Duske at: Nikolaus-Otto Strasse 10, 24536 Neumunster, Germany. E-mail: hfd.duske@t-online.de or Nuts-Bolts-Frank-Schulz@t-online.de.