For anyone into 21 PD or doing scenario work involving it.

[John Kettler]

Sometimes, it's worth trawling through one's E-mail accumulation (mine was 9000+ in the Inbox), in order to cybernetically declutter and house clean. In the process, I found a great deal of research I did in September 2006 to help Kingfish put the pieces together ref 21 PD. If you're interested in this remarkable unit, for which we have a number of its unique AFV conversions, either in-game or as part of the Vehicle Pack, much can be done in this area by those so inclined. Given the time which has passed since I did the work, I fully expect many links won't work, but I thought it worthwhile to post it, lest I forget about it and lose it for good.
 

Sergio,

Am sending this to you directly because my computer's acting weird and won't let me post this.   If you can figure out a way to post this to the thread, please do so,
for it's juicy.  Enjoy!

Kingfish,

Here's the Marder I I just mentioned in model form

http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/german/marderi_sdwyer.html

Per Hart & Hart's GERMAN TANKS OF WORLD WAR II, page 27, 200th Assault Gun Battalion consisted of "45 Marder Is in five batteries." Pages 25-27 cover Becker and his conversions.

Think I broke the code!  "Ho" = Hotchkiss, as in H-39 chassis.  If you go to

 www.wehrmacht.org

 and search under Tank Regiment 100 in the 21. Armored division -link's a mile long, but found it by Googling "baustab becker"-, you'll find a detailed OOB and a discussion of where the unit was, derived from a whole book on 21 PD.  The baustab becker term will kick up a review of an HPS game featuring 21 PD in Normandy.  OOB's apparently highly detailed.  Halfway down this link, you'll find a fabulous writeup on what the Germans did with captured French AFVs, to include a detailed list of types serving in 21 PD.

http://www.forum.fun-online.sk/viewtopic.php?p=52845&highlight=  

Here are the tech specs for the two vehicles in question

http://www.wwiivehicles.com/germany/foreign/gw_fcm.html

Further digging indicates that I was wrong.  There was indeed an LeFH16, both per the table and per Gander and Chamberlain's WEAPONS OF THE THIRD REICH.

The top three images here are all apparently Marder Is, each on a different chassis.

http://www.achtungpanzer.bos.ru/marder.htm

Further confirmation of this assertion is here.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/47207/thread/1066416701/Marder+I+%28Lorraine%29+on+the+Eastern+Front-

Here is another fine discourse on the topic, to include 21 PD.

http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6135

Jackpot!  21 PD organization charts, tables, manning lists, etc.  Extracts from research material for Zetterling's NORMANDY 1944.  Main site has a good operational map, too.

http://web.telia.com/~u18313395/normandy/gerob/gerob.html

This is the FCM chassis conversion, apparently under construction.  Note how thin the plates are.

http://ostpanzer.asty.ru/topics/sp_guns/french-shassis/75pakfcm/

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler