Guderian tank?

[k-pp]

I have a photo of a 'dead' German tank taken near Amiens in the summer of 1940. It has a white 'G' (Guderian?) and the registration '23026' painted in white on the turret.

Can the tank be identified from this? I mean, does anyone know - or would care to speculate - the manner in which it was lost and the fate of the crew?

Thanks!
karl

[David Lehmann]

Hello,

Near Amiens, between 20th May and 8th June 1940 several French units were engaged :
- 7e DIC (colonial infantry division)
- 16e DI (infantry division)
- 24e DI (infantry division)
- 19e BCC (tank battalion with Renault D2 tanks)

What kind of damage has the tank, a photo would be nice ? Could be an AT mine, a 75mm Mle1897 used in AT role, a 25mm AT gun, a 47mm AT gun, a tank gun etc. What type is the tank ? etc.

Regards,

David

[k-pp]

Thanks for the reply David.

I'm having trouble uploading an image to webshots, so I'll try and post one when I work out what's wrong.

I think the tank might be a Mark IV (I'm guessing though), and it's sitting in a field, possibly just off a tree lined road. The tank looks pretty much intact - although the treads look like they're missing. The top hatch is open. There's a big arial on the back.

I'll try and get an image up!

Karl

[David Lehmann]

Hello,

Here is the photo from Karl. From what I can see it is a Panzer II.
Concerning the "G 23026" marking it is not a standard turret numbering : perhaps this may only have been written by some tank recovery / repair unit. I seen no other marking. I am not sure the G in this case if for Guderian but it could indeed be despite thet fact the I am not sure anymore of what Panzerdivisionen were involved in that area. I think it was Panzergruppe Kleist near Amiens ... elements of Panzergruppe Guderian perhaps also but later. It would depend from the precise date and location of the wreck.

Regards,

David

[k-pp]

Thanks for posting the image.

If not a turret number, could '23026' be a Feldpost number?
I don't mean that they're going to post the thing back to Germany (!), but maybe it was a way of knowing which unit the vehicle belonged to after being schlepped away.

Just a thought...

[David Lehmann]

Hello,

I said that "23026" was not a standard numbering on a turret but I may be wrong. AFAIK there are usually 3 digits e.g. 124 = 1st Company, 2nd Platoon and 4th Panzer within that platoon. But I am not a German tanks' specialist, I am sure skilled people on this board could help.

Regards,

David

[DonC]

It looks to me like a PzKpfw II B or C. Since it appears to be essentially intact, my money would be on the numbers being used to identifythe tank when it was sent to a repair depot. I've not seen the Guderian "G" on the turret before - they were usually on the front glacis, rear lower deck or mud flaps. It could indicate the depot the tank was to be taken to as well.

Just my thoughts!

Don