Tank Chats #135 | Marder | The Tank Museum

"My tank" from 1994 to 1996 (as gunner and later as squad leader). Thanks a lot for posting this video of the Eisenschwein!

7:31 I love how the trooper looses his magazine while dismounting

I just wanted to say a personal thank you to David Willey for helping me get through last year's craziness with the chats from your back yard. I miss you throwing your dog a ball. 😃

As a former Leopard 2 commander and platoon leader i have to say, we battle tank guys never considered a Marder a tank. Fun story: When we cleaned the barrel of our main gun during cadet officer training, a "Panzergrenadier" major told us, that in WW2 tank crews used cats for the cleaning, when there was lack of brushes and cleaning equipment. One of us answered in a rather dry manner, that mice would suffice for the Panzergrenadier Marder. The major left without a word.

Really interesting vehicle!

There actually was a Marder II program. It got canceled as peace broke out. The prototype is sitting at the WTS in Koblenz, Germany. Huge, heavy, well protected with a 35mm (exchangeable with a 50mm) auto cannon. The Marders in AFG were actually equipped with a cooling system and a SAAB Barracuda camouflage kit. That reduced the heat problem.

9:40 I don't think the gun is called "Mark 20". It's MK20 for "Maschinenkanone 20 mm".

The 4 Gun ports in the infantry compartment ( "hinterer Kampfraum") were exclusively for the 4 UZI 9mm smg aboard ( driver, gunner, commander, leader infantry carried UZI smg as PDW( and P1 until 1980)) The smg UZI was attached and locked into a ball port, with a bullet proof glass sight of 1 inch. Also 4 x bags to catch the spent shells were available, to be attached to the 4 UZI, when mounted in the 4 ball ports. No other infantry weapon could be used in a ballport, UZI only. The ballports were scrapped together with the rearward facing MG3 above the entry ramp in early 80's. Former gunner and commander of IFV Spz Marder here, in PzGren Division6. "Dran, Drauf, Drüber!"

7:30 guy just randomly loses his mag

My tank as a commander and platoon leader between 1987 and 1989. Very reliable, but too slow to follow the Leopard 2 in the open country. One big disadvantage is the missing hatch for the gunner. He can´t leave the turret when the gun is aimed between 3 and 6 o´clock (Oh my god, the tank is on fire!). Dankeschön for this video!

Some more interesting tidbits: It did eventually get AC in Afghanistan. The gun is not stabilized. The ammo type fired can be changed on the fly without manually reloading the gun.

7:30 lol, his magazine falls out of his rifle!

I want to thank and congratulate Mr. David Willey for his excellence and dedication in using the original German names and the perfect pronunciation of those. As a native German in Scotland it so to say "Warms ma tatties".

9:45 it is not the Mark 20, MK20 stands for "MaschinenKanone 20"

The Bundeswehr added air conditioners to the Marder they deployed to Afghanistan. These were mounted at the rear of the vehicles next to the ramp, I'm not sure on which side it was, but it extended the rear of the vehicles about 50 centimeters. The problem was the soldiers who arrived newly in Afghanistan had trained previously on vehicles without air conditiiners, so it happened that some soldiers want to jump of the ramo, and crashed their heads to these air conditioners!So the instructors in Germany trained the next contingent of soldiers to run about a meter away from the vehicle before they turned sideways😉.

As a counter to the 'I don't personally like the new ads' messages: I find them very annoying too, but If they're more effective at helping the museum than the old way, then please do continue with them. I'll survive 😂.

Excellent video lads, though I'd appreciate not being shouted at half-way through it.

Amazing the long service span of this vehicle. 50 years now, still getting updates… 😳

I think the Marder has had a huge impact on the design of western infantry fighting vehicles. It was delivered out more than 10 years before the Warrior or the Bradley, and most of its architecture components actually correspond to what is currently "standard" in Western infantry fighting vehicles.

These videos really are quality. I wish more museums would do videos like this discussing their artefacts, you get so much more information you wouldn't normally and you get to hear stuff about the items normally hidden away in the back.