Tanks as a whole make up such a huge part of WW2 history. Some of the most famous battles during WW2 were, in fact, tank battles. These days collectors are becoming more and more interested in owning a part of a WW2 German Panzer (tank). So today we will explore some of the WW2 German panzer parts we can find for sale. Included we have some Panzer 2 & Panther tracks, plus some Panther, Tiger 1 and even King Tiger parts!
WW2 German Wehrmacht Fire Extinguisher “Feuerlöscher”
Fire extinguishers such as this one were used on a wide range of WW2 German panzers, halftracks and other armoured vehicles, making it a lovely all-purpose item. The original “Dunkelgelb” tan paint is still largely intact, which is rare to find on any relic-condition item. This particular example was manufactured by “Tetra” in Germany. Sadly, there is no specific history with the item; however, this item could be added to any tank display seamlessly.
Available today from RELICORPS in the UK for £250.
Panzer 2 Track Link
Up next we have a lovely-condition relic Panzer 2 track link. This example has been well cleaned and is a nice, solid example. The Panzer 2 was a heavily-produced tank in the German army and played a star role in the overall invasion of Western Europe in 1939 and the famous “Blitzkrieg”. This was mainly down the to the speed of the Panzer 2. Eventually in 1940 into 1941, the Panzer 3 and 4 began to take the role of main tank, but the Panzer 2 still had an important job as a reconnaissance vehicle or infantry protection. The Germans also developed a few self-propelled gun variations of the Panzer 2 chassis, such as the Wespe and Marder 2. Because of this, it could be argued that this track came from either one of those vehicles; sadly it is impossible to be sure.
This example is available from VIGO Militaria in the UK for £75.
German Panther Tank (Panzer 5) Relic Track Link
Next we take the step up into the heavy tanks. The Panther tank is a hugely iconic vehicle and even the track size difference shows the overall shift in dimensions. The Panzer 2 track link above is 28cm wide, whereas this Panther track link is 66cm wide. Again, this is true in the weight. A Panzer 2 track weighs 2.8kg whereas a Panther track is a whopping 18.4kg. With the switch to much larger tanks, the German Panzer divisions began to have numerous problems that we will explore in a future post. This track link was recovered out of Normandy from a local contact of the seller. This helps to narrow down the regiments this particular Panther could have belonged to.
The track is available from The Militaria Shop in the UK for £300.
Battle-Damaged Relic Panther Tank Antenna Base
Staying with the Panther tank for a moment, this next item comes from the turret. This antenna mount is in good oiled condition for a relic. On the top side you can see some battle damage, likely from a .50 cal or aircraft fire. The seller states that the piece came from the Courland Pocket along with some other parts that he also has up for sale. On the underside of the piece you can see where the wires went down into the tank; there are even some cables still present in there. Any identifiable part of a Panzer is interesting and hard to find, so this is a rare piece, especially given that there were only around 6,000 Panther tanks ever built.
This piece is available for sale by A.R. Militaria in the UK for £225.
Tiger 1 Driver’s Vision Block
The Tiger 1 is without a doubt one of the most iconic WW2 tanks, aided of course by Tiger 131 at Bovington Tank Museum. This, plus World of Tanks, Call of Duty games and much more. When we talk to budding collectors or even non-collectors who simply had played a game a few years ago, we all hear the same thing “I would love to own a piece of a Tiger tank”. Well, today you can.
This is the driver’s armoured glass, known as a vision block. It would sit between the driver and any allied troops. It is 5 layers of around 1cm glass that in theory (and normally in practice) would stop a bullet or shrapnel hitting the driver in combat. The example we have here is in good overall condition and it appears you can still see through it ok. On the outside it retains a large section of its original issue factory paint. An all around lovely item.
This rare panzer part is for sale in Holland by Rocksteady Militaria for €180.
King Tiger (Panzer VII) Relic Parts
Finally, we end at the top of the combat tank tree for WW2. The Tiger II/Tiger 2, King Tiger, Konigstiger, Sd.Kfz 182. It went by many names but to most allied soldiers it went by “what the hell is that?”. Weighing about 68 tonnes compared to a Sherman tank’s 30-35 tonnes, the Tiger II was the beast on the battlefield. It had many operational issues that are regularly discussed and we will cover them in the future, but it still remains a hugely iconic WW2 German Panzer.
We stay with Rocksteady for this item. A lovely display case; ideal as a gift or as a personal display. The parts were discovered by the seller on a metal-detecting trip to the Czech Republic. After some research, they discovered that a King Tiger had been destroyed in a repair shop by Russian aircraft. In the area they found some great King Tiger items and put together these displays. Most are showing as sold on the website, but luckily this one is still available! So get in whilst you can.
The frame is for sale in the Netherlands by Rocksteady Militaria for €45.
Interested in more tank parts? Check out this video from one of our partners.
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