I took me a little while to notice this detail, but on Tauchpanzer variants (Pz 111 and Pz IV), there is a metal frame, or shroud, around the mantlet with lots of pre-drilled holes in it. I imagine it's for fixing some sort of waterproofing cover to the mantlet itself. In this respect, Heng Long have got the detail spot-on. If you look at Taigen Pz 111's, for example, the frame is absent- as it should be. Quite why HL opted for the Tauchpanzer
version of the Panzer 111, I'm not sure, but it does give the model something of a rarity cache.
Here's the mantlet frame/ shroud on the HL model (indicated by red arrow):
...and on the real deal:
...and then absent on the Taigen Panzer 111 (metal ed) turret:
Here's a little more info on the TPz, lifted directly from Wikipedia:
Tauchpanzer[edit]
".........
A Panzer III Tauchpanzer under test (1940)
The Tauchpanzer or deep-wading tank (also referred to as the U-Panzer or Unterwasser Panzer) was a standard Panzer III or Panzer IV medium tank with its hull made completely waterproof by sealing all sighting ports, hatches and air intakes with tape or caulk. The gap between the turret and hull was sealed with an inflatable hose while the main gun mantlet, commander's cupola and radio operator's machine gun were given special rubber coverings. Once the tank reached the shore, all covers and seals could be blown off via explosive cables, enabling normal combat operation.[57]
Fresh air for both the crew and engine was drawn into the tank via an 18 m long rubber hose to which a float was attached to keep one end above the water's surface. A radio antenna was also attached to the float to provide communication between the tank crew and the transport barge. The tank's engine was converted to be cooled with seawater, and the exhaust pipes were fitted with overpressure valves. Any water seeping into the tank's hull could be expelled by an internal bilge pump. Navigation underwater was accomplished using a directional gyrocompass or by following instructions radioed from the transport barge.[57]
Experiments conducted at the end of June and early July at Schilling, near Wilhelmshaven, showed that the submersible tanks functioned best when they were kept moving along the seabed as, if halted for any reason, they tended to sink into the sand. Obstacles such as underwater trenches or large rocks tended to stop the tanks in their tracks, and it was decided for this reason that they should be landed at high tide so that any mired tanks could be retrieved at low tide. Submersible tanks could operate in water up to a depth of 15 metres (49 ft).[58]
The Kriegsmarine initially expected to use 50 specially-converted motor coasters to transport the submersible tanks, but testing with the coaster Germania showed this to be impractical. This was due to the ballast needed to offset the weight of the tanks, and the requirement that the coasters be grounded to prevent them from capsizing as the tanks were transferred by crane onto the vessel's wooden side ramps. These difficulties led to development of the Type B barge.[58]
By the end of August the Germans had converted 160 Panzer IIIs, 42 Panzer IVs, and 52 Panzer IIs to amphibious use. This gave them a paper strength of 254 machines, about the equivalent of an armoured division. The tanks were divided into four battalions or detachments labeled Panzer-Abteilung A, B, C and D. They were to carry sufficient fuel and ammunition for a combat radius of 200 km.[59]........."
And here's an attempt to create a small scale functional version of the tank on a French modelling website, It's cute and could replace the rubber duck in the bath
- Small scale U-Panzer
- Small scale Tauchpanzer.jpg (54.97 KiB) Viewed 1205 times
...and the source:
http://modelstories.free.fr/analyses/av ... index.html
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.