33.5 t (36.9 short tons) Marder 1A3
79-603: The Schützenpanzer Marder 1 ( German pronunciation: [ˈʃʏt͜sn̩ˌpant͜sɐ ˈmaʁdɐ ˈaɪ̯ns] ; " Schützen " carrying "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle " Marten 1" ) is a tracked German infantry fighting vehicle designed for use with the West German Panzergrenadiere units, mechanized infantry specialized for IFV combat. It has been operated by the German Army as the main Panzergrenadiere IFV since
158-428: A "Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect" (PELE). It was developed with Rheinmetall . The effect of a frangible projectile on a lightly armoured target is much the same as a high explosive incendiary round, but with a cloud of dense, high-velocity fragments penetrating deeper into the target's interior. Upon striking heavy armour the effect of FAPDS is more akin to a standard APDS, albeit with higher fragmentation of
237-480: A 'Fusilier Battalion' (and in 1855 a Fusilier Regiment of two battalions). From 1820 the 4 infantry regiments of the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hesse-Darmstadt) each had 1 Schützen company, which in 1861 were grouped into a 'Provisional Shützen-Corps' (essentially a battalion except by name). In 1866 this became a 'Scharfschützen Corps', and in 1871 was converted to 2 Jäger battalions. The first Prussian Schützen Battalion
316-569: A Taliban attempt to outflank positions held by German paratroopers. On 2 June 2011, a German Marder was destroyed near Kunduz by a 200 kg (440.91 lbs.) IED, killing one soldier and injuring five others. The Marder was deployed during the Kosovo War as part of the German peacekeeping forces sent as part of NATO's Kosovo Force ( KFOR ). On 29 March 2023, Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov announced that Marders donated from Germany during
395-464: A centring band (often a nylon derivative). The rear half has a rubber obturator and driving band (again nylon) held in place by the screw-in base unit. The base unit, if a tracer element is attached to the sub-projectile, has a hole located at the centre. Before firing, the sub-projectile and sabot are locked together. Due to the high setback forces ( g-forces ), friction between the pot and sub-projectile allows spin to be transferred, thus stabilising
474-463: A co-axial PERI-Z12 periscope sight (with a 180° horizontal traverse arc and a vertical arc of -15° to +55°). Typically, 1,250 rounds are carried for the 20 mm cannon, along with a further 5,000 rounds for the MG3. On models since version 1A1A, a MILAN anti-tank guided missile launcher can be attached to the turret to provide enhanced anti-armour capabilities. Typically, four missiles are carried inside
553-526: A coaxial, the gun ports entirely welded shut and uparmored. It is overall a simple and conventional machine with one large rear exit hatch and three top hatches for mounted infantry to fire from. Around 2,100 were taken into service by the West German army in the early 1970s, but the vehicle in its German variant was not sold to any foreign militaries. As the West German Army began to retire older vehicles,
632-474: A completely new weapon system, but increasing velocity faced the limitation that steel armour-piercing (AP) projectiles shattered at velocities above about 850 m/s when uncapped. Tungsten carbide , with twice the density of steel, was seen as a solution, due to its greater hardness and ability to withstand shock and pressure, but its greater weight reduced velocity. In the 1930s, to increase terminal velocity without increasing diameter, engineers working for
711-697: A distinct character. Intended as fusilier-style skirmishers but with highly developed marksmanship, they were unable to operate with the same degree of independence and initiative as practised by the Jäger. In the Prussian Army the Schützen were phased out between 1821 and 1845, being converted to Jäger – leaving only the Garde-Schützen-Bataillon , which thus became the only unit in the Prussian Army with that designation; and although only titular, this unit preserved
790-425: A drive sprocket at the front of the hull and an idler at the rear. Three return rollers are fitted. The suspension is a torsion bar system, with hydrostatic shock absorbers fitted to the front two and last two road wheels. The primary armament is the 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon . It is mounted in the small two-man turret and can fire either armour-piercing or HE rounds. Mounted coaxially to
869-569: A far more aerodynamic projectile shape can be chosen. This, in combination with the sub-projectile's higher sectional density , gives the resulting sub-projectile vastly reduced aerodynamic drag in comparison to full-calibre tungsten-core projectiles, such as armour-piercing, composite rigid (APCR). Both the higher initial velocity and the reduced drag result in higher velocity at impact. This also lowers flight time and improves accuracy. Accuracy can suffer if there are unwanted sabot/sub-projectile interactions during discard. The sequence upon impact of
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#1732851635317948-565: A few months they reorganised, firstly into a Jäger-Korps and then into two Light Infantry Regiments and a Jäger Battalion. In 1815, with the loss of territory to Prussia (because Saxony had been unable to break from its alliance to Napoleonic France), many of the personnel transferred to the Prussian Army – leaving only two Light Battalions and the Jäger Battalion, with the Light Battalions being re-designated as Schützen Battalions. In 1821
1027-525: A great tactical asset by German troops. However, the crews have been subject to great physical stress as none of the vehicles are equipped with air conditioning systems. Two Marders were damaged by improvised explosive devices in the course of a German-led offensive on Taliban fighters in Quatliam, on 31 October 2010. Later in the battle, code-named by the Coalition " Operation Halmazag ", a single Marder beat off
1106-887: A hardened core made from tungsten or another hard, dense material. For a given caliber, APDS ammunition can effectively double the armor penetration of a gun when compared to full-caliber rounds such as AP , Armor-piercing Capped (APC), and Armor piercing Capped Ballistic Cap (APCBC) projectiles. APDS-rounds were commonly used in large caliber tank guns up until the early 1980s, but have since been superseded by armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) projectiles, which use fin-stabilization and can be fired from smoothbore guns. APDS rounds remain in use for small or medium calibers, such as in saboted light armour penetrator (SLAP) ammunition. Armour piercing discarding sabot munitions were developed to increase penetrating performance of anti-tank projectiles by generating higher impact velocity . A larger projectile would require
1185-519: A kit allowing it to ford water up to 2.5 meters deep. The vehicle is powered by an MTU MB 833 Ea-500 six-cylinder liquid-cooled sequentially turbocharged diesel engine which delivers approximately 441 kW (600 PS; 591 hp) at 2,200 rpm. The cooling radiators are mounted at the rear of the hull, either side of the exit ramp. The engine is coupled to a Renk four speed HSWL 194 planetary gear box, with four forward and four reverse gears. The transmission also provides steering and braking via
1264-555: A piece of artillery, and its compounds, such as Sturmgeschütz , 'assault gun' (a type of tank used as self-propelled artillery and originally intended for infantry support). Schuetze is the correct variant spelling without the umlaut. Schütze is not to be confused with the noun Schutz , meaning 'guard', 'protection' or 'defence' (as in the compounds Zivilschutz [ de ] , 'Civil Defence', and Bundesgrenzschutz , 'Federal Border Protection' or 'Border Guard' or Schutzstaffel (SS) 'Guard Echelon'). The rank of Schütze
1343-734: A replacement design to the Schützenpanzer Marder 1. The project started in 1984 and was cancelled in 1992. A prototype is preserved at the Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology . The Bundeswehr has approximately 262 active service Marder 1A3 following the transfer of 20 to Ukraine from its stocks in 2023. Officially replaced with the Puma , the Marder will remain in service until at least 2025. Sch%C3%BCtzen (military) Schützen (en:shooters but usually translated as " marksmen ")
1422-611: A rifled, stabilized 105 mm OTO-Melara gun in a new turret. At Indo Defence 2016 , Rheinmetall exhibited the Marder Medium Tank RI ("RI" stands for "Republic of Indonesia"), which was offered to the Indonesian Army, at the time already operating the Marder 1A3. The tank used the Marder 1A3 hull, with the three-crew Leonardo HITFACT turret armed with an OTO-Melara 105 mm gun and two 7.62 mm machine guns used in coaxial and roof-mounted positions. The HITFACT turret
1501-536: A stepless hydrostatic unit, which transmits power to two drive units mounted at the front of the hull. The vehicle carries 652 liters of fuel, giving it a road range of around 500 kilometres. Early Marders could achieve a road speed of 75 km/h in 4th gear, but the extra armour of later vehicles reduced this to 65 km/h. The Marder is propelled by a Diehl track, which can be fitted with rubber road pads or metallic grousers for improved mobility in snow. The drive mechanism consists of six rubber tyred road wheels, with
1580-596: A thermal imager, as well as an upgraded ammunition feed to the 20 mm cannon. Around 1985, the designation was changed to Marder 1 (until then it was simply Marder) since a follow-up IFV was under construction. The new vehicle was supposed to be the partner of the Leopard 2 , just like Marder was the companion to the Standardpanzer/ Leopard 1 , it was named Marder 2 and the older vehicles re-designated. The A3 upgrade program began in 1988. Thyssen-Henschel
1659-540: A third and final set of ten prototypes were built. Final development work was completed by the Rheinstahl group. 10 pre-production vehicles were built and completed troop trials with the West German army between October 1968 and March 1969. In May 1969, the vehicle was named the "Marder" after the European pine marten , an agile, short-legged, bushy-tailed, medium-sized carnivorous mammal in the weasel family. In October Rheinstahl
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#17328516353171738-486: Is a German plural noun used to designate a type of military unit of infantrymen, originally armed with a rifled musket and used in a light-infantry or skirmishing role – and hence similar to the Jäger . The individual infantrymen are termed Schütze . Prior to the introduction of firearms the word was used for 'archer', and is sometimes used in the form Bogenschütze (bowman – lit. 'bow shooter'). The verb schützen (to protect)
1817-464: Is a seat for a single infantryman. In early versions of the Marder, this infantryman had a hatch that opened to the right and a periscope that could be rotated through 360 degrees. This hatch was removed in the 1A3 variant onwards. In the centre of the hull is the two-man turret, which holds the commander on the right and the gunner on the left. Only the commander is provided with a hatch. The commander has eight day periscopes for all round observation and
1896-467: Is a type of spin-stabilized kinetic energy projectile for anti-armor warfare. Each projectile consists of a sub-caliber round fitted with a sabot . The combination of a lighter sub-caliber projectile with a full-caliber propellant charge allows for an increase in muzzle velocity compared to full-caliber rounds, giving the round increased armor-penetration performance. To further enhance their armor-penetration capabilities, APDS rounds typically feature
1975-498: Is by using the forward plastic petals. The petals are of a slightly larger diameter than the lands in the rifled bore. This forces the petals tightly against the core, increasing the friction between them and allowing the spin to be transferred. The sub-calibre projectile consists of a high density core with a penetrating cap, enclosed within a high strength sheath (steel) with a lightweight alloy (aluminium-magnesium alloy) ballistic cap. For modern small/medium calibre APDS projectiles,
2054-526: Is currently the most common version of this system, and is in service with the German Bundeswehr . The Marder 1A4 differs from the 1A3 only by the use of a cryptography -capable radio-set. The newest version of the Marder is the Marder 1A5 with advanced mine protection. Only a small number of this variant is in service. The Marder served as the basis for Thyssen-Henschel 's medium tank design which became
2133-400: Is not related to the plural noun Schützen, but to "Schutz" (protection). The German word Schütze means 'one who shoots'; the most common English translations are 'rifleman' or 'marksman'. (The word is related to schießen , 'shoot'; the compound Scharfschütze means sharpshooter or sniper ; Schützengraben means a trench from which infantrymen shoot; other related words are Geschütz ,
2212-568: Is the Jäger, who maintained their elite specialist status by adopting roles such as mountain warfare (the Alpenkorps created in 1915), which continued until the second world war with the Gebirgsjäger (1938), Skijäger (1943) and especially with the creation of the Fallschirmjäger (1935). The use of rifled breech-loaders also meant that soldiers could reload their weapons while prone and, with
2291-600: Is translated as 'defence troops' and is not related to the Schützen. The Wehrmacht (or more correctly Heer – the army of the Third Reich ) and the Waffen-SS , adopted the rank title Schütze for an infantry private (still used in the present day Bundeswehr ), and therefore perhaps the best translation is ' rifleman ' (or for the plural noun, as in British military usage, 'Rifles', e.g. ' Queen Victoria’s Rifles ') with
2370-443: Is tungsten, alloyed or sintered with/to cobalt , copper , iron or nickel . Very few APDS use depleted uranium (DU) titanium alloy for the penetrator material , though the retired 20 mm MK149-2 Phalanx CIWS round did use DU. When a large calibre APDS is fired and while still within the bore, the setback forces shear the forward petals, partly unlocking the sub-projectile from the sabot, but still holding it rigidly within
2449-726: The Landesschützen [ de ] or the Bavarian tradition of the Gebirgsschützen [ de ] ). While the Jäger had links with woodlands and hunting, the Schützen had links with uplands and alpine pursuits. In the Imperial German Army prior to World War I , there was only one Schützen Battalion, the Garde-Schützen-Battaillon , plus an infantry regiment from Saxony that, while designated 'Schützen',
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2528-752: The TAM for Argentina . A simplified version of the Marder is also employed as an infantry fighting vehicle, mortar carrier and command vehicle by the Argentine Army , realising most of the versions originally planned for the Bundeswehr and later abandoned due to costs and/or the availability of cheap alternatives like the M106 mortar carrier . The Marder is used as a carrier for the Roland air defence system. The Kanonenjagdpanzer and Raketenjagdpanzer 2 started development as part of
2607-537: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine had arrived in the country. They were first used by the 82nd Air Assault Brigade in August as part of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive ; 100 vehicles had been delivered by that time. According to the Oryx blog as of 3 September 2024, at least 26 Ukrainian Marders had been confirmed to have been lost by photos or videos; 13 destroyed, 3 damaged, 8 abandoned and 2 captured. The Marder 1A3
2686-543: The Prussian Army from 1787 as 10 hand-picked soldiers from each Company of each Line Regiment (8 companies), each Grenadier Battalion (4 companies) and each Fusilier Battalion (4 companies). For the line infantry and Grenadiers, the Schützen were drawn from the 'third rank' – men who were trained in skirmishing. The Fusiliers, a term in Germany that denoted Light Infantry , were all trained skirmishers. The skirmishers' role
2765-528: The 1970s through to the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of West Germany 's armoured fighting vehicle industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid infantry fighting vehicle design. While it used to include a few unique features, such as a fully remote machine gun on the rear deck and gun ports on the sides for infantry to fire through, these features have been deleted or streamlined in later upgrade packages to bring it more in line with modern IFV design. The MG has been moved to be
2844-408: The 30 mm autocannon armed BMP-2 and the development of top-attack cluster bomblets. The Marder is a relatively conventional design, with the driver sitting at the front left side of the hull with the engine to the driver's right. The driver has three day periscopes mounted in a hatch that opens to the right. The center periscope can be replaced by a passive night vision device. Behind the driver
2923-533: The 75mm Mle 1897/33 anti-tank gun and 37 mm/25 mm for several 37 mm gun types just before the French-German armistice of 1940, before evacuating to the United Kingdom, to join ongoing anti-tank ammunition development efforts there. The British term for this construction was "Armour-Piercing, Composite Rigid" (APCR) While the sabot improved short range effectiveness, the additional drag caused
3002-514: The APDS projectile, for example the 120 mm L11 , as used on the Chieftain tank , fired L15 APDS (muzzle velocity 1370 m/s), goes as follows: the lightweight ballistic cap is crushed, the penetrating cap then strikes the armour, distributing the shock across the whole surface of the core's nose, reducing the initial shock experienced by the core. The steel sheath surrounding the core peels away, and
3081-524: The Chilean government agreed to acquire 200 Marders; the government of Greece has considered the purchase of 450 retired vehicles in the past. Argentina uses a simplified and locally produced variant, the VCTP , and has a number of vehicles based on that platform constructed by Henschel and built by TAMSE. The intended successor to the Marder 1 was initially the Marder 2 project in the 1990s, but after its cancellation
3160-523: The French Edgar Brandt company developed "saboted" ammunition, in which a heavier sub-calibre core was surrounded by a lightweight "sabot" (the French word for a clog or the hard outer layer of hooves ; however Brandt himself used term "propulsive basal member" in his English patents), that was retained for the duration of the flight until impact. They fielded two calibres; the 75 mm/57 mm for
3239-661: The German Confederation under Prussia , and adopted the Prussian model (except Bavaria which remained a distinct entity), the Schützen disappeared or were absorbed by the Jäger. At the same time there was a tendency for the Jäger to be converted to the third (Fusilier) Battalion of the Line Infantry Regiments (the Jäger only remained as distinct entities in Prussia, Saxony, Mecklenburg and Bavaria). This trend coincided with
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3318-473: The German Schützen they often bore their own personal weapons and were dressed (uniquely for American regular military units) in dark green. Austrian Schützen Tiroler Landesschützen [ de ] later known as Kaiserschützen United Kingdom Sharpshooters Yeomanry Regiment French Tirailleurs Armour-piercing discarding sabot Armor-piercing discarding sabot ( APDS )
3397-724: The German states, on through the Imperial German Army , the Wehrmacht and continuing right up until the present Bundeswehr . This is known as the Schützenschnur (lit. 'shooter-cord') – a braided 'lanyard' denoting a marksman and worn slung from the shoulder, across the breast and secured at a tunic button. Often it was green, and also embellished by being terminated with tassels, pompoms or 'acorns'. Schützen companies were found, for example, in Bavaria , Mecklenburg , Anhalt , Hesse-Darmstadt and Nassau but as these States gradually entered
3476-586: The Grand-Duchy of Berg ). The Prussian Army from 1815 thus contained: While Schützen originally wore the uniform of the unit they belonged to, with the addition of the Schützenschnur, the Schützen Battalions, as units in their own right, adopted the green uniform of the Jäger but with the traditional red facings of the Jäger changed to black with red piping. Although similar to the Jäger, the Schützen had
3555-575: The Jäger Battalion became the 3rd Schützen Battalion and in 1849 a fourth Battalion was raised for the creation of a 'Light Brigade', in line with the general reorganisation of the Saxon Army from regiments (of two battalions each) into Brigades (of four Battalions each). Finally in 1853 the Light Brigade became a Jäger Brigade of four Jäger Battalions, and in 1867 – as with the Hessians after being defeated by
3634-523: The Jäger and the Schützen were disbanded in 1867 – after Hesse-Cassel was defeated and annexed by Prussia – to be re-embodied in the newly raised Prussian 11th Jäger Battalion (Hessian). The Saxon units had an equally chequered history. In 1793 each infantry regiment established Scharfschützen (Sharpshooters) similar to the Prussians. In 1809 these were grouped together in two battalions, each of four Scharfschützen-Abteilungen (Sharpshooter Detachments). Within
3713-459: The Marder family but were realised based on the second batch of prototypes using different engines etc. The Kanonenjagdpanzer built for Belgium are a hybrid between the original Bundeswehr version and Marder parts. Some 4–6 test models of a 120 mm mortar on a Marder chassis were built, and at least one is in use as a firefighting vehicle at the WTS Meppen. Tests with an AAA tank were performed but
3792-536: The Prussians – the Saxon Army was reorganized along Prussian lines, with two of the Jäger Battalions becoming the 12th and 13th in the Prussian sequence, and the other two forming a regiment that became the 108th Infantry Regiment in the Prussian sequence. In 1827 the former 'Musketeer Battalion' (3 Companies) of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen was reformed as a Shützen Battalion but again this was short-lived, becoming in 1853
3871-562: The Rheinstahl group (Rheinstahl- Hanomag , Ruhrstahl, Witten-Annen, Büro Warnecke) and the second group comprising Henschel Werke and the Swiss MOWAG company. This resulted in the production of seven prototype vehicles. A second set of eight prototype vehicles were built between 1961 and 1963. Development priority was then switched for a while to the development of the Jagdpanzer 90 mm Kanone . In 1967, after military requirements were finalized,
3950-612: The additional sense of 'sharpshooter' or ' marksman '. The French equivalent is Tirailleur . When Germany first introduced Motorised Infantry in the 1930s those regiments that were the Infantry component of the Panzer Divisions , prior to being known as Panzer Grenadiers (from 1942), were termed 'Schützen Regimenter' (organised into 'Schützen Brigaden'). Some were cavalry in origin (belonging to Divisions that had originally been ' Light Divisions [ de ] '), and carried on
4029-514: The adoption of smokeless powder, the idea of a marksman who was able to remain concealed gradually evolved into the modern sniper . By 1870 only the Bavarian and Prussian armies contained Schützen; in Bavaria as integral companies, in Prussia as an independent battalion. Schützen Battalions first appeared as part of the Prussian Army in 1808, and there were only ever a few such battalions in existence. Outside of Prussia only Hesse-Cassel (until 1926
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#17328516353174108-509: The beginnings of industrialised warfare and the general introduction of rifled weapons, eventually being breech-loading. For example, in the Kingdom of Württemberg from 1842 each infantry company had, in wartime, 10 Scharfschützen, 50 Schützen and 220 musketeers (this can be interpreted as 10 sharpshooters or marksmen, 50 riflemen and 220 infantrymen). When Württemberg adopted the Minié Rifle for
4187-534: The core goes on to penetrate the armour. The penetration of the L15 APDS is approximately 355 mm of rolled homogeneous armour at 1000 m. During penetration, a frangible projectile's core, a high density alloy, fragments into many high-velocity pieces. The resulting projectiles are called Frangible Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (FAPDS) for APDS types, or FRAP (Frangible Armour Piercing) for full-calibre projectiles. As of 2010, Diehl Defence called its FAPDS
4266-412: The core is not sheathed and the ballistic and penetrating caps are combined. A tracer element may be added to the APDS sub-projectile, for large calibre weapons this is part of the outer sheath, for small/medium calibre weapons it is contained within a hollow cavity in, or attached to, the base of the core. Most modern APDS projectiles use high strength shock resistant tungsten alloys. The main constituent
4345-587: The designation used in the First World War – Kavallerie-Schützen-Regiment [ de ] . Sometimes these designations persisted after the official change to Panzer Grenadier. In the modern German Bundeswehr the infantry fighting vehicle of the Panzer Grenadier units was, until 1971, the Schützenpanzer HS30 (Infantry fighting vehicle HS30 – verbatim: riflemen tank). Schützen originated in
4424-511: The entire infantry in 1855, these distinctions ceased, and the existing Schützen were used, in 1857, to create three Jäger Battalions. This meant that small groups of specialised infantries trained to use rifles were redundant, as all infantrymen were now riflemen, and their training and tactics were the same, regardless of what they were called. These old specialist names became honorific or denoted an historic elite status (e.g. Fusiliers , Grenadiers , Light Infantry etc.). An exception to this
4503-634: The first unit delivered in summer 1971, the Marder IFV remained untested in combat for 38 years until July 2009 when they defended a German combat outpost against the Taliban in Chahar Dara district of Afghanistan's Kunduz Province , killing and wounding scores of enemies. Since then, the Marders have been involved in heavy fighting several times. The vehicles have proved to be extremely useful and have been praised as
4582-510: The gunner has three. The primary sighting system is the PERI-Z11 sight, which has either 2× or 6× optical magnification. From version 1A2 on, there is an additional thermal sight with 2x and 8x magnification. To the rear of the turret is the troop compartment, which can hold six infantry men, sitting back to back facing outwards along the center of the hull. The Marder is capable of fording in up to 1.5 meters of water unprepared. It can be fitted with
4661-607: The high weight of the system resulted in a switch to the heavier Standardpanzer chassis, resulting in the Gepard AAA system. At least one first or second generation prototype was equipped with the 110 mm artillery rocket system that later became the truck-mounted LARS system. During the Eurosatory Show 2012 , Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH offered two further upgrades as part of the Marder Evolution family . The first upgrade
4740-424: The left of the cannon is a 7.62 mm MG 3 machine gun . The turret has 360 degree traverse, and can elevate from −17 degrees to +65 degrees, at a rate of 40 degrees per second while traversing at a rate of 60 degrees a second. Early production Marders, up to and including version 1A1 had a second, rear-facing MG 3 mounted on the rear deck in a remote controlled pod and operated by one of the mounted infantry using
4819-475: The main body when threatened by cavalry. As Light Infantry the Fusiliers had greater flexibility, and methods that were appropriate for what was termed 'outpost warfare' – fighting in woodland and villages, covering the flanks or assaulting over broken terrain and defensive earthworks. This included 'Skirmish Attacks', in which the skirmish lines operated offensively, and in greater numbers. Two entire companies – half
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#17328516353174898-552: The official spelling of ' Kassel ' was 'Cassel'), Saxony and Saxe-Meiningen ever raised Schützen Battalions. Hesse-Cassel formed two battalions in 1832 from their Garde-Jäger-Bataillon and the Fusilier Battalion of the 2nd Line Infantry Regiment. In 1834 these changed to a Jäger Battalion and a Schützen Battalion – the latter converting again in 1852 back to Fusiliers, and in 1856 briefly becoming 'Light Infantry' ( Leichte Infanterie ) before again being known as Schützen. Both
4977-484: The performance of the shot to fall off dramatically with increasing range. Between 1941 and 1944, Permutter and Coppock, two designers with the UK Armaments Research Department (ARD), developed a sabot that was discarded immediately after leaving the barrel, so the smaller, heavier, sub-projectile could carry on at the much higher velocity, suffering less drag due to its smaller diameter. In mid-1944,
5056-410: The pot. Gas pressure is used to delay the unlocking of the pins holding the rear part of the sub-projectile by gyroscopic forces. Once outside the barrel, the pins, centring band and forward petals are released or discarded by projectile spin, the aerodynamic drag removes the pot/base unit. As an APDS sub-projectile does not require driving bands and the core is supported at the base and ogive region,
5135-535: The resulting APDS (the 'D' standing for "discarding") projectile type was introduced into service for the UK's 57mm QF 6-pounder anti-tank gun and later in September 1944 for the 76mm QF 17-pounder anti-tank gun. The sabot of a large calibre APDS consists of a light high strength alloy full diameter pot and base unit, which is screwed together. The front part of the pot has three-four petals (sabots) which are covered with
5214-481: The strength of the Fusilier battalion – were utilized, with the remaining two available as supports or relief. Over time, after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Schützen developed many similarities with the Jäger and eventually began to be grouped together in companies (although still integral within an Infantry battalion or regiment) and/or distinguished by special uniform features. One such feature (often also worn by Jäger and in Austria also) endured in many of
5293-509: The sub-projectile. Small/medium calibre APDS use a lightweight high strength alloy base pot and three or more plastic petals. To transfer the spin to the core in small/medium calibre weapons, the core tends to have a notch at its base. Under bore acceleration, which can be higher than 100,000 g, the uneven base is forced into the softer pot material, locking the sub-projectile to the pot and imparting spin. Not all small/medium calibre APDS rely on this technique, another method for spin coupling
5372-472: The successor became the Puma in the 2010s. The Marder is currently being replaced by the Puma. Development of the Marder ran from January 1960, when the first development contracts were issued, to May 1971, when the first production vehicles were given to the West German army. The vehicle was intended to be an improvement over the Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 . The main requirements were: Initially, development contracts were awarded to two groups of companies:
5451-480: The task of killing or disabling enemy officers or NCOs – thus undermining the cohesion and steadiness of the enemy ranks. The numbers may seem few, and in practice the Prussians found they had insufficient numbers (even though the Fusilier Schützen had been increased from 10 to 22 in 1798), but even when used in large numbers the methodology was to have only a small proportion of them rotated so that they would not run out of ammunition, and so they could always fall back on
5530-418: The tradition of the original Schützen (including retaining the black facings with red piping). However those Jäger Battalions that had a Schützen origin (Battalions 5–8) also carried on the tradition in subtle ways, and it may be through their links with the mountainous regions of Switzerland, Bavaria and Silesia that the Jäger also adopted techniques and skills of mountaineering (cf. the Austrian Mountain Troops,
5609-443: The vehicle. There are four gun ports, two per side, which can be used by mounted infantry to provide additional fire against attacking infantry targets. Only Marder 1A1 and 1A2 were equipped with this. Marder 1A3 and above do not have gun ports due to the fitting of an extra layer of armour and outside storage boxes. Six 76-millimeter-diameter smoke grenade dischargers can create a visual and infrared blocking smoke screen . With
5688-512: Was a special case. United States Sharpshooters During the American Civil War two regiments of Sharpshooters were raised in 1861 by the Union Army . Commanded by Hiram Berdan , himself a noted marksman who had been actively involved in their recruitment – they were thus popularly known as Berdan’s Sharpshooters . Recruited from picked marksmen, employed as snipers and skirmishers, like
5767-562: Was awarded a contract to upgrade 2,100 Marder 1 A1/A2 series vehicles to A3 standard, at a rate of 220 a year. The first upgraded vehicles reached the West German army in November 1989. The modification package included: The hull of the Marder 1 is all welded steel, giving protection from small-arms fire and shell fragments. The front of the hull provided protection from up to 20 mm armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) rounds. Later variants increased protection up to 30mm APDS, in response to
5846-564: Was chosen as the prime contractor. The first production Marder was handed to the West German army in May 1971. Production of the vehicle continued until 1975, with 2,136 vehicles being completed. In 1975, the MILAN anti-tank guided missile was adapted to be fired by the commander from his open hatch. Between 1977 and 1979 MILAN missiles were fitted to the Marders. A number of upgrade programs were carried out, that included fitting night vision equipment and
5925-425: Was equipped with an advanced fire control system, linked with the commander and gunner sights, a laser rangefinder, and day/thermal sights for both the commander and gunner. Improvements included upgraded suspension, a new MTU diesel engine with 690 hp (510 kW), and the availability to mount a modular armour package. Schützenpanzer Marder 2 was a 1991 prototype German infantry fighting vehicle intended as
6004-749: Was recruited from the province of Silesia . A second Battalion (the Guards Rifles Battalion , Garde-Schützen-Bataillon ) was raised in 1814 from the Swiss canton of the Principality of Neuchâtel (which from 1707 to 1800 and from 1814 to 1848 was ruled in personal union by the Berlin Hohenzollern), and in 1815 a third battalion was formed in the Rhineland (from Schützen personnel in the territories newly acquired by Prussia after Napoleon's downfall – e.g.
6083-542: Was the Marder APC which features a new M151 Protector remotely controlled weapon, replacing the original Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh 202 automatic cannon, ballistic protection comparable to STANAG Level 4+, and mine protection comparable to Level 3a/3b+. The top deck has been lifted to enable improved ergonomics and uses a 440 kW (600 PS) MTU MB883 diesel. The other upgrade was the Marder Medium Tank which features
6162-409: Was to precede the main body in 'open order', forming a protective screen and firing at the enemy in a way designed to gall and disrupt – and also to form a defensive screen to counter the enemy's skirmishers. This inevitably led to the selection of men who were superior marksmen, to be armed with rifled weapons (shorter than a musket and sometimes referred to as ' carbines ') and charged specifically with
6241-739: Was used for 'Private' in the Imperial German Machine Gun Abteilungen (independent horse-drawn Machine Gun detachments) and for the Saxon Schützen (Fusilier) Regiment No 108. During the First World War the term became more widespread in the Imperial German Army , when it was applied to dismounted Cavalry Divisions, the Kavallerie-Schützen-Division [ de ] . The Imperial German Colonial Infantry were referred to as Schutztruppe , however this
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