The Marder 1 was designed to carry soldiers and to keep up with tanks such as the Leopard 1.
A tracked West German Infantry Fighting Vehicle, the Marder 1 was designed to carry soldiers into battle alongside the Leopard 1 tank during the Cold War. It has a steel hull and a 6 cylinder, 600 horsepower diesel engine sits under the right of the long, angled front section, allowing speeds of up to 65kph.
The driver sits to the left of the engine with the commander and gunner both seated in the turret. It can carry six Panzergrenadiers in the rear compartment, who would sit facing outward, three to each side.
The turret is armed with a 20mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh 202 cannon and 1,250 rounds of ammunition. Mounted on the left of the turret is an MG3 7.62mm machine gun. Between these two is a bank of six electrically fired 76mm smoke grenade dischargers.
During its service life the Marder has had a series of major upgrades that have changed how it looks and improved its performance compared with earlier models.
The Tank Museum’s Marder 1
This Marder 1A3 was donated to The Tank Museum by the Bundeswehr in 2022 and is located in the Vehicle Conservation Centre.
