KORA Models 1/72 A7V

On the Real Thing

Several designs for cross-country armoured “landships” - both tracked and wheeled - were submitted to the German High Command both before the war and right up to the time the first British tanks went into action on 15 September 1916. The moral effect of this attack was out of all proportion to its tactical success, which was small, and led German Army commanders on the Western Front to press for a German equivalent. The High Command had already had some inkling of what was going on in England but now took action for the first time to promote the development of a German landship by appointing a committee composed of engineering experts from leading heavy engineering and automotive firms to study this question. The committee was known for security purposes as “Allegemeine Kriegsdepartement 7, Abteilung Verkehrswesen” or “General War Department 7, Traffic Section”.

A general specification was laid down and as a first step towards design the committee obtained a Holt tractor from Austria: this American-designed caterpillar tractor (built under licence in Budapest) was at that time the only suitable tracklaying vehicle available to Germany for experiment. It is interesting to note here that the Holt had also inspired Colonel Swinton's landship proposals put before the War Office in Britain and also formed the basis for the French heavy tanks.

After trials of the Holt tractor, a lengthened version of the chassis was designed by Josef Vollmer, powered by two Daimler engines of 100 h.p. each (the original proposals for one 80-100-h.p. engine being recognized as inadequate) and, fitted with a wooden mock­up of an armoured hull, was first demonstrated in the Spring of 1917­. There were some changes in the original requirements laid down for armour and armament because the protection was intended to be 30mm. thickness overall, but this was later altered, to reduce total weight, to 30mm at the front only, the remainder varying between 15 mm. and 20 mm. For the main armament, different guns were tested and the choice eventually fell on the 57mm Nordenfelt, a weapon taken from the Belgians, of which a small supply was available. However, only one gun was fitted (at the front) instead of the origin­al intention of having a shell-firing weapon at both ends. In addition six water-cooled machine-guns (MG08) were carried - two on each side and two at the rear.

The design was accepted and the tank (known as A7V from a contraction of the design committee's title) was put into series production, the contracts having already been awarded. One hundred vehicles were ordered, of which only twenty were finally completed as tanks, the first of these being ready in October 1917.

The first action in which the A7Vs took part was at St Quentin on 21 March 1918; the first tank versus tank action on 24 April. This encounter showed one fundamental advantage of the German tanks in that all were equipped with a gun, the British Tanks Mark IV, Female version, equipped with machine-guns only, being helpless against the 57mm gun of the A7V. The central placing of the A7V's main gun was also a better feature than the sponson mountings of the British tanks. The design of the A7V was better than that of the British vehicles in some of the details - sprung tracks for example­ and in some of the wider conceptions, such as thicker armour and a higher power/weight ratio. It's engine was also relatively powerful, making it almost twice as fast as corresponding British tanks (9 km/h), if moving on dry, flat and hard ground. And it's armour was thick: in places it was triple the maximum thickness found in tanks like the Schneider CA 1. 

Overall, however, the A7V was far less successful as a battle vehicle. The most serious fault was in cross-country performance and trench-crossing ability which were poor because of the high centre of gravity and low tracks with the hull overhanging at front and rear. Also, due to the large transmission housing, the vehicle had a ground clearance of only 20cm (!), which meant that it could get stuck almost anywhere. And technically there were many weak points in the vehicle, and it broke down often. The Nordenfelt guns had a lower rate of fire than the British 6-pdrs. Early tanks had mechanical faults and the armour plate was badly fitted and in some cases of inferior quality. These faults were corrected later (some tanks had single large side plates instead of several sections, for example) but the basic design could not be altered. The Germans made as much use as possible of captured tanks and the A7V's successor was modelled on the layout of the British machines.  

The Kit

As mentioned elsewhere, there are actually quite a lot of A7V-kits around, and now the modellers are blessed with, not one, not two, but three new variants of this strange German WW1 tank. It is the Czech manufacturer Kora Models, of K-Wagen fame, that has produced these three new kits of the A7V. The kit comes packed in a small illustrated cardboard box. The kit itself is done in light-yellow, hard resin. The moulding is good and pretty sharp, with many of the surface details being true-to-scale, especially the rivets, that are well-defined, and comes in several sizes. There are some annoying moulding plugs to be removed. The kit consists of many more parts that we are used to, when it comes to resin A7V:s in this scale. First of all, the hull is not a single, solid moulding, but instead consists of side, front, back, top and bottom sides, which means that the hull will be hollow. Some details, like the two top grilles, and the cupola, are also separate parts. The running gear is also made up from separate parts, including tracks, driving sprockets and wheel springs. This is of course a bonus om both parts, as it gives the modeler greater flexibility in presenting his A7V. The only snag is - and this is just a possibility, as I have not yet built the kit - is that the alignment of the different hull plate parts can of course be a bit difficult. The kit also comes with a set of Photo-Etched details. The PE set is NOT, as in the K-Wagen kit, mainly used to supply surface detail, but supplies you with parts ideally suited for this kind of material: running gear flaps, towing hooks, handles etc. Excellent!

The accuracy is quite good, but then again the modeler will still have to check his references, as there was not two A7V:s that were completely alike, especially when it comes to exhaust pipes, mud flaps etc. (The actual kit reviewed here portrays the early variant, with Röchling side plates and buck mount for the gun.) Note however, that the kit seems to be rather tricky to build.

The instructions are first rate, and up to the high standard typical of Kora. The include both comprehensive building instructions and some helpful notes regarding camouflage and markings. The only thing that intrigues me, is that the instructions mentions decals, but none are found in the kits I have seen. Is this an over-sight or a change in plan? (Decals would of course be most welcome.) All in all, I think that this is without doubt THE BEST Braille Scale A7V that you can get today! Well done Robert Koraba of Kora Models! (I for one can't wait to see what you will produce next.) The kit can be bought from Panzershop in the Czech republic.