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But it was too late. Just a few were completed before the end of the War. |
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The LK II never saw any action. Some of completed tanks were sold to Sweden in the autumn of 1921. They were the Swedish Armys first tanks and were used for many years under the name of "Stridsvagn m/21" - i.e. "Tank model 21". (They modified the vehicle somewhat, among other things they equipped it with a wireless.) |
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shows the MG variant, and is made from a resin kit by Cromwell. It is an excellent kit, and it has been built straight out of the box with only some minor alterations: the radio antenna housing on the turret has been removed - that was a Swedish modification - a cranking handle added, the kit handles exchanged for new ones made by copper wire, and the kit MG exchanged for one in white Metal. Click on the thumbnails below to see more photos of this model:
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Weight Maximum Armour Maximum Road Speed Armament Crew |
The German LK - LK meaning Leichte Kampfwagen, Light fighting Vehicle - was very much inspired by the British Whippet, the only captured tank they thought worth
copying, and it certainly influenced the German designers - otherwise very preoccupied with building heavy machines - to try something new. Actually it first started out as a modification of a Daimler car chassis with engine and all, mated to a drive
train, armour and armament. Surprisingly enough this rather eclectic vehicle bore a lot of
promise. It was both faster and more manouverable than the tank it copied, and was also to be more versatile than the Whippet, as both a gun and a MG version was to be
produced. The first prototypes were tested in the summer of 1918, with considerable
success, and a first production order of 580 vehicles was issued.
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