Sd. Kfz. 184 „Ferdinand“ – the German self-propelled artillery unit

“Ferdinand” or “Elefant” (Sd.Kfz 184) is a German tank destroyer of World War II. The first prototypes of the combat machine were developed in 1942, and series production continue until 1943, with about 90 cannons produced. “Ferdinand” was fitted with two “Maybach” HL 120 TRM engines, each with 300 h. p. power. It was armed with a 1 88 mm PaK 43 L / 71 cannon, followed by the addition of a 1.92 mm MG34 machine gun. “Ferdinand” was at the “Porsche” and “Alkett” plants on a “Tiger” heavy tank chassis, that was not adapted for mass production. Serial production took place at the “Nibelungenwerke” plant in Steyr, Austria. The new tank destroyer had a great anti-tank cannon, capable of destroying any Red Army or Allied armored machine at the time. It was also very well armored - suffice it to say, that it was protected from the front by 200 mm of steel armor, making it invulnerable to enemy combat at a distance of more than 500 m. The first combat vehicles were not fitted with a machine gun - later, in late 1943, it was installed. “Ferdinand” made his debut during the Battle of Kursk in 1943. July. as part of the 656th Regiment of Heavy Armored Cannon, where nearly 320 enemy combat vehicles were destroyed! However, they themselves suffered quite heavy losses. After the battle, the surviving machines were relocated to Germany and upgraded, for example with a “Zimmerite” coating to protect them from magnetic mines. After modernization, they fought mainly on the Eastern Front until the end of the war, and a short episode (February-June 1944) on the Italian Front. The medium-range model of the self-propelled artillery cannon recreates the machine from Squadron 4, 2. 653 of the company's 656 heavy tank fighter regiment, which fought on the Eastern Front near Zaporozhye in November-December 1943.

Although the model is without internal equipment, it is not recommended for inexperienced modelers due to the large number of external details and rather complicated shapes. The publication consists of a 1 mm thick cardboard with a laser-cut carcass and some other details, caterpillar details, a 1 mm thick additional cardboard sheet.