Maresal Artillery Mount 1943 Year 1/72 Scale Plastic Model Kit Sova Model 72011

Tank destroyer "Marshal" (rum. Vânătorul de tancuri Mareșal) - Romanian experimental anti-tank self-propelled guns, intended to replace the German self-propelled guns Panzerjäger I.
In 1942, Major Nicolae Angel, Captain Gheorghe Sambotin and Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Giulai began to develop a self-propelled gun that was supposed to replace the Panzerjagers imported from Germany. For the new self-propelled gun, it was supposed to use a conventional tank chassis, where the hull itself with weapons was installed. The chassis was supposed to be used either from the R-2 or from the T-60, 30 of which were captured on the Eastern Front in 1941-1942 and used for crew training. For more efficient use, it was supposed to install a 122-mm Putilov-Obukhov model 1904/1930 howitzer and a ZB-53 machine gun coaxial from it on the chassis, and close the gun on all sides with a tetrahedral shield with an armor thickness of 20-30 mm. The self-propelled gun was called "Marshal" (rum. Mareşal), and for coding it was designated by the letter M.
The first prototype received the index M-00, its construction began in the summer of 1943 at the Malaxa company under the general supervision of Konstantin Gulai and plant director Radu Veres. The work went quickly, and already on July 30, the prototype was presented for testing at the Suditi test site. By October, three more experimental self-propelled guns were produced, which received the designations M-01, M-02 and M-03. The tests did not lead to the desired result: the crew of two was insufficient, and it was not possible to install a 122-mm howitzer. As a result, further work was abandoned.
The Germans came to the aid of the Romanians, who recommended the German PaK 40 cannon. The new version of the self-propelled gun, the M-04, inherited the old chassis, but received an engine from the Hotchkiss H-39 light tank, a 75-mm Resita M1943 anti-tank gun and a more streamlined armored hull, like "Hetzer". Marshal Antonescu even presented her drawings to Adolf Hitler, who spoke of the Romanian car quite commendably. Construction of the M-04 prototype began in November 1943 and was completed in January 1944. For the Romanian project, German specialists were specially allocated on the personal order of Hitler, who was interested in replenishing the Romanian army with the latest weapons. Tests began in February 1944 at the training ground in Suditi and were carried out in the presence of representatives of the OKH (German High Command). With the participation of engineers from Alkett and Vomag, during March-May 1944, two more experimental self-propelled guns with indices M-05 and M-06 were built, which represented a unique symbiosis. The chassis was Soviet, the hull was Romanian, the engines were French (from H-39), the gearbox and tracks were Czechoslovak (ChKD), the radio and optics were German. In comparative tests with the StuG III, which took place from July 21 to August 23, 1944, the Romanian self-propelled gun showed superior mobility with similar weapons and a low silhouette, losing only in armor and general security.