Sturmpanzerwagen "Oberschlesien" – The German World War I tank - prototype

The Sturmpanzerwagen "Oberschlesien" (translated from German as "Upper Silesian Assault Tank") was a German experimental tank project of the First World War. The tank had several very progressive design solutions, but due to Germany's defeat in the war, the project was never implemented in metal. By 1918, combat operations had revealed many shortcomings of the German heavy tank A7V. In order to find a replacement for the "heavy field kitchen" (as the A7V crews mockingly called it), the German War Ministry announced a competition for the design of a new tank. The result was the emergence of a large number of different tank designs, both heavy and light, in 1918. Of all the "heavy assault tank" projects submitted to the War Ministry for consideration, the "Oberschlesien" ("Upper Silesian") project, developed by the company "Oberschlesishe Huttenwerke" ("Upper Silesian Steel Works"), aroused the greatest interest. The tank, with a combat weight of 19 tons, was armed with a 57 mm cannon and two machine guns in rotating turrets. The tank hull was protected by 10–14 mm armor, which reliably protected the 5-man crew from bullets and shrapnel, and the 180-horsepower engine allowed the combat vehicle to reach speeds of up to 16 km/h. The original chassis ensured good cross-country ability in any conditions. Such a promising project rightly attracted the attention of the leadership, and on October 5, 1918, the "Oberschlesishe Huttenwerke" company received an order to manufacture two prototypes. In order to speed up the work, a week later the company decided to create the "Oberschlesien II" combat vehicle, which used the already existing "Holt-Caterpillar" chassis. However, neither the "Oberschlesien", nor the "Oberschlesien II" ever left the factory floors - in 1918. November 11 the First World War ended with the defeat of Germany. Although the "Oberschlesien" tank was never built, it is an important milestone in the world history of tank production. The reason for this is, first of all, that the developers used a number of design solutions, that later became classics. In particular, the designers of the "Oberschlesishe Huttenwerke" were the first to propose mounting heavy tank armament only in turrets, and the multi-turret design, first proposed in this tank, was actively used throughout the world in the 1930s. After the war, based on this project, Germany created the Panzerkampfwagen "Neubaufahrzeug".

A complex, well-designed and richly detailed model with full internal equipment (although what it was designed on, is completely unclear), perfectly recreated chassis, its suspension, exterior detailing. And a rather presentable spotted "combat" camouflage, which is also fictional. Excellent graphic instructions, and there is no textual instruction at all - and it is not really needed. The model is intended for intermediate and experienced modelers only. True, without the internal equipment and some simplifications and working under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, this model will also be perfectly manageable for less experienced modelers. But this model will definitely not forgive haste and carelessness.There is a fairly solid stock of colors.