History

Due to a urgent need for tank destroyers towards the end of WWII the United States took the turret from the M36 and mounted it on a M4A3 hull and chassis. The reason for the use of the M36 turret was that it packed a 90mm gun that could destroy German armor from a distance.

Kit

When you open the box, you will find it packed with ten sprues of green plastic, one photo etch sprue, several loose parts in green plastic and one section of rope. For you spare parts lovers, there is a plethora of leftover parts. Sherman fans may find these most useful.

Background

Originally designed with breathing and wading apparatus to support the Wehrmacht’s amphibious invasion of Great Britain during Operation Sea Lion, the Panzer III Tauchpanzer never had the opportunity to wade ashore on the British Isles following the Luftwaffe’s defeat in the Battle of Britain. Despite the denial of the opportunity to tread on British soil, Tauchpanzer III’s saw duty on the Eastern Front against the Red Army.

The Kit

Based on earlier Dragon Panzer III releases, the introduction of the Tauchpanzer Ausf. H brings a somewhat obscure Panzer III variant to the modeler’s workbench. Molded in light gray styrene, the Tauchpanzer III kit is a mix of Panzer III, Panzer IV, and unique Tauchpanzer III sprues, with three frets of photoetch and two decal sheets.

America's first manned space program was best summed up by Deputy Administrator, Hugh L. Dryden in the foreword to the book, Project Mercury: A Chronology (NASA SP-4001) where he wrote “ Project Mercury is now history In its short span of four years, eight months, and one week as the Nation's first manned space flight program, Mercury earned a unique place in the annals of science and technology. The culmination of decades of investigation and application of aerodynamics, rocket propulsion, celestial mechanics, aerospace medicine, and electronics, Project Mercury took man beyond the atmosphere into space orbit and confirmed the potential for man's mobility in his universe. It remains for Projects Gemini and Apollo to demonstrate that potential.” There are many fine books on Project Mercury, you can use your computer's search function to find them or go to your local library.