Editing Marder II Zug (section)

==In Real Life==
[[File:MarderIIIRL.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Dabbo]]

As with the [[M247 Sergeant York]], the Marder II belongs to the realm of alternate history.

An experimental German IFV, it was developed in the late 1980s to replace the ageing [[Marder Zug|Marder IFV]]. Aside from the name it has little in common with it's predecessor with almost no interchangeable components. The initial goal was to produce 1000 of these new IFVs between 1997 and 2001. The first prototype was finished by 1991 and shown to the Bundeswehr on September 17 of the same year. It featured thicker armor than its predecessor, a new turret and a brand-new Rheinmetall dual-caliber autocannon that could fire both 35mm and 50mm rounds. Three-man crews gave it a driver, gunner, and commander. Space was provided for 7 (some sources say 6) passenger troops who could exit via rear-facing doors or overhead hatches; unlike its predecessor firing ports were not included. Significantly larger and more heavily armored than most IFVs it weighed in at 43 metric tons (more than a T-72!) and for that reason was occasionally termed a heavy IFV. 

Despite its excellent qualities, the vehicle was never accepted for service both due to its high unit cost and because it was no longer needed because of the fall of the Soviet Union. A single surviving prototype can be found today in the Koblenz military collection.

{{West German Forces in Team Yankee}}