With a completely new suspension with four road
wheels, the Ausf. D was developed as a cavalry tank for use in the pursuit and
reconnaissance roles. Only the turret was the same as the Ausf. C model, with
a new hull and superstructure design and the use of a
Maybach
HL62TRM engine driving a seven-gear transmission (plus reverse). The design was
shorter (4.65 m) but wider (2.3 m) and taller (2.06 m) than the Ausf. C. Speed
was increased to 55 km/h. A total of 43 Ausf. D and Ausf. E tanks were built from
May 1938 through August 1939 by MAN, and they served in Poland. They were withdrawn
in March 1940 for conversion to other types. Panzer II
