| One of Germany's first attempts at developing an
amphibious tank, the Schwimmkörper was a device built by Gebr Sachsenberg
which consisted of two large pontoons that attached to either side of a Panzer
II tank. The tanks were specially sealed and some modification to the engine exhaust
and cooling was needed. The pontoons were detachable. The modified tanks were
issued to the German 18th Panzer Regiment which was formed in 1940. However, with
cancellation of Operation Sealion, the plan to invade England, the tanks were
used in the conventional manner by the regiment on the Eastern Front. |