Marder III M
Tamiya

Marder III was the name for a series of World War II German tank destroyers. They mounted either Soviet 76.2 mm F-22 Model 1936 divisional field guns, or German 7.5 cm PaK 40, in an open-topped fighting compartment on top of the chassis of the Panzer 38(t). They offered little protection to the crew, but added significant fire-power compared to contemporary German tanks. They were in production from 1942 to 1944 and served on all fronts until the end of the war, along with the similar Marder II. The German word Marder means "Marten" in English.
In the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht felt the need for a more mobile and more powerful anti-tank solution than the existing towed anti-tank guns, such as the Pak 36, or self-propelled tank destroyers such as the Panzerjäger I. This need became urgent in 1942, when anti-tank shells fired from said anti-tank guns failed to penetrate the armour of new Soviet tanks such as the T-34 and KV-1.