1/35 PaK 43/3 L/71 mit BEHELFSLAFETTE - Dragon 6522

The Dragon Models 1/35 PaK 43/3 L/71 mit Behelfslafette (6522) is a detailed Smart Kit representing one of the most unusual and rarely modeled improvised German weapons of the Second World War. The Behelfslafette ("improvised mounting") was a field-expedient wheeled carriage that allowed the extremely powerful 8.8cm PaK 43/3 L/71 gun — normally the main armament of the Nashorn and Jagdpanther tank destroyers — to be dismounted and used as a conventional towed anti-tank gun when the vehicle carrying it was destroyed or disabled.

The 8.8cm PaK 43 was arguably the finest anti-tank gun of the entire war, capable of penetrating the frontal armor of every Allied and Soviet tank at any combat range. When the AFVs mounting this gun were knocked out, German engineers developed the Behelfslafette as a means of salvaging the precious gun barrel for continued ground use. The resulting weapon was an ungainly but combat-effective improvisation that appears in period photographs from multiple theaters, particularly in the defensive battles of 1944–45.

Key Features:

• 1/35 scale injection-molded plastic Smart Kit
• Accurately reproduced 8.8cm PaK 43/3 L/71 gun barrel with correct muzzle brake and breech detail
• Detailed Behelfslafette improvised wheeled carriage assembly
• Photo-etched brass parts for fine detail components
• One of the only scale model representations of this rare subject available
• Multiple Wehrmacht and SS marking options

The Behelfslafette is a subject that exemplifies the resourcefulness of German military engineering under pressure — turning battlefield salvage into a functional weapon system of outstanding capability. Dragon's decision to kit this subject gives modelers access to a piece of history that is otherwise almost entirely absent from the modeling world.

Ideal For:

• WWII German artillery and anti-tank gun specialists
• Modelers interested in improvised and field-expedient German equipment
• Advanced builders seeking unusual, rarely modeled subjects
• Builders of late-war defensive position dioramas

The Dragon PaK 43/3 Behelfslafette is a unique modeling opportunity — a genuinely rare historical subject brought to 1/35 scale with Dragon's characteristic accuracy.