The Maresal vehicles were a series of domestically produced Romanian anti tank guns which proceeded from the prototype M-00 to the final series of prototypes designated M-05 and M-06, the M-05 being the one of interest as it was the one which dropped the T-60 chassis on which they were being built up to that point.





The M-04 was field tested in early 1944 and this testing was witnessed by a German officer called Ventz and another one or two according to some historians. The M-05 was tested in March of 1944.

The Romanians planned to produce the Maresal domestically (I imagine with German help) and a battalion was formed specifically to use the M-05 of which 200 were initially planned. Testing continued through out the summer of 1944 and the M-05 compared favourably to a Stug III in field trials during June 1944, again in front of German officers who reportedly liked it very much.




Wikipedia has the following to say about the assertions as to Hetzer/Maresal relationship.

"British historian Mark Axworthy suggests that the design for the Hetzer was likely rooted from the Romanian "Maresal" tank destroyer. In November–December 1943, a Romanian commission ordered from Germany and German-occupied France several components which could not be made in Romania, and this drew German attention to the Maresal. Hitler had approved the development of the Hetzer on 7 December 1943. That same month, Marshal Antonescu (Conducator of Romania at the time) commended the Maresal project to Hitler. Soon afterwards, on 6 January 1944, Hitler was presented with the plans of the Maresal M-04 prototype. Axworthy notes that the Hetzer's armament, armor configuration and chassis broadening were very similar to those of the M-04. He also reports that in May 1944, German Lieutenant-Colonel Ventz (a delegate of the Waffenamt) admitted that the Hetzer had followed the Romanian design solution. American historian Steven Zaloga writes that "The Germans were impressed with the overall layout of the Maresal, and it is credited with being the inspiration for the German Jagdpanzer 38(t) tank destroyer."

Im not getting into a discussion about whether or not the M-05 being the Hetzer inspiration is true or not but I thought it would be a nice thing to build.

So my plan is to build a Maresal from steel. I need double horned tracks so my plan is to use Sherman tracks and a modified sherman sprocket. Everything else will be scratched. Likely problems are the very sloped nature of the casemate which will be tricky regarding a gearbox and the leaf spring suspension which I have never tried beofre. Otherwise one would think it should be relatively easy as it just seems to be massive slabs of armor and very little tricky detail parts.

This will serve as a place holder thread as I busy sort of with something else so cannot promise this will proceed rapidly until I am finished elsewhere.

But I cut and shaped the first steel bits yesterday and I will see how it goes from there. Humble beginnings and all that.



P