Observation, Bundeswehr.

[redleg]

So Marder is the Iron Pig?
And the M113 is Elephants Foot?

That's awesome! What other nicknames to they have for military gear in Germany?

[panzergator]

Building German units? Fuchs is being replaced by 6x6 Patria. GHQ makes a version, but I don't know what the one they will buy looks like.

[STS]

So Marder is the Iron Pig?
And the M113 is Elephants Foot?

That's awesome! What other nicknames to they have for military gear in Germany?

I only remember the more common ones. The Alpha Jet being the "air moped" (Luftmoped), the F4 Phantom either being an "air-defence diesel" (Luftverteidigungsdiesel), a "soot case" (Rußkoffer) or iron pig as well, the Tornado was a "foldable kite" (Klappdrachen) and the F104 either a "tent peg" or "coffin nail".

Overall there were tons of nicknames for everything around, it'd probably fill a dictionary, with a lot of them being very politically incorrect. I don't know if it's still common to use them.

Building German units? Fuchs is being replaced by 6x6 Patria. GHQ makes a version, but I don't know what the one they will buy looks like.

As far as GHQs model lineup is concerned, none of them would fit. The German version is based on the current XA-300 6x6 CAVS variant, while GHQ only offers it's predecessor (XA-180/-200-series) as well as the 8x8 Patria AMV. I'm pretty sure we'll see the CAVS in the future, considering it seems to become one of Europe's "standard" wheeled APCs. (Finland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Ukraine and very likely the UK)

Considering the current spending spree, it feels like anything could end up making it into the Bundeswehr. Besides Patria and Boxer, there is also an order out for 8x8 and 6x6 Piranha V.

[redleg]

Great info STS! Thanks!

[panzergator]

STS, THANKS! That's info I'm looking for. I read yesterday that Fuchs will be a vertical-launch missile carrier for Hellfire. It looks like the Patria tech is just as old as Fuchs, so acquisition must be based on moving to euro force commonality.

[Brutzel]

I only remember the more common ones. The Alpha Jet being the "air moped" (Luftmoped), the F4 Phantom either being an "air-defence diesel" (Luftverteidigungsdiesel), a "soot case" (Rußkoffer) or iron pig as well, the Tornado was a "foldable kite" (Klappdrachen) and the F104 either a "tent peg" or "coffin nail".

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter earned the nickname 'Witwenmachen' / 'Widowmaker' in the Bundeswehr, as by 1991, 269 of 916 German aircraft had crashed and 116 pilots had lost their lives. The high crash rate, caused by technical defects, difficult landing characteristics, and its use as a fighter-bomber rather than a pure interceptor, led to this sorrowful nickname.

[Brutzel]

Oh, on the topic of the Bundeswehr, I have a German link here. It also includes support vehicles. Other armies are represented as well.

https://www.panzerbaer.de/

Sorry for the double post.

[redleg]

That's a great site! Thanks for sharing, Brutzel!

[panzergator]

Great site, Brutzel, but beware inaccuracies. The US M1 tank battalions were organized under J series TOE, not the H series. First thing I noticed were the AVLBs, which were removed in transition to the J series.

[STS]

In addition to the Link posted by Brutzel, there are a few more Bundeswehr TOEs in another forum.

https://forum.steelbeasts.org/forum/boa ... utschland/

[STS]

It looks like the Patria tech is just as old as Fuchs, so acquisition must be based on moving to euro force commonality.

I don't think it's so much about commonality, rather than the new directive to buy more off-the-shelf equipment, that can be delivered in a timely manner, without blowing up the budget, rather then pushing every contract towards Rheinmetall or KMW/KNDS.

The Patria XA-300/CAVS competed against the Fuchs NG in that competition and won. While both might be visually close to the 70's-era Fuchs 1 and Patria XA-180/-200, they're both modern vehicles. It's like comparing an old CH-53E to a CH-53K.

[panzergator]

Could be. I am only superficially speculating way out here in Kansas, far from good info sources.