Leichter Kampfwagen LK I / LK II

VIEW FULL IMAGE ↗

Overview and the light-tank alternative

The Leichter Kampfwagen program explored a smaller German tank than the A7V during the final part of the First World War. LK I and LK II shared a development lineage associated with Joseph Vollmer, but their hull arrangements and proposed armaments were not identical. The family belongs to the history of prototypes and intended wartime production, followed by a distinct Swedish chapter. Sources

The account finds no German battlefield service for LK I or LK II. Large orders and ambitious manufacturing plans therefore does not establish a claim that a mass-produced German light-tank force fought in 1918. The postwar assembly of related vehicles in Sweden is a real part of the lineage, but it is not retroactive completion of a German combat-service record. Sources

A useful family account separates the LK I prototype, LK II machine-gun and gun-armed arrangements, the unbuilt LK III proposal, and Swedish Strv m/21 and m/21-29 vehicles. Similarity and ancestry connect these subjects without making them the same configuration. Sources

Origins and development sequence

The project reflected interest in obtaining more numerous armored vehicles without the cost and weight of large landships. Using available automotive components offered a potential route to a lighter design, although adapting them into a protected tracked vehicle still required considerable engineering work. Sources

Accounts place the initial development in late 1917 and the progression through chassis trials and an armored form in the spring of 1918. It distinguishes the March and April stages instead of assigning a single undifferentiated date to every image of LK I. The transition toward LK II then involved changes to the hull and weapon arrangement, with further work continuing during 1918. Sources

Published photographs complicate the chronology: one familiar LK I record carries a 1917 date while the published trial sequence emphasizes 1918. The often-repeated comparison with the Whippet is not fully substantiated. Sources

Layout, automotive components, and crew

The family used a front engine compartment and a fighting position behind it, with the running gear arranged around an automotive-derived structure. In LK I the rear weapon position was turreted. LK II's changed upper hull and proposed gun arrangement require separate descriptions rather than being treated as a simple weapon swap within an otherwise fixed exterior. Sources

Common secondary figures in the cited sources describe an engine around sixty horsepower, speeds of roughly fourteen to sixteen km/h, and armor in the eight-to-fourteen-mm range. They are useful research starting values, not a single verified standard covering every proposal, German prototype and Swedish completion. The identity of the original engine manufacturer also is uncertain against period terminology. Sources

The same applies to fuel capacity, mobility estimates and any later engine replacement. The relationship between two vehicles do not make their technical specifications interchangeable. Sources

Armament and the proposed variants

The principal weapon distinction is between machine-gun and cannon arrangements. LK I's turreted machine-gun form cannot be illustrated as though it carried the proposed LK II cannon. Accounts of a 57 mm gun and a later 37 mm proposal likewise need to identify the design stage and status of the installation. Sources

It does not establish that every listed weapon choice became a completed production batch. A photograph of a turreted Swedish descendant cannot by itself settle the configuration of an unphotographed German gun prototype. Sources

The LK III belongs to the subsequent design discussion but remained unbuilt in the cited record's treatment. It remainsed a proposal; performance demonstrated by LK I or Swedish vehicles does not establish its own capabilities. This distinction allows the encyclopedia to cover the full development story without inflating its count of vehicles actually created or suggesting combat experience where the sources provide none. Sources

Orders, completion, and the Swedish connection

Published accounts give conflicting large order figures and much smaller prototype or pilot-completion statements. These describe different stages of an interrupted procurement process. An order for hundreds is not evidence of hundreds finished, while later sale of chassis or components is not necessarily evidence of complete wartime tanks awaiting export. Sources

The Swedish acquisition and assembly history is more than a footnote because it gave the design a service life beyond the German program. Published accounts describe ten Strv m/21 vehicles, followed by modernization of a subset into m/21-29. Modernized examples are conversions of existing vehicles, not additional original manufacture to be added to the ten. Sources

The account also questions simplified stories assigning Swedish manufacture to Landsverk or assuming Vollmer personally directed assembly there. It points toward documentary research on the actual purchasing intermediaries and assembly organization. The cited evidence supports those specific examples, while other claimed postwar users remain less securely documented. Sources

Service, comparison, and the meaning of the family

Neither the German light-tank prototypes nor their unrealized orders produced a confirmed First World War combat record. Any comparison with the A7V, Renault FT or Whippet is therefore a comparison of design choices and development circumstances, not a record of tank-versus-tank results involving an LK vehicle. Sources

Swedish training and subsequent modernization demonstrate that the lineage could be adapted and operated after the war. They do not establish how an original German gun-armed configuration would have performed in 1918. Distinguishing those histories prevents postwar experience from being silently projected backward onto a wartime prototype. Sources

The family's importance lies in its pursuit of a smaller armored vehicle, its changing armament proposals and the reuse of its design and components beyond the original program. Sources

Photographs and the remaining evidence

Most of the photographs document the Swedish continuation: preserved Strv m/21 and m/21-29 tanks, a historical Swedish view, and an interior photographed at Axvall. The LK I archive photograph instead shows the German prototype. Sources

That balance is useful for a family overview but leaves gaps for a standalone LK II cannon article. The Swedish interior explains the arrangement of the photographed descendant; it is not an authenticated 1918 German interior. Modern engines, equipment and preservation choices also require attention before a museum vehicle is used as a universal technical reference. Sources

These details remain unconfirmed in the cited evidence. Those are discrete media tasks, not reasons to discard the photographs or alter the original account. Sources

Photograph and image credit

Background reading and references. Each photograph has its own source and credit.

Sources and further reading

Background reading and references. Each photograph has its own source and credit.

1. [TE-LKII] Tank Encyclopedia, “Leichter Kampfwagen II,”
2. [SPHF-STRV] Swedish Armour Historical Society (SPHF), Christer Baadstöe, “Purchase of LK II from Germany and manufacturing of Stridsvagn fm/21 in Sweden,” published Oct. 10, 2016; updated Dec. 28, 2017
3. [DPM-LIST] Deutsches Panzermuseum Munster, “Large exhibits / All tanks at a glance,”
4. [AWM-MEPHISTO] Australian War Memorial, “Mephisto – rarest tank in the world,” last updated Oct. 27, 2021
5. [MF-LKII] MilitaryFactory, “Leichter Kampfwagen II (LK II),”
6. [WC-LKI] Wikimedia Commons, Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-092-26, Leichter Kampfpanzer, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
7. [WC-STRV21] Wikimedia Commons, “Stridsvagn fm21 tank.jpg,” photo by Robin Gyllander Larsson / Realtime, CC BY-SA 3.0
8. [WC-M21] Wikimedia Commons, “MBT m 21.jpg,” Swedish m/21 image, public-domain status stated on Commons
9. [WC-INT] Wikimedia Commons, “Stridsvagn m21 Interior Axvall 31.05.00.jpg,” photo by Carsten Krüger/Wassen, CC BY 3.0
10. [WC-M2129F] Wikimedia Commons, “Stridsvagn m21-29 Axvall 17.08.03.jpg,” photo by Carsten Krüger/Wassen, CC BY 3.0
11. [WC-M2129R] Wikimedia Commons, “Stridsvagn m21-29 Axvall 31.05.00.jpg,” photo by Carsten Krüger/Wassen, CC BY 3.0

Continue exploring